HOLSWORTHY’S disappointing run of results continued on Saturday as they were beaten 3-0 at strugglers St Day.

The Magpies headed to Vogue Park looking to respond to their Boxing Day defeat at neighbours Bude with boss Kevin Squire making three changes.

Centre-half George Plumb dropped to the bench which meant Sam Hill switched into the heart of the defence and Gavin Carter to right wing-back, allowing the recently signed Rory Simmons a first start for the club in midfield.

There were two changes up front as with top-scorer Ben Sharpe suspended, Lewis Haxell and Todd Peschke were given a chance with Chris Wildern also taking his place amongst the subs.

St Day’s ground and set-up is the envy of plenty at Step Six level, but it was the Devonians who started the brighter in the opening 25 minutes as both Gavin Carter and Jay Thomas forced the home keeper into fine saves from distance, while wing-back Mark Horn was unfortunate to slip at the vital moment when well-placed.

However, the hosts were given a golden opportunity to take the lead inside 15 minutes as a long ball forward ended with the usually reliable Ryan Chadwick taking out the striker for a penalty.

But he held his nerve to redeem himself, diving away to his left to keep it goalless.

St Day applied plenty of pressure in the final 15 minutes of the half with long throws and set-pieces, but couldn’t find a breakthrough.

Holsworthy again started the second half tidily, but conceded on the hour as they failed to clear their lines from a cross in and centre-half Luke Hart prodded in from close-range.

Again the Magpies responded well and had a good chance when Haxell sent a shot towards the bottom corner, but once again the home keeper was up to the task.

But with less than 20 to play the Yellows doubled their advantage as a clearance from the edge of their own box split the Holsworthy defence allowing frontman Josh Margetts to beat Chadwick from 18 yards.

Squire emptied the bench and switched formation in a bid to get back into the game, however Margetts soon secured a priceless home victory with another breakaway goal.

Squire admitted they need to find a way to score more goals.

He said: “I was happy with how we started the game, but if you don’t take your chances when they come you can end up being kicked in the teeth which is how it felt.

“We took our luck with Ryan saving with the penalty, but we failed to capitalise on that. We knew what their threats were and failed to deal with it, so fair play to them.”

He continued: “At the moment we’re struggling to score having scored just one in three which isn’t really good enough.

“What the league is showing us is that it’s very competitive and if you don’t do the right things you’ll get punished.”

Holsworthy make the long journey to Helston Athletic AFC on Saturday to take on Truro City Reserves (3pm).

HOLSWORTHY: Ryan Chadwick; Jedd Peschke (capt), Callum Martyn, Sam Hill; Gavin Carter, Rory Simmons, Jay Thomas, Aidan Slade, Mark Horn; Todd Peschke, Lewis Haxell. Subs (all used): Chris Wildern, Rob Pearce, Joe Barker, George Plumb.

Magpies’ man-of-the-match: Jay Thomas.