Both sides turned up for this midweek fixture knowing that a favourable result would put them in pole position for the league title. When the original Saturday fixture was rearranged for midweek we knew we were up against it and Chacewater didn't disappoint calling on a splattering of their Falmouth Helston players and splashing the cash to de-register some serious talent. It was clear they were here to repair the damage of the weekends defeat away at Gulval. They also bought the largest crowd of the season which all added to a great atmosphere, all that remained was the question could the football live up to the occasion?

Unfortunately for TMS the early answer was no! Chacewater were away from the blocks playing a crisp passing game at fantastic pace and the Stones struggled to contain them with the visitors making several early chances. TMS began to put some moves together and finally started to play some football in the opposition box but as with the weekend match at Mousehole the good approach play was let down by a poor final ball and lacklustre finishing.
It was from one such attack that the visitors broke the deadline turning defence into attack they broke quickly down the wing and fired in a low cross, Terry Spargo tackled the forward but in doing so diverted the ball past the advancing Pellow as he came to collect the ball. TMS who were fielding their ever present side were looking tired compared to the opposition and never really settled during the first period and it was no surprise when they conceded again mid way through the half. Following another quick move the Chacewater forward cut inside the defender and unleashed a lighting bolt past the stationary keeper. The home side then began to slowly come into the match and finished the half the slightly stronger side but wasted several good chances to get back into the game.

Following a stiff half time team talk by stand-in manager Ian Jay the Stones started the second half as they finished the first but the visitors remained an ever present threat creating their own chances at will. The breakthrough finally came for TMS when Mark Taylor crossed a good ball for brother Dan to find the corner of the net through the legs of the covering defender and the game was back on. TMS then went close again with a few chances that had the visitors defence on the back foot for the first time in the contest. Then the killer blow as the home side over committed pushing forward the visitors again counter attacked and a cross from the left side was lashed home with a volley that wouldn't have been out of place in the premiership quite literally a different class (and surely worth every penny of the de-registration fee! he may have scored the second goal as well, but to be honest all these ringers look the same to me). TMS not to be outdone continued to push forward and were rewarded when a fine finish from R.Stephens reduced the deficit to a single goal. TMS continued to push for the equaliser, and were subjected to a number of increasingly late and ugly tackles but poor use of the resulting free kicks saw the game slip away and the visitors greeted the final whistle with jubilation at having ended the Stones 19 game unbeaten league run and pushed themselves into pole position for the league title.

To sum up we made a game of it and very nearly caused an upset and maybe should have even snatched a point from this one, despite the level of opposition but to be fair Chacewater played some breathtaking football at times and were worthy eventual winners.

Having watched Chacewaters reserves on a few occasions recently I was confident going into this game that we could get a result against them and in hindsight I'm sure if they'd turned up we would have, but however the season finally pans out (and there are plenty of difficult fixtures remaining) we can proudly say that our final league position was a fair result of our seasons effort and not that of some hired guns! so spare a thought for those Chacewater Reserve players who were deemed not good enough to play their own fixture, makes you wonder how many games you'll be allowed to play when you get to division one boys?

Jeremy Hocking, Web Manager