A year on from their Western League championship-winning final match, Trungle Parc was again the place to be. Mousehole, in sixth place, needed a win against the team who had inflicted their biggest League defeat of the season, and for either Bristol Manor Farm in fourth or Larkhall Athletic in fifth to drop points. That combination of results would open the door to a play-off spot on goal difference - a tremendous achievement in the club’s first season at this level.
Seemingly ages after the final whistle, at close to 5 o’clock, after an agonising wait, news of Larkhall’s draw at Cribbs finally arrived to spark the joyous and well-earned celebrations, green flares and all.
The match itself? A strange, erratic, almost chaotic affair.
The Seagulls held a two-goal advantage at the interval after a tense and evenly contested opening 45 minutes, in which the swift possession-minded pink-shirted Mitres had a goal disallowed on 70 seconds.
How could we possibly foresee what would happen next:
• a lightning goal within a few seconds of the re-start to make it 2-1
• the visitors reduced in numbers after a second yellow card
• a half-saved contentiously awarded home penalty converted on the rebound
• two goals from the ten men to get back to 3-3, and a one-on-one keeper’s save a minute later
• at the other end, a rampant three-goals in four minutes comeback from the hosts
• eight goals in 29 minutes - a nightmare for anyone defensively minded!
And some impressive Mousehole successes alongside:
• five wins in a row when it mattered most
• the highest scorers in the League by some margin
• four goals for ‘Golden Boot’ and Man of the Match Hayden Turner to take him to 33 for the season
• 100 goals exceeded in all competitions
• the largest purely home crowd of the League season - if you discount the Malvern hordes
• a superb new printed match programme showcased for next season
And so, quickly on to the play-offs, to decide the second promotion spot to follow Wimborne Town who go up automatically as Champions to the Southern League Premier Division (Step 3). The Semi-Final line-up this Wednesday 1st May (7.45pm) is: runners-up Frome Town v 5th place Mousehole; and 3rd Cribbs v 4th BMF
The Final is on Bank Holiday Monday, 6th May (3pm) at the home of the highest-placed semi-final winner.
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