Cornwall Senior Cup (Second Round)

Wadebridge Town 2 (AET)

By?Sam Brown

BOBBY Hopkinson was the hat-trick hero as Camelford edged past local rivals Wadebridge Town after extra-time to advance into the third-round of the Cornwall Senior Cup.

With just over ten miles separating the two clubs, and the fact that they don’t get to play each other very often these days, the game was always likely to be packed full of incidents and so it proved.

South West Peninsula League Premier Division side Camelford went into the game with six key players out, while Wadebridge, who play in the division below, quietly fancied their chances following last weekend’s 4-1 victory at Penzance.

The Bridgers started the game quickly and were rewarded for their dominance as striker Sam Cooper headed Callum Bertrand’s free-kick over Josh Grills and into the corner.

Wadebridge continued to pile forward, and 15 minutes later, ex-Camel, Harley Westlake, smashed the ball over the bar after being played through by left-back Kieran Conibear-Trathen.

The Camels finally grew into the game and they came close through Joe Adkins as his shot was well saved by Dan Peters who then got up quickly to make a smart save on the rebound from Ed Harrison.

Wadebridge had one last chance before the break as a ball in from Westlake was poked wide by Cooper.

Camelford were forced to take off Grills with a head injury at the break, leaving captain Dan Balsdon to take over goalkeeping duties for the second-half.

The Camels looked much better after the break and Adkins forced Peters into another fine stop.

Camelford finally got a goal and it came from Bobby Hopkinson, who was brought down in the box. Hopkinson then dusted himself down to fire the Camels level.

Camelford kept pushing and pushing for the winner and Charlie Hambly’s shot spun just away from the top corner.

Wadebridge had a really good chance to win it late on as a through ball from Lewis Prince found Westlake who put it wide.

Extra time followed and the Bridgers took an immediate lead when a through ball was dispatched by Cooper.

The Camels knew they had to dig deep and they did five minutes later when a bouncing ball into the box was picked up and cleverly finished by Adam Jenkin into the roof of the net, sparking joyous scenes in the home end.

The second-half of extra time was tight, and Wadebridge almost took the lead once more, as a clever cross from Connor Mewton was met by Cooper, but Balsdon was equal to it.

With five minutes left of extra time, the Camels knew they had to act fast and it was Hopkinson to the fore.

The former Plymouth Argyle youngster who has played for a number of clubs, including Aldershot Town and Havant and Waterlooville, took a corner before receiving the ball again.

From there he made room for himself before brilliantly lobbing Peters from an almost impossible angle to score the winner and break Wadebridge hearts.

With the visitors being forced to pile forward in search of an equaliser, Reg Hambly’s men were always going to be a threat on the counter attack.

With a minute remaining, Adkins was fouled in the box, leaving Hopkinson to fire the ball home, grab his hat-trick and secure Camelford’s place in the next round.