Helston Athletic Football Club
Founded 1896
CLUB HONOURS
SW Peninsula League Div 1 West Champions 2014/15
Runners-up 2011/12, 2012/13
Cornwall Combination League Champions 1987/88, 2000/01, 2010/11, 2021/22
Trelawny League D1 winners 2016/17
D2 r/up 2015/16
D3 r/up 2014/15
D5 r/up 2012/13
Cornwall Veterans League D1 winners 2021/22
D2 winners 2020/21
Cornwall Women’s Football Lg. Winners 2020/21, 2022/23
R/up 2016/17
Cornwall Senior Cup Winners 1936/37, 2022/23
R/up 2012/13
Cornwall Junior Cup Winners 2013/14
Cornwall Women’s Cup Winners 2021/22
Cornwall Charity Cup Winners 1937/38, 1960/61, 1961/62
R/up 1935/36, 1951/52
Cornwall Senior Lg. Herald Cup Winners 1936/37, 1937/38, 1939/40
R/up 1938/39
Cornwall Combination Lg. Cup Winners 2021/22
R/up 1974/75, 2002/03, 2007/08, 2022/23
Cornwall Sunday Cup Winners 2021/22
Cornwall Veterans League Cup Winners 2021/22
Arthur Pearce Cup Winners 2013/14
Lockhart Cup Winners 2015/16
League Cup Winners 2016/17
Kellaway Park, Clodgey Lane, Helston, Cornwall TR13 8PJ
All items subject to match day availability
FROM THE CHAIRMAN...
Good Evening One & All,
This evening is Helston Athletic’s final home fixture of the 22/23 season and I can think of no better way to finish things off than with a potential cup thriller as we welcome the players, officials and supporters of Buckland Athletic Football Club to Kellaway Park. An extended welcome also to our match officials Timothy Burley, David Dodson and Scott Coutts.
With both teams heading into this evenings match in rich form something has to give to establish who will proceed to play Ilfracombe Town in the semi-final of this seasons Les Philips Cup. Should the scores be level after ninety minutes the tie will be settled by penalties. There is no extra time this evening.
Whilst on the theme of cups may I record a massive thank you to everyone who travelled to St Blazey on Easter Monday to support and witness Helston win the Cornwall FA Senior Cup for the first time in eightyseven years. Although not a great spectacle of a match congratulations to Matt and all for getting the job done. For those wanting to view the cup close up, it can be found on the bar.
Although having no game last Sunday, congratulations also go to Helston Athletic Women who are now confirmed as champions of the Cornwall Women’s League. This forthcoming Friday the team will be looking to complete an amazing double by retaining The Cornwall FA Women’s Cup when they take on Liskeard Athletic Women at AFC St Austell. Please do come and support the team. Kick off is at 7:30pm.
With this evening being the final home fixture may I sign off with a huge thank you to everyone whose has represented and / or supported the club this season. A special mention to all sponsors and advertisers along with those who give up their time to ensure Helston Athletic Football Club is now recognised both as major trophy winners and a club at the heart of its community.
Wishing everyone a good evening, enjoyable closed season and most importantly, look forward to welcoming everyone back to do it all again starting in July.
Paul Hendy (Chairman)Toolstation Western League Fixtures
Tuesday 18th April
Les Phillips Cup Quarter Final
Helston Athletic v Buckland Athletic Premier Division
Ashton & Backwell United v Ilfracombe Town
Bridgwater United v Mousehole
Millbrook v Street
Shepton Mallet v Sherborne Town
Welton Rovers v Barnstaple Town
Toolstation Western League Table
A guide to away games this season in the Western League Premier Division
(Mileages obtained from theaa.com route planner)
HISTORY OF THE LEAGUE CUP
Our League Cup is named after a former Chairman of the league, Les Phillips. He is noted for bringing sponsorship to the league.
In 1973, Les was elected Chairman. Many have said that this was a ‘milestone’ in the league’s history. With a broad smile and a booming voice, Les assured everyone that he would do everything in his power to help the league make further progress. And progress it did. A sponsorship deal with Rothmans followed worth £10,000 per season. And so the 1974/75 season kicked off as The Rothmans Western Football League.
