Revenge is a dish best served cold, or so the saying goes.

That was certainly the case at Kellaway Park on Saturday as an ice-cool Falmouth Town, returning to the scene of their 5-0 humiliation at the hands of local rivals Helston Athletic in the Dave Gardner Memorial Tournament in July, proceeded to turn the tables and inflict a painful result on their hosts and dump them out of the FA Vase.

Much like the Blues had done on that July afternoon, Town enjoyed a one-goal lead at the break, with Matt Buchan and David Broglino both netting shortly before half-time to cancel out Billy Tucker's goal.

Again, much like the Blues had done in July, a blistering second-half onslaught from Town blew away their opponents, with Buchan, Broglino and Luke Brabyn all netting in an eight-minute spell midway through the second period to ease into the second round proper for the second time in as many seasons.

Blues finally beaten

Helston came into the game off the back of a much-mentioned 13-game winning streak in all competitions.

The Blues had tasted defeat just once prior to Saturday's game, a 2-1 loss at home to Liskeard Athletic on August 17, with Helston going on to win their 13 games since that day as they soared to second in the South West Peninsula League Premier West table.

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Helston were on a real high coming into the game, having beaten previously unbeaten Mousehole 3-1 three days earlier, with a fantastic all-around performance from the Blues cutting the highly-fancied Seagulls apart and sending the home fans into delirium.

Fast forward three days and the scene could hardly be different, as a lacklustre Helston side surrendered to a dominant Falmouth side.

The early signs were good when, despite being second best in the first quarter, Tucker opened the scoring with a delightful lob over Ryan Barnes.

The game could certainly have been different had Barnes not saved Phil Cattran's superb volley, or had 22-goal top-scorer Mark Goldsworthy not struck the crossbar with his free header, or not failed to make proper contact with the ball two yards from an open goal.

If any of those went in it would have been 2-0 and a long way back for Town, but none of them did and Town made them pay for it in ruthless fashion.

The Blues had to lose again at some point, but the manner of their collapse will be a concern.

Town back on top

In contrast, Falmouth were magnificent in Saturday's victory.

Until recently, Andrew Westgarth's side have enjoyed the run over their local rivals, and eliminating them from the Walter C Parson League Cup in each of the last two seasons as they went on to win the tournament in 2018, before being crowned Cornwall Senior Cup winners in April of this year.

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But they have to sit and watch as a new-look Helston side have turned into one of the top sides in the county, with Town falling victim to the Blues in September in the midst of their lengthy winning run.

However, Town are yet to lose in seven games since that day and they carried that momentum into Saturday's game, as they reclaimed bragging rights over their rivals after four defeats on the spin.

A welcome return

Luke Johnson and David Broglino made their first starts for Town since September 4 and August 17 respectively, and the pair both had a huge say in Saturday's game.

Johnson, who was making his first appearance since limping out of Falmouth's defeat to the Blues in September, was instantly in the thick of the action down the right flank, with his shot on goal inside 20 seconds setting the tone for the winger's contribution that afternoon.

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The forward terrorised the Helston defence throughout and had a direct hand in two of the five goals, teeing up Buchan for his second and Town's third, before earning a penalty after his superb run was halted illegally by Harrison Jewell, with Broglino stepping up to convert the kick.

That penalty completed a fine afternoon for Broglino, who scored twice on his first start since Town's 7-1 win over Launceston in August.

The central midfielder slotted home from Brabyn's cross to give Town the lead on the stroke of half-time, before effectively sealing victory with the fourth goal from the spot in the 67th minute.

It was also a happy return of a different kind for Matt Buchan, who played a starring role against his former club, scoring twice and leading the line superbly for the visitors.

Cracking crowd

Saturday's game was the most watched FA Vase tie in the country, with 689 supporters attending the local derby at Kellaway Park.

Ninety-three first round proper ties were played across Friday and Saturday, with the west Cornwall derby being watched by 186 more people than the second-best attended game.

It was also higher than all of the 51 FA Trophy preliminary round ties, as well as any game at steps four, five or six in the National League System.

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The majority of the crowd was made up of Falmouth's F-Troop, but there were plenty of Blues fans adding to a crowd that was a full 100 people higher than either of Town's cup finals last season.

Next up

Both sides return to league action, with Town hosting fellow form side Camelford on Wednesday night, while Helston aim to equal a club record of 11 league wins in a row when they visit St Blazey on Saturday.

Town will also be eagerly anticipating the draw for the second round proper of the Vase, which should be released on Monday lunchtime.

The tie is due to take place on Saturday, November 2.