Men's 1st XI Vs Isca 3

Caradon’s Mens 1st XI faced off against a tough ISCA side this week. After losing away, despite having more chances, in the first half of the season, Caradon were looking to evening things up on home turf. 

Caradon started with the better of the chances, good teamwork and some individual skill saw the Cornish team have the first attempts on goal. A short corner awarded in Caradon’s favour broke the deadlock. A David Fasey flick was padded away by the ISCA keeper into the path of Evan Spencer, Evan took a touch and slashed the ball across the face of the goal, his dad, Neil Spencer was waiting at the far post to turn the ball in and give the home team the lead. 

Caradon didn’t have to wait long for another, the midfield workhorse, Matt Bell, found Chris Fasey just outside the D, dragging the defence and keeper out of position, Chris drove into the D before slipping the ball to Drew Champion at the back post, who found the backboard, to score his first goal for the 1st team. 

Unfortunately, Caradon couldn’t keep a clean sheet for the remainder of the first half, despite stoic efforts from Henry Stephens and man of the match Martin Batty, a messy phase of play saw the ball ping around in the D before being sent into the net from an ISCA stick. The teams went into half-time 2-1. 

The second half saw ISCA come out with their tails up and Caradon seemed unsettled. The Exeter-based team enjoyed the majority of the possession but could not turn time on the ball into a meaningful attack. But the sustained effort did wear Caradon down, a short corner save from Dan Harris found its way onto Henry’s foot. A penalty flick was awarded and scored to level the game two a piece. Sloppy tackles saw Caradon receive three green cards in the second half which did not help the home team. 

But Caradon were not finished, digging deep and winning another short corner their hopes raised. The routine was a simple one, but the ISCA defence caught on and managed to block the pass to the far post. The keeper scrambling on the floor knocked the ball into the path of Leon Farrow, who clinically picked his spot and dispatched the ball into the net above the flailing keeper. 

Game management mode took over. With 7 minutes on the clock Caradon we’re determined not to throw away another lead this season. The Cornish team fended off waves of attacks and short corners to hear the final whistle and take the win 3-2.