Do you remember the Great Mills Western League? That was Les Phillips too. The deal was announced at Ashton Court on Tuesday 27th April 1982 by Peter Bastin of Great Mills and Lawrie McMenemy. The sponsorship deal was worth £100,000 over five years and introduced a ‘pounds-for-goals’ bonus system.
In 1988, Les Phillips passed away. This was a great shock. The man who had given so much to the league was gone. It was therefore decided to re-name the Challenge Cup after Les and the first winners in the 1988/89 season were Exmouth Town.
Having a cup named after you may not be much reward for a man who had given so much to Western League Football, but his name will always be remembered and live on in the Les Phillips Cup.
The trophy itself started life in the 1954/55 season as The Western Football League Professional Challenge Cup. This new cup which cost £45-9s-0d was only open to professional clubs. In those days there was a distinction between professional and amateur clubs in the league. Poole were the first team to win the cup having beaten Frome.
In 1961/62 The Professional Challenge Cup was renamed ‘The Challenge Cup’ and the first winners were Bristol City Reserves. For the 2012/13 season the cup was sponsored for the first time by Termination Technology of St. George, Bristol. This enabled that payments could be made to the winners in each round of the cup.
Reserves League Table 2022/23
Reserves Fixtures & Results 2022/23
St PIRAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE WEST DIVISION
HELSTON ATHLETIC FC
Blue & White shirts
Blue shorts
Blue socks
Mike SEARLE (GK)
Aaron BENTLEY
Jordan BENTLEY
Josh STOREY (c)
Harrison JEWELL
Teigan ROSENQUEST
Tyler ELLIOTT
Reece SHANLEY
Isaac BURDON
Steve COLWELL
Rubin WILSON
Tom PAYNE
Sam CARTER
Rikki SHEPHERD
Jordan COPP
Jamie SIMMONDS
Manager Matt CUSACK
Asst. Manager Dan HARRISON
Coach Dan BUA ROBERTS
Goalkeeper Coach Martyn DAUGHTERY
Physio Jaimie OSBORNE
Referee Timothy BURLEY
BUCKLAND ATHLETIC
Yellow shirts
Black shorts
Yellow socks
Andy COLLINGS
Harry HODGES
Sam MORCOM
Frazer CLARK
Rob FARKINS
Nick MILTON jnr
Ben CARTER
Cieran BRIDGER
Ryan BUSH
Josh WEBBER
Owen STOCKTON
Scott CROCKER
Sam CLIFTON
Sammy STAYT
Jordan PEARCE
Reece HENDRICKSON
Finn ROBERTS
Jared LEWINGTON
Jesse HOWE
Head Coach
Assistant Head Coaches
Data Analysis Coach
Physio
T O D A Y S S Q U A D
Dan HART
Craig HUTCHESON
Nick MILTON snr
Pedro CASTRO SILVA
Paige BURROWS
Assistants
David DODSON
Scott COUTTS
BUCKLAND ATHLETIC FC
The club was formed in 1977, and it was purely a junior club. It started life in the Torbay Pioneer League and Sandringham Road was our home pitch. During this time it was one of the biggest junior clubs in the area, and it won many titles and cups over its early years, including the Devon Youth Cup.
The first big decision the club made was to take a team into senior football, which happened for the start of the 1987-88 season, and saw us take a place in the Devon & Exeter League Senior Division Three. Roy Holmes took his Under 18 side up into that division, and they were rewarded when they won the league title that season. We moved grounds once more in the 1990-91 season to Decoy Park, which was the season we also won the Wheaton Trophy. Promotions saw us climb into the Premier Division for the 1992-93 season, having again moved, this time to Homers Lane, Kingsteignton.
