Helston Athletic 4, Illogan RBL 0 - Combination League Cup, March 2008

HELSTON Athletic powered their way into the Jolly’s Cornwall Combination League cup final with an emphatic 4-0 win against Illogan at Hayle on Sunday.

They now face hot favourites Truro City in the final at Porthleven and it will be a game that no-one – apart from the Blues’ camp – will be tipping them to win.

The Blues led 2-0 at the break at Trevassack Park and it needed a quick second half response to inject some atmosphere into the tie, but when Helston snapped up a third goal Illogan’s hopes were at an end.

Illogan’s preparations were disrupted when they had to bring in Simon Carter as a late replacement for goalkeeper Danny Burrows who was unavailable.

The early indications suggested that it was a game Illogan could boss as their neat football and approach work gave them a distinct edge in the opening 15 minutes, but despite their possession they lacked a cutting edge around the box.

Helston’s route to goal was straight to the point and Kayne Trevaskis played a significant role as he held the ball up well and then delivered defence-splitting passes into the channels that left Illogan’s defence in shreds.

Helston’s only outlet in the opening stages was Liam Eddy and he used his pace to great effect on the flanks to give Illogan cause for worry. Gary Sturmey picked up Jason Roberts pass and cut across the box, but he lashed his shot high and wide.

The game began to drift Helston’s way in the 18th minute when Trevaskis played a great pass through to Eddy. He closed in on goal and thumped in a shot that Carter saved, but Eddy retrieved the ball and crossed for Dominic Pullen to stab the ball home.

Trevaskis was enjoying a superb ten-minute spell as his passes scythed open Illogan’s defence with Eddy having a shot saved and another blocked as he was about to unload.

Pullen missed a great chance when he shot wide from close range following a one-two with Trevaskis, but in the 29th minute the Blues scored a second goal when Trevaskis again won possession and laid the ball into the path of Pullen who raced through to thump his shot into the net.

Illogan showed plenty of character and in the 34th minute Sturmey had a corner blocked on the line and Musa Sabo had a follow-up shot also cleared off the line.

Two minutes later Josh Kemp shipped the ball to Craig Williams who made ground before unleashing a superb shot that brought an equally fine save from Winnan who just tipped the 25-yarder over the bar.

A thunderous free kick from Justin Miles cannoned of Illogan’s crossbar at the start of the second half and then it needed a terrific block tackle from Sabo to prevent Eddy from scoring what seemed an inevitable goal.

It was all over for Illogan in the 59th minute when Helston scored a third goal. It was simple enough with Chris Breasley’s corner being drilled into the net by the surprisingly unmarked Pullen to complete his hat-trick.

With the result decided the final 30 minutes saw both sides ring the changes, but Gareth Pitt almost gave Illogan some hope when he shrugged off a challenge and fired in a shot that hit the post with Winnan scrambling to smother the loose ball.

Helston completed the scoring in the 73rd minute when Steve Hawke made a good run into the heart of the Illogan defence before sliding the ball wide to Pullen. He delivered a near-post cross and Brian Hawke scored at the second attempt.

Illogan had their moments when, perhaps, on another day they might have had more joy in front of goal, but Pitt, Sturmey and Sam Fenton were out of luck with their efforts. The scoreline was a little cruel on Illogan, but such was the nature of the game Helston could have won by an even bigger margin.

Helston: S Winnan, C Davis, C Breasley, A Sharkey, N Rollinson, J Miles, G Blake, P Black, K Trevaskis, D Pullen, L Eddy. Subs: S Hawke, B Hawke, T Russell.