By Cornwall Sports Media

Excitement is building at Bickland Park as Falmouth Town gear up for their first Western Football League campaign in 40 years.

A memorable 2021/22 season saw Andrew Westgarth's side lose just once as they cruised to the South West Peninsula League Premier West title, securing promotion to the Step 5 Western League as a result.

A Cornwall Senior Cup triumph and SWPL Champions Bowl success completed a stunning treble for Town, who will now be bracing themselves for the challenge of a higher standard of football.

Town, who have won the Western League four times in their history, will be reunited with the cream of Cornish football this season, and Westgarth – and indeed the rest of the club – cannot wait to get started.

"It's been a long time since we've been in the Western League. I think it was the year I was born that they came out of it, so it's been a long time," Westgarth said. "The league looks really exciting and it's something we want to be part of.

"We are going into a little bit of the unknown. People talk a lot about the Western League and what we can look forward to but until we actually get out there you're going in there a little bit blind, but I can't wait to get going."

He added: "I think it's something that as a club and as a manager and the players I think we would have been bitterly disappointed if we weren't playing in the Western League and it's something that we were all striving for and something we're all looking forward to."

Westgarth is aware, after a campaign that saw his team see off nearly every challenge that came before them, that Town are not necessarily going to have it all their own way this season in a Western League brimming with quality.

But having seen how his side performed last season and how their Cornish counterparts performed admirably in the division above, the Town boss is still harbouring hopes of a high finish this term.

"If I'm going to be brutally honest, I would love to get into that top six," he said. "[I'd also like to] do well in the cups because that's what our strength has always been: if you can't win the league, try and win a cup. 

"But you never know, do you? If you look at [Plymouth] Parkway, for argument's sake, they went into each division and they looked really strong. [It was] maybe a slow burner for their Southern League win [last season], they took a while to get going, so if we don't get off to a good start there's no need to panic. 

"But who knows? It's literally going into the unknown so we really don't know what to expect."

Town have added the youthful Truro City reserves duo of midfielder James Swan and defender Kayden Gordon-Dunn, plus midfielder Cam Hutchison from Camelford to their ranks thus far, with Westgarth seeking to bolster his squad in order to compete across five competitions – including a long-awaited return to the FA Cup after 11 years away.

Falmouth have also been boosted by the return of versatile midfielder Jack Webber and forward Olly Walker following the pair's respective stints at university, as well as the emergence of several promising youngsters, including last year's St Piran League top scorer Charlie Edney.

"I'm really pleased [to bring Gordon-Dunn, Swan and Hutchison in]," he said. "It's important to bring fresh faces and fresh voices because it pushes people on. Webby's come back, he's like a brand-new signing, we've got him full-time and hopefully Olly Walker will be back soon.

"The emergence of Charlie Edney has really impressed me and [likewise] Oli Pickup, but I think our signing of the season was keeping the majority of the core players. I'm sure they love their time with Falmouth and it helps that we won the treble last year.

"I think the new guys have really elevated us and given us options. We can look at different formations now and it's [improved] the squad, which was our strength last year. We were able to change games and go to away games with a strong squad and I think that's the same this year. Once everyone's here and off their holidays we've got a really good squad."

Falmouth Town kick off their campaign against Wellington, Saturday 30th July, 3pm.

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