Category: First team

NYE Party tickets are still on sale but only a handful left.

So if you are planning on joining us on NYE get your tickets now to avoid disappointment.

Come join us on December 31st and dance the night away 💃 🕺 🪩

Tickets are £15 if you are a club member or £18 to Non members

If you want tickets buy them now by emailing willandroversfc@outlook .com or directly from our ticketing partner

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Willand Vs Helston

As another new year approaches, people from all around the world will take a moment to raise a glass, reflect on their antics from the year past, and commit to a fresh start. It’s the time of year when people set New Year’s resolutions, only to break them long before Valentine’s Day arrives.

Resolutions are a tradition that have endured for much longer than their festive counterparts, tracing back nearly 4,000 years to ancient Babylon. The Babylonians, who celebrated their new year in mid-March during a 12-day festival called Akitu, made promises to their gods to repay debts and return borrowed items, although it’s not clear why they wouldn’t do this during the rest of the year.

The tradition carried over to ancient Rome, particularly under Julius Caesar, who established January 1 as the start of the new year in 46 BCE. The month of January is named after Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and endings, depicted with two faces—one looking forward and one looking back—and Romans made sacrifices to Janus, pledging to live virtuously in the year to come.

In the mediaeval era, New Year’s resolutions took a chivalric turn. During a ceremony known as the “Peacock Vow,” knights would renew their oaths of honour, reaffirming their commitment to courage, loyalty, and service. Later, with the rise of Christianity, the focus shifted to introspection and moral improvement, while the 19th and 20th centuries saw the practice evolve into a secular tradition with modern resolutions often focused on self-improvement, such as getting fit, saving money, or learning a new skill.

In footballing circles, New Year’s resolutions come in many guises but always come down to a single element: improvement. Whether it’s an increase in goals or clean sheets, wins or revenue, hops or attendance, human nature will always drive us to improve.

And so it is with Willand Rovers. The 2023/24 season marked a significant improvement over the previous campaign, during which the spectre of relegation haunted us until the final kick, and the management team and committee will be striving to continue as we approach the mid-decade.

With games coming fast and furious during the festive period, David Steele switched some of his personnel, with Rooke and Camilo occupying starting positions, replacing Dorothy and Mendonca, who were rested with future games in mind.

Visitors Helston, who had not won a game since early November, made the long trip up the A30 in hopes of improving their form as they enter the new year. The game began in surprisingly mild conditions in front of an impressive crowd of 300.

The game itself somehow meanders along the tightrope between mundane and magnificent and can be summarized in five key moments of heroism and head loss, leaving fans somehow unsure if they’d seen a masterpiece or a Mrs. Brown’s Boys rerun.

Willand made the breakthrough in the 16th minute; a shot fired across goal by Allen was inexplicably controlled perfectly by the Helston defender before hesitation allowed a grateful Rooke to fire the ball beyond Moore.

The home team extended the lead in the 33rd minute when Rooke scored his second, running clear down the right flank before placing the ball well in the opposite corner.

Half time – Willand 2 – Helston 0

On any other Saturday, Searles goal in the 48th minute would have taken the weekend plaudits, the ball played in well from Camilo on the right flank with the Willand fullback sweeping the ball past Moore with power and precision.

When Sullivan received a straight red card minutes later, the game effectively ended as a contest, but there was still time for the home team to close out the match and the year in style.

In the 62nd minute a ball was played in from the left wing that was misjudged by Moore, who allowed the ball to somehow bounce behind him, along with Rooke, who had been hunting for a header. Undeterred by the simple notion of facing away from goal, the Willand forward executed what I’m going to describe as an overhead scissor kick, reminiscent of Pele in perennial Christmas favourite ‘Escape to Victory,’ to secure his hat trick and 3 points for his team.

In truth, the remainder of the game, in which David Steele used all of his available subs with future fixtures in mind, felt a bit flat after the highs of the first hour’s play. Thankfully, the media team got all of today’s action on film as a reminder of a most excellent end to 2024.

Full Time – Willand 4 – Helston 0

Magic numbers for the 28,12 24 are 6.18.19.23 there’s no winners prize for the 4,1,25 is £3775

 

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Match Preview
Willand Rovers v Helston Athletic

The quickest turnaround of fixtures this season sees us begin our double header of Cornish opposition travelling to Silver Street in the next few days with Helston Athletic making the long journey from South Cornwall on Saturday afternoon in the Pitching In Southern Football League Division One South with a 3 pm KO.

