THE FINAL WORD: Porthleven 2-1 Wendron United

Dan Stidwell netted his fourth goal of the season to give the Fishermen the lead early on, only for Jack Stocker to net his second in as many games to level the scores before the break.

The Dron were firmly in the game but saw Ben Ringrose controversially sent off just before the hour for a second bookable offence, which eventually came back to haunt them as Charlie Young also bagged his fourth of the campaign to secure all three points for Port.

Port get the points

The bottom line from Wednesday's game is that Porthleven collected three welcome points from a local derby, although they would have hoped to have enjoyed a bit more breathing space.

Stidwell lashed a shot wide from eight yards and had another saved by Dan Stedman, Young burst through on goal but took too long to shoot, while also sending a lob well wide when on-on-one with Stedman. Heydon Dark was also denied by the goalkeeper, while Matt Fox had the ball in the net but was flagged offside.

There were also further chances for Dan Richardson, Tyler Oliver, and Tom Whipp, while a low cross somehow rolled through Wendron's six-yard box without anyone getting a touch on it.

Wendron's high defensive line in the second half meant that Young, enjoying a forward role since re-joining the club from Helston, burst through several times only to be called offside, much to the frustration of the home dugout and support.

They also had luck on their side to an extent, with Young's originally disallowed winning goal being overturned by the referee and Ringrose's second yellow card looking soft - more on those two incidents in a bit.

But it is a win, three more points in the bag and the preservation of an unbeaten home record this season, so it should be a happy time for everyone at Gala Parc.

A topsy-turvy week

Wendron's last three games have seen three defeats in three very differing manners. The first was an admirable performance in a frankly cruel 2-1 defeat at Helston last Wednesday. The second was a dismal display in a 4-1 loss at home to St Blazey on Saturday. This one, thankfully, was closer to the Helston game than the St Blazey one.

The Dron's performance was not as good as in the Helston game - it would have taken some doing to better that - but they were disciplined, energetic and had much more fight about them than the Blazey defeat four days earlier.

Manager Jack Greenwood was frustrated with some of the decisions, and Ringrose's red card and Young's winning goal could easily have gone their way on another day.

But they had their share of chances. Joe Chapman forced a good save from Martyn Webster, Jack Noy headed inches past the post, Rory Jarvis skewed a shot wide, Finn Robinson couldn't get a shot away after bursting through on his own and Kian Thomas fired high and wide when unmarked at the back post.

One of those goes in and it could have been a different story, but the reality is that Wendron have now lost three on the bounce. They need to end that run soon, even if only to keep spirits up in the camp.

Goal or no goal?

Those in attendance at Gala Parc were subjected to a lengthy wait for confirmation when Young nodded in the winner in the 75th minute.

No, we weren't waiting for VAR to do its thing, although it would have helped to clear up the situation.

We were waiting for the referee to run over and consult his linesman, who had flagged as Young headed in from close range, only to quickly withdraw his flag.

Following a brief consultation between the two, the referee awarded the goal, which proved to be enough for the Fishermen to walk away with all three points.

It looked like a tight one, and the camera angle of the Packet's highlights video doesn't help to clarify the decision. Young may well have been level with either Dan Tarrant or Will Paul as the ball was played to him, but it is too hard to tell one way or the other, so I will give the officials the benefit of the doubt on that one.

Rueful red

One of the big turning points in the game was the second yellow card shown to Wendron midfielder Ben Ringrose in the 57th minute.

For me, Ringrose can consider himself very unlucky to have been sent off. The first yellow card, for a foul on Tom Whipp, was fair, but I didn't agree with the yellow for the second challenge on Dan Richardson.

Unfortunately I did not catch the incident on camera, but from first glance I thought a free-kick would have sufficed and that a yellow card would have been harsh.

It is hard to say whether this would have changed the game, but it certainly didn't do Wendron any favours.

Next up

Porthleven begin their FA Vase campaign on Saturday, and the Fishermen should be firm favourites in their home tie against a Callington side that is yet to taste victory this season, conceding a SWPL-high of 39 goals from their seven games.

Meanwhile Wendron will hope to end their run of three straight league defeats when they visit Camelford on Saturday. The Dron and the Camels have identical records so far this year, having picked up one win, one draw and three defeats each.