ARGYLE Ladies cruised to a 3-0 victory in the final of the Devon Cup.
Laura Perrett (pictured) was the Pilgrims' star, bagging herself two penalties before seeing her effort late on deflected in for an own goal.
The only changes to last Sundays squad were the omission of Chloe Richards who was ineligible, and the addition of captain Kate Hine, striker Laura Gough and defender Gemma Farley, giving manager Rhys Sullivan a full squad of sixteen players.
It was clear from the outset that this evenings match would not be as simple a task as last Sunday's encounter at Cullompton.
Cully, back to full strength were giving as good as they got in the opening exchanges and Argyle were lucky to escape when a free kick from Cullompton's former Argyle player Carmen Thornton thudded against the crossbar and away to safety.
Fortune favoured the Pilgrims in the tenth minute when the referee awarded them a penalty for a foul in the area. Spot-kick specialist Laura Perrett stepped up and thumped past the Cully keeper who was rooted to the spot, to give Argyle a lead they just about deserved.
This settled the girls down somewhat and they began to exert pressure on the Cullompton defence, with Becky Rose and Tash Knapman both having efforts smothered.
The Pilgrims were not having it all their own way however, and had to be viligant when Cully attacked. But in the main, they coped well at the back with Michaela Phillips between the posts having little to extend her.
Shortly before the break Tash Knapman chased down a poor back header in the box to beat the keeper to the ball and see her effort sail just beyond the post and out for a goal-kick.
Cullompton came into the second half with renewed energy and from the off, began to command a little more possession. They even had a little go at goal and on one occasion it took a brilliant tackle by Aoife Aherne to stop Sanchez from getting a strike on goal.
Midway through the half, Rhys Sullivan freshened things up by swapping Brooks and Knapman for McMullin and Gough. Argyle were pressing hard for a second goal, and Perrett hit a terriffic drive against the bar. A few minutes later and the same player fired home from the edge of the box only to have her effort ruled out for handball.
With ten minutes to go, Argyle were given a second penalty when a defender handled, an easy decision for the referee to make. Once again it was Laura Perrett who struck a firm shot beyond the keeper.
Perrett was then denied a hat-trick when her shot ricocheted off a defender and ended up in the back of the net. This ended Cullomptons resolve, and there was no hiding the girls' delight at the final whistle in retaining the trophy for a third successive time.
For the younger players, this was an invaluable experience in their development that will stand them in good stead for the future, and for the more experienced in the squad, it was clear that they enjoyed adding another medal to their cabinets.
After the match, manager Rhys Sullivan said "This was not a classic final by any means, but my players showed they can work hard and grind out a result when necessary. I am very proud of all of my squad, the girls have worked hard all season, and deserve their moment of glory."
On Sunday it's back to league action when they entertain title hopefuls Havant and Waterlooville at Callington, with a 1pm kick off.
With thanks to Colin Fenn
