Perranporth 5-2 Foxhole

After bowing out of the KO Cup at the hands of Perranporth a fortnight ago, Foxhole Vets had the daunting task of travelling to the current Division 1 champions for their league encounter at the weekend.
But, despite the hosts once again fielding a strong line up, the visitors were not overawed and took the game to the illustrious home side. Bobbylee Johns seized on a loose Mick Lane free kick and curled home in the 19th minute to put the Foxes ahead and it was a lead they comfortably held on to at half time.
Perran thought they had levelled matters soon after the restart, but Paul Robertson’s close range effort was ruled out for offside.
Martin Gilbert had an opportunity to extend Foxhole’s advantage, but his low shot was well saved by Perranporth’s stand in ‘keeper Dave Rogers.
A frantic spell just before and after the hour mark changed the game completely. The lifeline Perranporth were after came on 56 minutes when they were awarded a free kick on the edge of the box. Fortunately for the hosts they possess one of the best players in the league in Ian Gosling and he stepped up to brilliantly curl the free kick out of the reach of Billy Holland in the Foxhole goal. However, straight from the kick off, Gilbert’s powerful run created another chance for Bobbylee Johns and he struck home his second of the match to restore the visitor’s advantage.
Perhaps, after restoring the lead so quickly the Foxes were thinking it was their day and were probably dreaming of causing a bit of an upset, but unfortunately some defensive blunders came back to haunt them once again. Firstly, a nothing free kick into the box was not dealt with and a scuffed clearance went straight to the grateful Robertson who made no mistake to restore parity. The same player was allowed to travel too far with the ball, relatively unchallenged and with too much time in the penalty box his deflected effort nestled in the corner in the 62nd minute to put the hosts ahead for the first time in the match.
A one goal disadvantage for Foxhole might have been surmountable, but the stuffing was completely knocked out of them in the 69th minute when a cross from James Nettleton looped over the stranded Holland to put the home side 4-2 up.
Despite there being minimal stoppages in the game, the referee chose to play 9 minutes of injury time at the end of the game and it was in this period the tiring Foxes suffered the indignity of conceding a fifth goal when Gosling bagged his second of the game.
The 5-2 scoreline was harsh on the Foxes who more than matched their opponents for large periods of the game, but ultimately defensive lapses and the quality of Gosling were the main differences.