Rugby league: Cornwall 14 - 20 Mayfield

'Cometh the hour cometh the man'. It's an old adage but it's never been more true than it was in Cornwall last weekend. Rochdale Mayfield travelled 350 miles to Penryn on Saturday 25 February for their second round tie in the Challenge Cup against Cornwall RLFC in the hope they could do well and possibly sneak a victory against their professional opposition, and they did that in style.

It started badly for Mayfield as Jordan Parr had to pull out of the game after failing a fitness test just before kick off. 18th man Kristian McVeigh stepped in and what a great game he had. Mayfield started strongly and a brilliant offload from Sam Wright almost saw them get in the corner in the first two minutes. The Rochdale side stamped their authority from the off with an outstanding defensive effort, Jarrod Dash and Dave Mills leading the way.

Unfortunately Millsy didn't last long as a serious shoulder saw him have to leave the field, this could have been a worry for the coaching staff but his replacement showed Mayfield's new found strength in depth as big Joe Taira took to the field.

With less than ten minutes on the clock, a great break from Wright saw him ghost over for the opening score, converted by Devlin Long, 0 - 6.

Cornwall hit back and a great kicking game from them saw the home side pressure the Mayfield line. Mayfield lost the ball under pressure and Cornwall seized the opportunity to cut the gap 4 - 6.

This was shaping up into a classic cup tie, with both sides giving everything. Mayfield had the edge without question, Dash, Taira and Seta Talatoka were immense while Lewis Butterworth at fullback dealt with every thing that came his way. The introduction of Dec Sheridan gave Mayfield a real boost, his weaving runs from acting half caused major problems for Cornwall. With Dec at the helm his side were in control and were unlucky on three occasions as they were pulled back for infringements. There was no stopping Wayne 'The Bolt From Kirkholt' English as he took a brilliant long ball from Devlin Long to squeeze in, in the corner. It was a good time to score and Mayfield went in at the break six points ahead, 4 - 10.

After a rousing half time talk from Sam Butterworth and Steve Wood the boys came out on fire and with less than a minute on the clock another brilliant break from Dec saw Travis Long in support, Dec slipped a great pass and Long coasted in under the sticks, his brother Devlin slotted over the two, 4 - 16 and Mayfield were in complete control.

You could see Cornwall still had something to give in this game, they just needed to gain their composure. Mayfield were preventing this on every play as their defence rocked the home side back. It was nip and tuck for the next 20 minutes as Cornwall gave their all to try and get back into it. Dec again made a break and again found Travis Long who was unlucky not to put his side further in front.

Every Mayfield player deserves credit for their contribution; Nick Hargreaves was leading the defence putting in a superb effort much to the delight of the BBC commentators. Cornwall had increased their effort in defence and were forcing the errors, this eventually worked in their favour and they started making inroads. With 12 minutes remaining the Cornwall winger broke and fed the centre who raced away untouched for a converted score, 10 - 16. 

It was now game on in every sense and the home side turned up the heat, only a brilliant tackle from Butterworth and McVeigh kept them out as they held up the rampaging prop over the line. It looked like Cornwall were going to sneak it as Mayfield fumbled the ball in their own ten. The Cornwall winger seized the opportunity to dive over to make it a two point gap, 14 - 16.

The nerves were jangling now and the fantastic Mayfield travelling support upped the volume trying to urge on their team. Butterworth introduced Harry Sheridan to the fray with about five minutes remaining. The Cornwall scrum half saw the 17-year-old on his own and put up a massive bomb to put him under pressure. With half the Cornwall defence closing down on him at pace Harry and gathered the ball brilliantly to diffuse the threat.

Most players would be happy with that, not Harry, he was up for a quick play the ball to the impressive Sam Wright. Wright picked up, went ten metres, smashed through the tackle of two players, went another ten, powerfully handed off the advancing second rower, looked round and who was on his shoulder, Harry Sheridan. Wright slipped a perfectly timed pass to him and he raced 60m for the match winning score. It wasn't over though, as Mayfield produced a couple of errors to allow the Cornwall side the opportunity to get back in it but the brilliant scrambling defence from the boys in blue and white snuffed out the threat and the game was Mayfield's.

It's no understatement to say this was a historic day for the Mayfield club. Their longest ever trip and their first win against a pro club. Chairman Neil Ramsden was absolutely delighted with the win. He said: "This is massive for our club. We have had a lean time over the last couple of years but we have rallied and worked hard to pull it back. This a just reward for everyone involved at Mayfield. I would like to thank everyone who made the long trip down to support their club, they definitely had a positive impact on the game and the players and added to the experience for us all. I would recommend everyone who didn't see the game to catch up on the BBC iPlayer."

The draw for the third round was made on Tuesday 28 February and Mayfield have been drawn away from home. again, this time at NCL Premier Division side Leigh Miners. This is another tough draw but at this stage Mayfield fear no-one.