Penryn Ath 7, Penzance 1

LUKE Brabyn helped himself to a hat-trick as Penryn exploited a troubled Penzance side, for whom manager John Dent resigned after the match.

The home side were in dire need of a victory after suffering three defeats in a row and this New Year’s Eve fixture could scarcely have arrived at a better time for them.

Signs of the pattern of the match were evident as early as the sixth minute, when Brabyn found himself clean through on goal after some inexplicably poor marking from a throw-in.

He rounded keeper Liam Dent but scuffed his shot from a tight angle and the ball was cleared off the line.

Brabyn then raced clear from the halfway line as Penzance’s defence evaporated again, but this time his left foot shot was dragged well wide of the target.

The hosts took the lead after 27 minutes when an innocuous-looking pass found Brabyn again and he turned on the afterburners, rounded Dent and crossed for Tyler Cooke to apply a close range finish.

Brabyn then had a golden chance to add a second when Dent completely mis-kicked his clearance, but Penryn’s number seven rushed his shot and a relieved Dent made a comfortable save.

It was becoming one-way traffic and Brabyn doubled the lead after 41 minutes when he raced on to a superb through-ball, rounded Dent for the third time in the match and this time slotted into the empty net with his left foot.

On the stroke of half time Penzance’s resistance was crushed when David Blizzard popped up for a rare goal after tucking away the rebound from David Broglino’s fierce drive, which had been repelled by Dent.

Brabyn converted a great team goal six minutes into the second half, after Broglino had switched the ball to Ollie Moody on the left and his low cross was tucked away by Penryn’s leading scorer.

Dent made a brilliant save to tip away Cooke’s header but he could not prevent Ryan Reeve heading home a fifth from close range following Moody’s corner.

The visitors pulled one back after Matt McIlroy’s lovely through-ball sent Ashley Ellis clear and he took a touch and curled a delicious right foot shot into the top corner from 20 yards.

Moments later Penryn hit six when Reeve ran through and shot through Dent’s legs, before Brabyn completed the rout and his hat-trick in stoppage time.

Penryn: C Symons, D Blizzard, O Moody, S Johnston, B Oliver, R Martt, L Brabyn, J Davie, T Cooke, D Broglino, R Reeve. Subs: L Jarvis, W Harding.