By James Hall

SWPL PREMIER WEST

Penzance 2 Bude Town 0

THE Magpies secured a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Bude Town on Saturday thanks to late goals from Charlie Young and Lewis Caspall.

Penzance came flying out of the blocks, forcing Bude’s Ty Rowe into two excellent saves inside the opening three minutes, before a last-ditch block denied Charlie Young.

Curtis Smith then threaded Jacob Trudgeon through on goal in the 17th minute, but his effort rolled agonisingly wide.

Just before the break, Charlie Wormington’s header was dramatically cleared off the line, capping off a frustrating half for Penzance. To make matters worse, Wormington was forced off injured in stoppage time.

The hosts picked up where they left off after the restart, with Charlie Willis trying his luck from range, sending a low-driven strike whistling just past the post.

Penzance kept pushing - Smith looked certain to score in the 53rd minute, only for a Bude defender to scramble his effort off the line, before Lewis Caspall fired wildly over from a promising position.

The frustration deepened in the 70th minute when Silas Sullivan met a Willis free-kick unmarked but headed over the bar.

With time ticking away, Penzance finally broke through.

After multiple penalty shouts were waved away, the referee pointed to the spot in the 82nd minute when Willis was brought down in the area. Young took responsibility, sending Rowe the wrong way with a confident strike into the bottom left corner for his ninth goal of the season.

Bude pushed forward in search of an equalizer, but Penzance sealed the win in stoppage time.

Caspall combined brilliantly with Charlie Young in a slick one-two before finishing past Rowe, who got a hand to it but couldn’t keep it out.

The result ensured a deserved three points for the Magpies who are now up to fourth.