THE Seasiders made promotion-chasing Ashmoor Secoonds work hard before the visitors eventually emerged 5-2 winners at the Budehaven Sports Centre.

Bude started confidently and brightly despite a mishap in the warm-up which meant a late switch around that giving Louis Motsch a surprise start having already played for the development team earlier in the day.

But you would not have noticed as he settled in his business seamlessly on the right wing.

Bude linked the passes up very well and dominated the opening encounters, breaking the deadlock on 15 minutes when midfielder Robin Jennings carved his way through the middle thanks to some excellent movement off the ball which allowed him to go through into the D where he calmly slotted the ball into the goal at knee height.

This shook and sparked Ashmoor into life and they were soon level as a quick one-two on the edge of the D allowed Charles Walker to get a smart reverse stick shot away which went smoothly into the bottom corner.

The game then opened up with both sides fighting for every inch on the pitch as aggressive tackles and play came into force as both teams wrestled for momentum and the next goal;

It was Ashmoor who nudged in front as a dangerous ball across the D was met by the visiting striker who fired home from close range.

Bude began to crank the pressure up on their visitors and after some close shots and good saves, they got the leveller through a simple short corner routine that came to the top for Matthew Horton who made no mistake with a low finish.

A finely-poised second half began with both teams picking up where they left off with chances coming and going in all directions.

It was going to take something special to make the difference and it came from an Ashmoor short corner that was drag flicked towards goal and hit the post player’s body, resulting in a penalty stroke. Walker stepped up and rapidly whipped the ball into the bottom left corner.

With plenty of time left on the clock, Bude were determined to get back into the game, but the wind and time slowly ebbed away from them and their tired legs.

With just 10 minutes left, the Cornishmen gave it one final push which opened up the game and suited the stronger and fitter Ashmoor side who scored two more open field goals late to give them a flattering scoreline and sink the Bude players and supporters’ hearts.

Reflecting on the afternoon, Bude head coach Andy Davis said: “We will learn and grow from this experience in the knowledge that we can compete with the best that this league has to offer.

“Yes we will have to improve, but the outlook isn’t all that bad especially as Louis (Motsch) walked away with the hotly-contested man-of-the-match award with a near-perfect display on the wing.

“We now quickly move onto Saturday’s big derby game against Bodmin with both sides in desperate need of points to haul themselves up the table.”