St Day v Bodmin 60th anniversary celebration friendly

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St Day V Bodmin Town

This game had been over twelve months in the making, with people past and present organising the event. The game was put in jeopardy a few weeks ago when Bodmin Town secured a place in the next round of the f.a.cup. Not to be put off by this the committee went into overdrive and re-arranged the fixture for today.

Yesterday the long grass was cut, the committee again stepped in and organised for several people including players, residents and friends form all over to come and rake the dead grass of the pitch, the changing rooms were coated with fresh paint and even the goal posts were treated to a coat. All set for a big day of celebrations, St Day were presented with a new kit on the day sponsored by jolly's drinks and we would like to thank them very much for taking the time to come and celebrate the day with us.

The Game itself was a spectacle and started with a flurry, when, to a few people's surprise (not the players or managers as we all know what we are capable of at this club) St Day took an early lead when perran cooke latched on to a through ball and calmly lifted the ball over the advancing keeper, the wait was agonising as the ball seemed to take an eternity to drop in the back of the net. Bodmin Town took this in their stride and set themselves out to get back into the game at the earliest opportunity. St Day were forced into an early change when their right back joff Malabar had to go off through injury, he was replaced by the ever impressing Matt Cooke. Bodmin capitalised on some lacklustre defending from St Day when a mix up left the ball at the feet of a Bodmin player who shot through a crowd of people into the bottom corner of the net. Bodmin added a second five minutes later when a good run by their skipper Darren Gilbert who threaded a pass to the feet of his striker who curled his effort into the bottom right corner of the net.

A clash of heads meant that one Bodmin player will be making an emergency trip to his dentist after knocking out two of his front teeth. The game continued with good pace and some excellent football from both sides, each creating good opportunities. Bodmin were 3-1 up before the break when a low cross from the right was met with a stooping header which took a deflection and bounced into the roof of the net.

In the second half St Day came out with a lot more determination and their effort was rewarded in spectacular fashion when St Day new boy Ricky Smith scored a 10 minute hat-trick. The first was a low shot that beat the substitute keeper at his near post. The second came after a misplaced pass fell to smith who controlled the ball and fired the ball into the far corner of the net leaving the keeper little chance. To complete his hat-trick smith saved his best effort till last when he took on three defenders on the edge of the box and fired home past the despairing keeper, Bodmin were shell shocked.

For the rest of the game St Day played like they were a peninsula side, two years ago they came close to achieving that, but restrictions on the size of their pitch meant it wasn't to be.

Bodmin were awarded a penalty when matt Cooke made a last ditched attempt to clear the ball only for him to miss time it, sending the Bodmin player tumbling. The resulting penalty was dispatched with precision and power to bring the game level at 4-4. Some heavy banter from both sides, sunshine and a glorious pitch made this all round an excellent day for St Day and all of its player's supporters and committee.

Ref watch. The referee today was top quality although I'm not sure Mr. Carey would agree. He reffed the game for what it was, a friendly. He let the game flow, allowing the advantage to be played where he thought necessary; he was professional in his approach to the game and firm when the banter looked as if it was going to get a little more than that.

Man of the Match: if I had could have given it to every St Day player I would have, however only one person can be MOTM and it was Ricky Smith for his quick fire hat-trick.

St Day would like to thank Bodmin Town once again for being our guests on this very special day. Thanks must also go to the people who have worked so hard behind the scenes to get this game on and for everyone who have been a player, committee member or spectator.