We spent eight seasons in the Premier Division, winning our first league title in the 1994-95 season, under manager’s Nigel Holmes and Roger Madge, who had taken over the reins from Roy Holmes at the start of that season. The second league title was won in the 1999-00 season allowing us to take promotion to the Devon League. We won a number of cup competitions during this time in the Premier Division, including the D & E Premier Division Cup & East Devon Senior Cup. 2000-01 was our first season in the Devon league and we finished the season as runners-up to title winners Willand Rovers, also we made it through to the semi-finals of the Devon Premier Cup. We spent seven seasons in the Devon League, with our lowest finish being 13th in 2005-06. Also in our time in this league we were runners-up in the Throgmorton Cup in the 2001-02 season. In the final ever season of the Devon league (2006-07), we did just enough to gain promotion to the newly formed South West Peninsula League, finishing that season in 12th place. We started life in this newly formed league in the 2007-08 season. We finished that season in 14th place, but Phil was building a squad that he felt was good enough to contest for the league title. In the next season we finished in 3rd place, and then our dreams were realised when we won two consecutive titles, as well as winning the Throgmorton Cup (2009-10). Then in the 201112 season, we applied to the Western league, knowing that a top two finish was needed to take promotion, well it was achieved, but we did relinquish our title, with Bodmin Town coming out on top, but promotion was won.
In our first season in the Western League we finished in tenth place in the table, but we did win the hospitality Award and the Programme Award. The 2013-14 season, the team finished the season in 11th place.
BUCKLAND ATHLETIC FC
It was another great season in the history of this great club when the 1st team finished in runnersup spot in the Western League Premier Division, the highest finish in the clubs history in the nonleague pyramid.
We also won the Premier Division best programme award for the third consecutive season, making it eight consecutive league wins in the last eight seasons. The 1st Team managed by Adam Castle finished in 4th Place in the Western League Premier Division, but not good enough to reach our goal of promotion. The team made it through to the 6th Round of the FA Vase, whilst finishing in 4th place in the league table, but once again just missed out on promotion, in the 2016-17, we also won the hospitality award and best programme awards.
It was a fifth place finish in the 2017-18, but we did win the Les Phillips Cup for the first time, but it will be the fixture congestion at the end of the campaign which will be remembered with the number of games our lads had to play including four games in four days and three games in three days, and having played fifteen games in twenty-four days. We also won the best programme award for a fifth time in six seasons. The following season the club finished in ninth place in the Premier table, and again won the best programme award.
As said previously we have had a number of grounds over our lifetime, starting with council owned pitches at Sandringham Park, Coach Road and then Decoy Park. In 1992-93 we secured the use of Homers Lane in Kingsteignton, and we built that ground up to Devon league standard, which included a small stand, enclosed playing surface and hard standing on three sides.
But our big break came in 2003 when we were given the option by WBB to take on South Quarry, on the Torquay side of Newton Abbot, and after a lot of hard work and sweat by a huge number of volunteers, we started life at the newly named Homers Heath for the start of the 2005-06 season, with work on the ground and fabulous clubhouse on-going every season since then.
A lot of work has been carried out at Homers Heath, including a new covered standing area, which incorporates two new turn-stiles. The ground was fenced in, and an impressive outside toilet block was built. This work allowed the club to achieve a ‘D’ Ground Grade which is good enough for Southern League football.
Our new ground at Homers Heath won the SWPL Premier Division best ground award in both 2007 -08 and 2008-09, and then finished runners-up in both 2009-10 and 2010-11.
Development League
Development Fixtures & Results 2022/23
LWC DRINKS CORNWALL COMBINATION LEAGUE
Player Profiles...
Mike SEARLE (GK) Bigpresenceineverygameshoutingrearguardinstructions tofellowteammates.GreatshotstopperwhomadehisHelstonreturnintheSeniorCupsemifinalversusSaltashUnitedfollowingalengthylayoffduetoinjury.
Isaac BURDON. Isaacisaversatiledefenderthatcanplayleft,right¢rally acrossvarioussystems.He’spreviouslyworkedwiththemanageratPlymouth Parkwayandisratedhighly.
Josh STOREY (Capt). Joshhasrecentlybeenappointedclubcaptain.Aballplayingcentrebackandanexcellentleaderonandoffthepitch.
Jordan BENTLEY. Jordancametotheclublastseasonandhasexcellentexperiencewithinthegamehavingoperatedathigherlevels.Adominantcentreback whocanmixuphisgame.
Aaron BENTLEY. Aaronjoinedtheclubatthebackendoflastseason.Heisa commandingcentrebackandabigthreatfromsetplays.Aaronhasagoodfootballpedigreeandhasoperatedathigherlevels.
