FINAL WORD: Porthleven 2-1 Callington Town

And that is why Porthleven will have been delighted to end that run with a 2-1 victory at home to Callington Town on Saturday.

Not since a 7-0 win over the same side in their FA Vase first qualifying round tie on August 31 had Graham Blake and Jamie Thomson’s team tasted victory at their Gala Parc home, but goals from Dan Richardson and Joe Wright ended that drought after cancelling out Lee Robinson’s opener.

It was not a victory without drama, with Callington having captain Ryan Lucassi sent off in the first half before team-mate and stand-in defender John Wyatt conceding a controversial penalty in the second.

It was also far from a vintage performance from the home side, who struggled to break down the ten men, but a win is a win and the three points were heading their way regardless – the first time this had happened at home since a 2-1 win over Wendron United on August 28.

Despite the one-sided nature of their previous meeting on a balmy August afternoon, Port’s recent form offered little suggestion that a repeat was on the cards, especially with the visitors enjoying the early pressure.

Andre Rodukov was proving to be a thorn in the hosts’ side down the right flank with a handful of enterprising runs and promising crosses into the box, albeit with little in the way of any trouble for goalkeeper Martyn Webster.

Dan Stidwell, as is often the case, was looking like the one to unlock the home defence, with one dangerous cross being hauled off the line by a defender, before right-back Chris Wormington fired wide soon after.

But they soon found themselves a goal behind when the unmarked Robinson rose to meet a cross and guide his header into the far bottom corner from the left-hand side of the box.

There may have been a feeling amongst the home ranks that it was going to be another long afternoon, but that dissipated just a couple of minutes later when the visitors were reduced to ten men.

Wright had managed to meet a through ball but was scythed down on the very edge of the box by Lucassi. It was certainly a foul, but was it in the box and was it worthy of a red card?

Referee Mike Glanville’s answers to those questions were no and yes respectively. The Porthleven players fumed that a penalty was not given, while Callington players fumed that their captain had been shown a straight red.

My first thought was that the initial contact was just outside the box, but with no replays available I certainly could not be confident on that call.

Both sides could be aggrieved by that decision; Porthleven were denied the chance to level from the spot, but they certainly made the best of the situation. Richardson put the ball on the ground and promptly planted it in the top corner to level the scores.

Back on terms and now with the extra man, the odds were now in the home side’s favour, but they could do anything before the break. A couple of dangerous corner deliveries and a promising Stidwell counter aside, Callington were more than hanging in there.

The old adage is that it can be harder to play against ten men than it can against 11, as teams raise their game to compensate for their departed team-mate and get men behind the ball. That was the case here as Callington soaked up Porthleven’s pressure and looked to attack on the counter.

Indeed it was the away side who came closest, with Tommy Norton striking the upright on the hour before Robinson’s jinking run resulted in him firing wide.

The Fishermen were toiling, possibly under the pressure of this massive opportunity that had been handed to them. A chance to end their barren run against a bottom-half side with ten men, and the pressure was getting to them.

But suddenly they were presented with a lifeline when John Wyatt was deemed to have handled Matt Fox’s cross 12 minutes from time. A brief delay for Glanville to consult his linesman resulted in the penalty award to the fury of the visitors, who let their feelings known, both on the pitch and on the touchline, to the officials.

Thomson admitted in his post-match interview that he thought the ball had hit Wyatt’s shoulder/chest but wasn’t sure if it had then dropped onto his arm as he fell to the floor. I felt the same, as it goes, but the officials felt otherwise.

Wright did well to shrug off the delay and powered the penalty home to put his side in front. It was the striker’s second penalty in as many games after joining from Helston Athletic. They all count, though, and that one proved to be Port’s first match-winning goal for three-and-a-half months.

Thomson made an appearance from the bench with ten minutes to go, and while the midfielder is still a very capable player at this level, the fact that he was one of two named substitutes perhaps explains part of the reason why Port have struggled of late.

Cally tried to find their way back into the game, but the best chance fell to Port defender Hugh Howlett, who was denied by a double save from Sam Borthwick in the final minute.

That would have taken the nerves out of the final few minutes, but Port held on to grab the much-needed win and consign those stats to the history books.

The hope will now be that this will provide the springboard and the confidence to go and enjoy a stronger end to the season, and with still half of their remaining fixtures left to play – more than any other side in the division – there will be plenty of opportunities to do so.