Blues are held

The Blues dominated the first 45 minutes and set up a hatful of gilt-eded opportunites, but they were all squandered at regular intervals as they failed to to build on a great start.

Helston opened the scoring after just four minutes when Ben Medlin intercepted a pass at the back. He rode a couple of challenges before slipping a pass to Karl Turner and then surprised everyone by turning up wide on the left flank to take a return pass. Medlin then supplied a great chip into the box for Aaron Collick to score a fine goal with a glancing header into the top corner of the net.

Helston dominated in midfield and built a succession of promising attacks, but it all fell down when the ball was put into the box.

The only real threat from Penzance came from Dwayne Britton, but for most of the half he was well marshalled by the Blues' defence.

It was during the middle part of the half that Helston squandered chances with a Turner lob failing to trouble Paul Williams with other players in great positions to score and then Ryan Treloar sent a pass scudding across the face of the goal which no-one anticipated.

In fact, failure to react to openings was another downside to the Blues' game with Matt Thirkle not reading Turner's chip before Treloar blazed wide with Neil Crook unmarked and with a golden opportunity to score.

Just before the break Penzance created a couple of good opportunities to send the alarm bells ringing, but Hoare saved well and Colin Payne shot wide after skipping through the home defence.

The second half saw a complete transformation in the game's pattern with Penzance taking up the running and putting the home side under pressure.

Payne was beginning to cause the home defence problems, but that was helped to some degree by defenders not tracking players and putting in the hard yards.

With Ben Medlin substituted at the interval, the visitors began to exploit the lack of pace at the heart of the Blues' defence and it was only a last-ditch tackle in the 54th minute that prevented an equaliser.

A gap opened up for Helston when Treloar found himself clear, but again the ball went high and wide over the bar and five minutes later Treloar had another opportunity and on this occasion elected to place his shot that went agonisingly wide of the upright.

Penzance, who played second fiddle for most of the first half, deservedly equalised when Allen conceded a free kick just outwide the box. Ashley Thomas chipped in the free kick and Payne was on hand to tuck the ball way into the net.

It needed two fine saves by Hoare to keep the Magpies at bay as the visitors put Helston on the back foot.

The introduction of Tom Russell sparked some life into the Blues and it was from one of his cracking crosses that Helston almost scored when the ball rebounded goalwards off a defended and was scrambled off the line.

Just before the end Craig Taylor threaded a pass through to Treloar, but he thumped his shot against the post.

In the dying minutes Russell skipped past a couple of defenders and chipped the ball into the box, but a defender just managed to get the slightest of touches to divert the ball away from Neil Crook who had an open goal to aim at.

"We live to fight another say," said manager Alex MacDonald "but we really should have had this game won by half-time. We had more than enough chances, but apart from bad finishing all too often we chose the wrong option.

"Our positional play was not too good although losing Ben Medlin proved a real problem for us. I thought our man of the match was Aaron Collick. His workrate was fantastic and he kept it going to the final minute. He was outstanding and easily the man of the match."

Helston: R Hoare, B Medlin, S Allen, R Wilkinson, N Crook, C Taylor, G Blake, M Thirkle, K Turner, R Treloar, A Collick. Subs: M Fox, T Riussell, C Breasley.