Argyle 5 St Austell 2

ARGYLE staged a remarkable recovery to defeat second-placed St Austell and remain top of the Carlsberg South-West Peninsula League.

A breathless start to proceedings set the tone for a superb game of football, as the Pilgrims had to rely on last-ditch blocks from Harry Hodges and Ryan Law to keep their goal intact.

Jordan Bentley went close on 11 minutes but a clumsy challenge from goalkeeper Harry Townsend was punished with a penalty, and Mark Goldsworthy made no mistake from the spot. Two minutes later, Argyle were two goals down, Goldsworthy again on target from a counter-attack. 

Alex Battle was twice denied by Saints ‘keeper Jason Chapman and more chances fell Argyle’s way before a crucial goal back on the stroke of half-time. Battle curled a delicious free-kick over the wall, which was well saved by Chapman, but Rio Garside was on hand to tap home the rebound.

It was a goal that galvanised the Pilgrims for a tremendous second period, with the leveller arriving from a superb Battle free-kick into the net. St Austell kept causing problems at the other end, however, and went very close from a corner.

Argyle grabbed the lead just past the hour, when Battle scored with a sweetly-struck drive and Klaidi Lolos joined the party with an excellent finish on 67 minutes. The final goal again saw Battle weaving his way through the visiting defence and finishing nicely past the exposed Chapman.

Argyle (4-4-1-1): Harry Townsend; Harry Hodges, Michael Peck, Jordan Bentley, Ryan Law; Aaron Goulty, Adam Randell, Cameron Sangster, Rio Garside; Alex Battle, Klaidi Lolos. Substitutes (not used): Jude Boyd, Reuben Collum, Isaac Burdon, Ollie Tomlinson.