MONDAY, April 12, will be a date etched in the annals of Porthleven Football Club for ever and a day as they finally laid the ghost of the nearly-men by winning the Cornwall Senior Cup at the fifth time of asking.

Desperation to jubilation in five minutes is pretty difficult to come to terms with, but that's exactly what state of mind Porthleven managed to achieve with a result that until Monday had always gone against them and five minutes from time appeared to be repeating itself yet again.

For manager John Clarkson it was a special day and one that he will remember for a long time.

"To be honest I don't think it has sunk in just yet," I'm still coming to terms with what this team has achieved.

"There has been a lot of words, a lot of emotion and a lot of tears, it has been an incredible 24 hours."

"I know what this cup has meant to the people of Porthleven because they've come so close to winning it in the past," said John.

"I am so delighted for them because they deserve this cup. I think all the neutrals in the ground wanted Porthleven to win because it was their time and they had been so close on previous occasions."

At half-time Porthleven looked as far away as ever of winning the Cornwall Senior Cup, but said John: "We had a wee few harsh words at half-time and sorted it out.

"Mind you, one of the turning points was my bobble hat. I didn't wear it in the first half, but when we got back to the dressing room I took it out of my bag and wore it in the second half. It made all the difference."

There was also a rumour flying around immediately after the final that he would be treating the players to a holiday in Spain: "The players started that one," said John "because I've just bought a wee villa in Spain. But take them all to Spain? No, I don't think so. Remember Leicester City?"

But Clarkson's main thoughts were for the club: "Porthleven Football Club is the best club I've been with, it is a really friendly club with genuine people. The attitude is first class.

"Fortunately we also have a great bunch of players who play for each other and as the season has progressed that team spirit has increased.

"Richard Keith has been fantastic for us, but I don't know what his wife thought because she is still on the committee at Saltash United.

"Matt Laity has been out for a fortnight with tonsillitis, but he came back into the side and didn't put a foot wrong. One of the strangest things was that the two most experienced players, Huw Morgan and Robbie Powell, were the most nervous of all the players in the dressing room before they went out on to the pitch."

The cup win also meant a great deal to Vidal James who this season celebrated 50 years with the club.

"It's taken us 30 years to win this cup, we've been bridesmaids for three finals in the last five years, so to win this cup in my 50th year with the club is just fantastic.

"With five minutes to go that didn't look possible, but when we scored we knew we could go on and win it in that short space of time."

To be fair Vidal said before the Senior Cup got under way in October that he had a feeling it was going to be their year.

"I think we are going to win the Senior Cup this year," he confided at the time.

"I just had that feeling about it," said Vidal "but even though it has happened you can't quite take it all in after waiting so long.

"You have to hand it to John Clarkson. He came into the club cold, had one player left from the previous season, and all the pundits were saying we would finish in the bottom three.

"It didn't happen when the same thing happened to Alan Carey and it didn't happen with John. He's proved a lot of people wrong and I'm delighted.

"He's highly thought of at Porthleven Football Club. He's managed to put together a very competitive side in a short space of time and built a very good team spirit within the camp.

"It's been a superb year for us, we can still finish third in the league, but to win this cup is absolutely brilliant. We will have a little party at the club after Saturday's match and enjoy the occasion all over again."

The time will come soon when club and manager will need to discuss next season, but as Clarkson said: "I only signed a contract for a year, so whether that changes on either side remains to be seen.

"I suppose in all fairness I promised them a trophy and I delivered, but we will have to wait and see what happens."

Whatever happens, two Scottish managers went to the Senior Cup Final, but only one of them has a smile on his face!