Freddie WALTER. FredjoinedtheclubfromneighbouringWendronandhasenjoyedapositivepre-season.Heiscomfortableinarangeofdefensivepositions andcanalsoofferathreatgoingforward.
Harrison JEWELL. HarrisoncamethroughtheyouthranksatHelstonandshows promiseacrossmanypositions.Hisversatilityishisstrengthandhecanoperate acrossthedefenceandinmidfield.
Stevie COLWELL. Steviehasoperatedathigherlevelshavingpreviouslyplayed withWeymouth,Tivertonandmorerecently,PlymouthParkway.Aballplaying midfielderwithexceptionaltechnicalandtacticalquality.
Matty BYE. Mattybringsawealthofexperienceandqualitytothemidfieldunit. Heisahighlyrespectedleaderonthepitchandchipsinwithgoalsandassists.
Tom PAYNE. PayneyhasjoinedtheclubathispeakfromMillbrook.Lastseason, hecappedafinecampaignbybeingselectedfortheCornwallsquad.Aversatile midfielderwithexcellentleadershipskillsanddeadballdelivery.Expecttosee himimpactinggamesthisseason.
Player Profiles...
Tyler ELLIOTT.Tylerisanotherplayerthathasoperatedathigherlevelsoffootballandhasexcellenttechnicalqualitytomatchaterrificworkethic.Expecttosee himlinkingplayinthefinalthird.
Rikki SHEPHERD. Rikkiwasabigsummersigningforus.Theex-Millbrookman notched23goalsfrom29appearancesinthelastcampaign.Lightningquick,Rikki hasscored3goalsinthepre-seasonandwillbelookingtoaddmanymore.
Kai CORNISH. Kaihastheabilitytounlockdefenceswithhisdribbling&creativity inthefinalthird.Hehasenjoyedapositivepre-seasonwithgoalsandassistsand thereforeenterstheseasonwithhighlevelsofconfidence.
Sam CARTER. “Carts”isanotherattackingplayerwithhighcreativitythatcan operatewideorcentrallyandhasimpactedthegameswithinthepre-season.
Nathaniel WEST. NatrelocatedtotheSouthWestlastseason&endedtheseason withBodmin.Heisanathleticstriker,unorthodox&thereforeunpredictable.Heis verygoodintheairandhasscoredafewgoalsinthepre-season.
Jordan COPP. Jordanisoneofthemosttechnicallygiftedplayersthemanagerhas workedwith.HebringsbagsofexperienceandpedigreehavingoperatedatStep2 withWeymouth.Anattackingplayerofexceptionalqualitywhocanoperatewide orcentrally.
Rocco HILL. Roccobrokeintothefirstteamlastseasonandscoredonhisdebut.At 16yearsofage,heisdisplayingmaturitybeyondhisyears.AproductoftheHelston pathway,heishighlythoughtofandhasanexcellentfutureaheadofhim.
Rubin WILSON. RubinwasthelastplayertojoinusfromBodminTown.HeisaCF thatoccupiescentrebackswithaneyeforgoalandbringshisteammatesintothe game.Hehasalreadymadeahugeimpactingames&isdevelopingpartnerships thataregoingfromstrengthtostrength.
Jamie SIMMONDS. Jamieisaplayerofveryhightechnicalability.Expecttoseehim unlockingdefencesandimpactingthegameatthetopendofthepitch.Jamiehasall theattributestoplayatthislevelandbeyond.Jamieisreallyexcitedtobeplaying forHelstonandhopesthatthismovewillhelphimcatapultHelstonaswellashis ownfootballdevelopment.
Teigan ROSENQUEST. ThesignatureofTeiganoutlinesourambitionasafootball club.TeiganwaspartoftheTavistockteamthatsecuredtheWesternLeaguetitle lastseason.Hehasexcellenttechnicalabilityandcanbreaklineswiththeballthat isahugebenefitforusasitcanchangethecontextofthegameinamoment.We hadoneofthosemomentsintheFAVaseagainstSaltashwhenwescoredthewinninggoalfromoneofhisdrivingruns.Teiganisversatileandcanoperateoutwide andcentralattackingroles.