Opening of floodlights shows St Mawgan's remarkable progress

EIGHT years ago St Mawgan were plodding away in the Duchy League, a typical village team run by a handful of dedicated people.

The club, based at Trevarrian Park on the outskirts of Mawgan Porth near Newquay, had some of the worst facilities in Cornwall for a football team; they didn’t even have changing rooms.

At the end of the 2017-18 season, St Mawgan stalwart Jamie Phillips asked young defender Ashley Bicknell if he fancied stepping up as player/manager for the following season after former Newquay legend Jim Hilton had ended his four-year stint as manager.

“Silly me,” said Bicknell, “I agreed to take it on, we won our first five matches and the rest, as they say, is history. They’ve never found anybody mad enough to take over, so I’ve stayed on.

“One thing I did say when Jamie asked me was that if I was going to do it, I wanted to see us making progress and to show some ambition.

“It’s fair to say all the things we talked about have materialised and we now find ourselves in the Peninsula League (South West Peninsula League Premier West).”

And tonight the club celebrates a big milestone when they welcome Wadebridge Town (7.30pm) with the official turning on of floodlights and the opening of an improved and extended clubhouse where work was still being completed this week.

If you love local football and have the evening free, why not get yourself along to Trevarrian Park to celebrate with them? Because this is a genuinely uplifting story offering hope to any club which dreams about climbing the football ladder.

The Phillips family owns Trevarrian Holiday Park which is where the ground has been since 1984. The family has run the holiday park for over 50 years.

Jamie Phillips said: “I personally played 547 games for St Mawgan over a 25-year career, during which I captained both the first team and reserves along with managing the first team.”

And it’s a real family affair off the field. Jamie said: “I am the secretary and treasurer of the club and my dad Dave serves as chairman.

“I pretty much run anything to do with the ground, and my nephew Ryan cuts the pitch a couple of times a week.

“Ashley is solely in charge of on-field matters; however, I do manage the reserves.”

He went on: “Ashley and I have worked very closely over the last five years to ensure that the club continues to go in the right direction, myself making sure the infrastructure is in place and him always looking to strengthen the squad with a mixture of young and experienced players.

“In 2019 we were still playing in the Duchy League, finishing runners-up and also winning the knockout cup.

“The following season we were accepted into the newly-formed St Piran League and were set for a top-three finish; however, the Covid pandemic curtailed that season.

“In 2020-21, we turned out pitch around and the following season added permanent perimeter fencing and began work on our clubhouse which was finally opened in October 2024.

“In December 2023 we also added a 63-seater stand. Hardstandings were put in around two sides of the ground at the start of the 25-26 season in preparation for our SWPL application, which was accepted in March this year after we were granted planning permission for floodlights.

“Another finish as runners-up last season secured our promotion into Step Six and the floodlights were installed in August.

“Our bar extension has been completed this week and we have some further additions to come before the end of the season.”

Some of the players who will feature on Friday are from the local area and have been together at the club for years.

Bicknell said: “For example, Jordan Cole, our goalkeeper, and Brett Prentice were at St Mawgan a couple of seasons before me.”

St Mawgan spent six seasons in the St Piran League Premier; they could have gone for promotion earlier but knew they weren’t ready.

The lack of toilets in their clubhouse held them back in one ground grading, and they also knew that to get into the Peninsula League they would have plans in place to erect floodlights.

Bicknell said: “Discussions started in February this year and being so close to the airport, we had to have conversations about that, but everyone was very supportive and we were able to progress.

“We’ve started extending the clubhouse and that includes the toilets required, so it’s all going according to plan.”

On the field, the team do not look out of place in the Peninsula League Premier West division. After a stunning opening day 3-1 win at Mousehole on August 8, they lost six successive games, scored only two goals and conceded 19.

There must have been people who thought ‘oh yes, here we go’ and questioned whether they were good enough to compete at this level.

But without any fuss and little publicity – they don’t crave it – St Mawgan have turned it around with five wins in the last seven games, scoring 20 goals and letting in only seven.

Bicknell said: “We’ve had a couple of poor performances, against Falmouth and Helston, but we’ve usually bounced back immediately, which is a good sign.

“We’ve even been in the games against the top sides. We lost 5-1 at St Austell but we could have scored a few more, and we then beat Sticker 4-2, a great result against a very good team.

“So we’re not only finding our feet, but we’re competing well against good teams and that bodes well.”

Has he found any major differences between St Piran League and Peninsula League football?

“The intensity of every minute of every game is much more than the league below,” he said. “That takes some getting used to.

“And as the manager of a team at this level, I find that my wife tells me she’s seeing less of me!”

Jamie Phillips added: “Tonight’s match feels like we have really arrived in Cornish football, and with our flourishing youth system in place I’m hoping the future will be a bright one for St Mawgan Football Club.”