The Saints dominated the opening 30 minutes to build up a commanding 20-5 lead but conceded two late tries to let the home side off the hook by half time. The tables were turned completely in the second half as Matson outscored the Saints four tries to one to leave the Cornishmen rooted to the bottom of the league.

A bright start by the visitors allowed full back Dan Pearce to slot over an early penalty. The home side hit back with an unconverted try after a clearance kick was charged down (3-5). The Saints continued to exert territorial pressure and it was not long before scrum half Sam Tank slipped over following a good driving maul from the forwards (8-5). A well measured grubber kick by Andy Ashwin was hacked on by winger Ben Chenoweth to allow centre Alex Welland to touch down (13-5). The Saints were awarded penalty try when the home side collapsed a catch and drive as it crossed the try line (20-5). At this stage the travelling support must have thought the Saints were on for a big win such was their dominance. Two successive penalties gave the home side a line out platform which they drove home to close the gap (20-10). It felt like a temporary blip but when the mercurial Sam Tank was forced from the field with a nasty shoulder injury, Matson exploited the new found uncertainty at half back to grab a converted try as the Saints’ back line adjusted. With the half time score at 20-17, the hosts were now back in a game that should have been beyond them.

It was a much more determined Matson who started the second half with a succession of off the ball incidents that inevitably culminated in a bout of fisticuffs. Despite a long lecture from the referee the Saints were left frustrated when no action was taken against the protagonists. The disruption had the desired effect as a lack of concentration allowed Matson to nip in with a try to take the lead (20-22). The visitors dug deep for a response but despite valiant efforts by forwards Adam Kellow and Ian Venner along with a scorching run by Dan Pearce stopped by an excellent tap tackle it was the home side who crucially scored next. A defensive mix up in the Saints 22 allowed a routine clearance to be turned over and after a succession of short range drives Matson edged further away (20-27). The visitors’ brittle confidence snapped and Matson were now on top and on the hour mark made it 20-34. Hopes of a Saints’ revival flickered briefly when winger James Martin finished off a well worked try (27-34) but they were soon snuffed out when Matson scored with two minutes remaining to make the final score 27-41.

It was yet another Jekyll and Hyde performance from the Saints and it leaves them bottom of the pile. While the position is concerning there is no panic yet but the Saints need to reverse the loosing run as soon as possible to avoid a prolonged relegation battle. The Saints could ask for no better game to get back on track than the eagerly awaited Cornish derby against high flying Camborne. A bumper crowd is expected so get down to Tregorrick early (2:30 KO).

Match Stats:

St Austell: Noott; Davey(Captain); Martin (Mark); Vian; Inch (Andrew); Inch (James); Venner; Kellow; Tank; Ashwin; Martin (James); Welland; Wilson; Chenoweth; Pearce (D)

Replacements: Barbery; Pellow; Tyack;

St Austell:
Tries – Sam Tank (13); Alex Welland (17); Penalty Try (20); James Martin (68)
Cons – Dan Pearce (20, 68)
Pens – Dan Pearce (3)
Drop Goal –

Referee: Mr P Stokes (Liverpool RRS)

Saints’ Man of the Match: Ian Venner – Prominent while Saints were on top and manfully stuck to the task while others wilted in the face of the Matson revival.