Knight heaps praise on Hayle as Lillywhites extend unbeaten start

CHRIS Knight heaped praise on newly-promoted Hayle after his side was taken all the way before extending their unbeaten start to four games at Trevassack Park on Saturday.

St Austell’s joint manager waxed lyrical after a Tom Payne strike midway through the second half cancelled out Curtis Smith’s 49th minute penalty for the hosts.

Knight said: “The nice thing about the league and our return to it are there are loads of new experiences and I think the promoted teams have really added to that.

“Obviously I’m disappointed to draw and we had enough chances to win 10 games of football but also on the other side of the coin they’ve nearly won it at the end so I have to be happy with staying unbeaten.

“They certainly give everything for their manager. I thought they were a really solid outfit, fit and fought for everything.

“We matched that but couldn’t find a way to finish them off, which is the only disappointment to be honest.

“I couldn’t fault my lads, I just thought we were a bit rushed in the final third and sometimes you need a bit of luck and we didn’t get any; we will take our point and move on.”

St Austell’s starting line-up included two Liskeard Athletic players in Ben Collins and George Marris, as well as Payne from Torpoint Athletic.

The visitors were on top for long spells but couldn’t find the finishing touch.

Payne came close to a second goal but his shot came back off the underside of the bar before, a minute from time, keeper Morgan Coxhead made a brilliant save to turn the ball against the post.

St Austell, who travel to Helston on Tuesday, will then be counting down the days to a return to Poltair Park, where a first team fixture hasn’t been played since November last year after the stand was declared unsafe.

Following a change of hierarchy and an incredible amount of work behind the scenes, the Lillywhites’ homecoming will be against Dobwalls in the South West Peninsula League premier west on Saturday (3pm).

Knight said: “The lads and the club are all looking forward to Saturday; there has been a lot of hard work to get back to Poltair and I’m sure we will have a great crowd to welcome us.”

AFC St Austell: Morgan Coxhead, Ben Collins, Martyn Duff, Noah Teagle (Alfie Flack 75), Ollie Brokenshire (Callum Bassett 46), James Ward, George Marris, Tom Payne, Haiden Chapman, Freddie Kemp, Kieron Bishop.