Blazey beat rain and the Blues to end year on high

St Blazey 4, Liskeard Athletic 2

ST BLAZEY'S Blaise Park pitch was one of only two deemed playable in Saturday's rain-ravaged South West Peninsula League programme.

Hayle's division one west fixture with Truro City at Trevassack Park was the only other game to beat the elements as torrential downpours again wreaked havoc with the festive fixture list.

St Blazey's premier division clash with Paul Blatchford's Liskeard had passed a morning pitch inspection, but right up until kick off, and even during the game, as the rain continued to pour down, many wondered if the fixture would last until the final whistle.

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It did, albeit at a cost, and it's now going to take some work to get the pitch ready for St Blazey's next home fixture, which thankfully is not until January 26 when they host Elburton Villa.

Manager Bobby Oaten told me before the game how desperate they were to get the game played, and come full-time he admitted it was worth all the effort.

Leveller

He said: "The ground was always going to be a leveller in the game.

"Having said that, with all the effort our people put in to have the game played, I thought we played some good football on a bad pitch.

"I don't know how long it's going to take them to repair that, but at the end of the day we came for three points and we got them."

For recently appointed Liskeard boss Blatchford this is still very much a time of transition for the club.

But there was certainly enough to suggest on Saturday that there are better times ahead for the Blues.

He said: "I've come in, things have changed, people have left and it's going to take me a week or two to sort out the bits and pieces.

"Individually, we're not as good as a lot of teams at the moment, but most importantly we're competing, working hard and I can't ask for anymore than that."

Liskeard, having finished seventh last season, find themselves second from bottom going into the new year.

But it's a challenge Blatchford is relishing.

He said: "We've got to make sure we beat the teams below us, the Boveys the Cullomptons, teams like that.

"We are capable of that, there have been plenty of positives from our last few games."

Blatchford's men even took a surprise eighth minute lead through Tom Hall following a mistake by Blazey goalkeeper Dave Painter.

St Blazey were soon level though, Seb Broomfield getting the final touch on Lewis Coombes' 16th minute volley.

The hosts were denied what looked a certain penalty after 23 minutes when Liskeard goalkeeper Ellis Glassup sent Broomfield tumbling down in the box only for referee Chris Stevens to turn down appeals for a spot kick.

But as St Blazey continued to push for a second goal, inevitably it finally arrived when the impressive George Swain made it 2-1 in the 30th minute, forcing the ball home from close range. It wasn't pretty but they all count!

Coombes looked to have sealed the win for St Blazey in the 55th minute with a classy finish.

But back came Liskeard and Hall claimed his second goal of the afternoon on the hour with an excellent finish into the top corner.

However, Jason King made sure of the points for Oaten's men in the 66th minute when he curled a brilliant effort into the bottom corner.