Perranporth 12pts Falmouth 14pts

IT may have only been by a two-point margin, but Falmouth gave their hopes of promotion a huge boost after handing Cornwall League One leaders Perranporth only their second defeat of the season at Ponsmere Valley on Saturday.

In bleak conditions the match was closely fought throughout with Falmouth eventually gaining a slight match-winning edge.

Perranporth kicked off with a strong wind behind them and used the elements to perfection as they immediately put pressure on Falmouth.

After missing an early penalty attempt, Perranporth went ahead when some scrappy play by Falmouth allowed Adie Matthews to score a try which John Mansfield converted.

If Falmouth were going to make any impact in the second half, they were well aware that they needed to keep the game fairly tight and sensibly played possession rugby whenever possible.

An excellent long drive by the Falmouth forwards forced Perranporth back towards their line and, after a sustained period of concerted pressure, David Roberts crashed over for an unconverted try to reduce the lead to 7-5 at half time.

Falmouth kicked off the second half with the wind and slope in their favour and immediately camped out on the Perranporth line. For the first 20 minutes, Falmouth put the home side under intense pressure, but the greasy ball posed problems and they lost important possession when it mattered.

Against the run of play, Perranporth made a sudden break to remind Falmouth that they still possessed a threat and Ross Withers went over to score a try and stretch the home side's lead to 12-5.

Falmouth regrouped and forced "The Brewers" to concede a number of penalties from which Adrian Downing kicked two goals to bring his team back into contention at 12-11.

At 12-11 the game really took off. Good pressure play from Downing enabled Falmouth to pin Perranporth back in their own half and, after yet another infringement at a ruck, Downing kept his cool and kicked the vital penalty to put Falmouth in front for the first time at 14-12.

Falmouth coach Darren Chapman was delighted with the result: "We knew it was going to be hard over here and the conditions didn't suit us. In the first half they scored their points from our mistakes, but eventually we wore them down and scored a crucial try in the first half.

"Adrian Downing kicked three crucial penalties, the last one from 40 metres out, but a big mention should go to the forwards who played particularly well.

"At the end of the day it is a team effort and we did well to pull through and get two important points."

On Saturday, Falmouth will be at home to Helston in the Cornwall Clubs' Cup (ko 2.30pm).