THE Peppermints produced their best performance and result since promotion as they saw off league leaders Clevedon Town at a raucous Mount Wise on Saturday afternoon.

Newquay had won their last three games, scoring 15 in the process, but welcomed a Seasiders side that had won 11 straight fixtures to start the campaign.

But in a match that will live long in the memory, Shaun Middleton’s men secured a dramatic victory in front of an impressive crowd of 381.

The opening stages were closely contested, with both teams creating chances but unable to find a breakthrough.

The home side showed plenty of attacking intent, with the midfield orchestrating play and the forwards constantly probing the opposition’s defence.

Clevedon, however, were resolute at the back until Louis Price received the ball on the halfway line, turned, and played a great pass for Jack Bray-Evans to run onto before calmly placing the ball past the onrushing keeper just before half-time.

The second half saw the intensity increase as Clevedon pushed for an equaliser, but Newquay’s defence stood firm.

It was the Peppermints who doubled their lead on 56 minutes when goalkeeper Ethan Elwell sent a long ball forward which was misjudged. Tom Shepherd latched onto it, sprinted down the wing, and delivered a perfect cross for Price to volley home.

The visitors hit back with a goal of their own when a free-kick from outside the box was pushed onto the bar by Elwell, only for Sam Beresford to pounce and poke the rebound into the net.

Clevedon were then handed a lifeline when the referee awarded a hotly-disputed penalty. Owen Humphries stepped up and aimed for the bottom right corner, but Elwell guessed correctly, getting a strong hand to the ball before smothering it - an outstanding save that preserved Newquay’s lead.

Clevedon grew increasingly desperate in their search for an equaliser, and their discipline began to unravel, with several players going into the referee’s book.

Their captain, Callum Kingdom, was shown a red card late on after being adjudged to have brought down Louis Price in a goalscoring position.

With just a few minutes remaining, Clevedon threw everyone forward, making it a nail-biting finale for the loyal home supporters, however they survived.

After the match, Newquay manager Shaun Middleton said: “Extremely happy — it just backs up a good two weeks. We’ve been playing really well, and I just had a feeling this morning that we’d win today.

“We were so good, everyone was on it right from the first whistle. We played some really good, fast, clean football, and we looked dangerous going forward.

“We scare teams, although we had to defend well at the end, and Ethan saving the penalty was great.”

On the team’s run of four consecutive wins, he added: “I just think the team’s clicked.

“We’ve found a good formula and it’s working. We’re scoring goals, which helps. We’ve put Louis through the middle – which is dangerous – and Jack has adapted to playing that number 10 role a bit deeper.

“The midfield boys are playing well, in fact everyone is playing well, so we’re in a good place at the minute.”

NEWQUAY: Ethan Elwell; Jamie Edlin, Harry Downing (capt), Cam Turner, Tom Moxham; Ross Fallens, Lucas Potts; Tom Shepherd, Jack Bray-Evans, Rhys Simmonds; Louis Price. Subs: Ollie Butterworth, Aaron Dilley, Phil Lowry, Dan Carne, Jacob Grange.

Peppermints’ man-of-the-match: Ethan Elwell.