St. Piran League
Premier Division (West)
Saturday 4th April 2026
Kick Off 14.30 On Time!
Pendeen Rovers 1 Ludgvan 4, attendance 110
8’ 0-1
29’ 0-2
35’ 0-3
41’ 0-4
90’ + 4, 1-4
@ Borlase Park
Calartha Road
Pendeen
TR19 7DX
£3 Admission, including 16 page Programme.
After staying overnight in Cornwall, I decided to tick off the most westerly ground in England that I’d yet to visit…..Borlase Park, home of Pendeen Rovers, just ten miles from Land’s End. On a clear day it gives a superb view of the Atlantic Ocean. You could still see the sea today, but it was very overcast and the wind blowing across the pitch was horrendous and never let up all afternoon. At least it remained dry though, as there’s no cover here to offer any sort of shelter. Car parking is pitchside, backing towards the coast, with the clubhouse/changing rooms behind the goal. The dugouts are opposite, either side of the old changing room building, where there would have been an overhang cover at one time, but currently lacking its roof. The pitch is fully railed, with a pitch that slopes sideways, falling away towards the sea.
Pendeen came into this sitting top of the table, level on points with second placed Porthleven, but with a game in hand. Ludgvan were twelfth, having won Division 1 (West) last season and the reverse fixture two weeks ago had only seen Pendeen win by the only goal of the match. They also managed a very credible 2-2 draw at home to Porthleven on Tuesday night too, so it wouldn’t be as easy as the league table suggested.
We’d played no more than a minute before we had a stoppage for dog mess to be removed from the pitch. It certainly didn’t affect Ludgvan too much though, as they went ahead after eight minutes, when a cross from the right was deflected in off a defender at the far post. Just before the half hour mark they doubled their lead, when a wind assisted corner from the right sailed over the ‘keeper into the far corner of the net. Six minutes later it was 0-3, when a 25 yard free kick was bent around the outside of the wall and beat the ‘keeper low into the bottom corner. Incredibly, they then made it 0-4 four minutes before halftime, when another corner from the right was tapped in at the far post. Pendeen never looked like turning things round in the second half, despite having the near gale force wind at their backs. Ludgvan had a man red carded in the dying minutes, following some pushing and shoving after the award of a free kick to Pendeen. It was too late to have any bearing on the outcome, but the hosts did pull a goal back four minutes into stoppage time, when a cross from the right went in via a deflection, possibly off a defender.
Admission was collected by a club volunteer, who came round just after kick off, with programmes given away with the admission fee. It’s worth popping inside the clubhouse at some stage, with the walls decorated in loads of old newspaper clippings and photos that document the history of the club.
This was only the second league defeat of the season for Pendeen, which now sees them replaced at the top of the table by Porthleven, but it could have been worse, as a 1-1 draw at home to St. Agnes only sees them hold a one point lead and Pendeen still have a game in hand. The win for Ludgvan sees them climb above Redruth United into eleventh place.