Boxing Day has been and gone with the trip to Bideford ending in narrow defeat for David Steele’s men as Scott Robinson broke the deadlock late in the second half for the Robins and secured the three points on the afternoon.

In a time of fixtures piling in fast, there is no time to reflect or feel down on a result and Willand will look to get back to winning ways roughly under 48 hours from the full-time whistle on Thursday and the magic of non-league continues as we turn the book onto reverse fixtures for the rest of the season.

The visitors on Saturday are Helston who are newcomers to the Southern League this season but have turned a few heads as they have put in a fair shift at the halfway mark but Rovers will be hoping to halt their progress on Saturday.

Matt Cusack is at the helm at Kellaway Park and has been part of the network in the club which has transformed the not-so-famous footballing town of Helston into a force which the Cornish can be proud of.

Previously for the blues, it was a defeat at home on Boxing Day with high-flying Exmouth Town securing all three points after a solid journey down but an even better performance for the away side to be proud of.

One to watch for our visitors this weekend would have to be Jack Crago who departed Bolitho Park a short while into the season in favour of a stint in Cornwall and in that he made every moment of it count with 9 goals to his name, currently sitting in 4th in the top scorer table.

As this is the final time we will be at home in 2024, we would like to thank everyone for supporting us throughout the year and making the journey to Silver Street week on week to get behind the lads but also to all the supporters who have made the journeys around the South to support the Rovers and we look forward to welcoming you again on the 1st January as we take on Falmouth Town!

#WeAreRovers

Willand Rovers magic numbers for the 21/12/24 are 7-11-18-23 there’s no winners prize for the 28/12/24 is £3750

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Match Preview
Willand Rovers v Cinderford Town

The countdown to Christmas continues this weekend with our final home game before the BIG day being a visit from Cinderford Town in the Pitching In Southern Football League Division One South with a 3 pm KO

Last weekend was one to forget as a festive trip to Mousehole ended in defeat for David’s men with the Hosts running out victors at the whistle. Speaking after the fixture, Dave spoke to the club’s media after the game and hoped to get back to winning ways as we approach such a crucial time in the football season.

Forest of Dean-based Cinderford is back in the Division One South after a season out of the league following a relegation to the Hellenic League in which they managed to bounce back from the 9th into the 8th tier.

Manager Matthew Driscoll is looking to keep the Foresters in the league after a rough first half of the campaign with the opponents not quite feeling the love of the Southern League after their year hiatus.

One to look out for the visitors this weekend would have to be Alex Bonthron who has managed to place himself as the second-highest goal scorer in the league with 10 notched for Cinderford.

The last time both sides met was a victory for Rovers at the Causeway Ground with David’s men running 2-0 winners in late April with Alfie Moulden and Jack Rice adding to their tallies.

It’s the most wonderful time of year to watch football and this is why we need your support this weekend as we go back into battle to secure three points on the board. An early Christmas present to a loved one or a returning supporter, we’ll see you Saturday!

#WeAreRovers

Willand made their way down to the tip of Cornwall on Saturday to take on Mousehole once again at Trungle Parc. The last meeting between the two ended up with the rovers victorious in a replay of the FA Cup after the two clubs drew the first meeting 2-2.

A quick start from Mousehole as their number 4 Ryan Barrett powers his shot past George Burton. And it’s another for Mousehole within the first 10 minutes as a quick counter comes and number 10 Mitchell curls his shot into the top right-hand corner.

A shot from long ranges comes in from the Mousehole midfielder and goalkeeper George Burton parried the ball out for the corner. And it’s Mousehole again to make it 3-0 with their number 10 again to make a brace for himself.

A brilliant save from the corner from George as he guesses one way but gets it the wrong way but he can scramble down to the other side of the net to parry away from the mousehole attacker and out for a corner. Ross Edwards lost the ball just outside the penalty area which meant that Mousehole was through on goal and looked more likely than not to score but Josh Searle made a goal-stopping tackle and George followed up from it with a big stop to keep the score 3-0.

Half-time where the hosts are up 3-0 with a lot of downsides from the half as we have not looked great.

Within 10 minutes of the start of the second half of the game number 19 Oscar Massey scored a powerful finish into the roof of the net and way out of reach of George Burton who was glued in place. A good chance from rovers as Phil Mendonca wins the ball back off of the mousehole fullback and crosses the ball for Harley Sneap who can’t get enough in the last touch to take it goal-bound.

Full time and a loss 4-0 away deep in the Cornish country a few miles from the land end.