Category: Divisional Cups

the windmill dartmouth cup winners 2025

All Plymouth Final Sees Windmill Victorious

TORBAY CLEARANCE SERVICES, SOUTH DEVON FOOTBALL LEAGUE. WEEKLY MATCH REPORTS 10th MAY, report by Alastair Muirden. Photo of Dartmouth Cup winners, The Windmill FC contributed by SDFL

For the first time in the long history of the South Devon Football League, two Plymouth based teams reached the final of the Division One Dartmouth Cup. Plymouth Phoenix versus The Windmill, two teams that have enjoyed an extraordinary season in the league and county cup competitions, met at Buckfastleigh Rangers FC on Friday 9th May in what promised to be a treat for South Devon League followers. But I have to say they made the crowd wait for their treats.

The game started brightly enough with both teams having early moments in front of goal. Just 4 minutes in and David Moore had a header cleared off the line for Phoenix and, at the other end, Jack Briscoe was causing all sorts of problems for the Phoenix defence. But having two teams that are not used to losing had an effect on the game as they both cancelled each other out for a long period of time; Sam Doyle picked up an early yellow card for a poor challenge and in the 42nd minute, the Windmill supporters felt that Carlton Allen was fortunate to stay on the pitch following a challenge on Sam Wells in the Windmill goal, but the referee spoke to his assistant and they both agreed that it was worthy of a yellow card.

The second half was more competitive with both teams opening up for a win, and a few substitutions were made and a few more yellow cards were issued for poor challenges, but what was more noticeable was that Windmill were having the better chances and Phoenix could not deal with Jack Briscoe whilst at the back, Chey Hammond seemed to be covering a lot of ground to keep any Phoenix attacks under control; in the 67th minute, Briscoe had a header hit the underside of the bar and bounce on the line and just 2 minutes later, he had a blistering shot that went just over the bar, and Windmill were definitely knocking at the door. On 71 minutes, another Windmill attack came to nothing but as the Phoenix skipper tried to control the ball, it bounced up and hit his arm that was outstretched and the referee pointed to the spot. Up stepped Louis Godwin who put the ball straight down the middle, and the Phoenix ‘keeper could do nothing to stop it. 1-nil Windmill. At this point, Phoenix threw everything at the game; Ashley White hit the bar from a free-kick, Jamie Grindrod got himself sent off for throwing the ball at somebody in the dug out, out of frustration, and at the other end with time running out, Jack Biscoe got his reward when he chipped the ‘keeper from close range to make it 2-nil to Windmill and ensure that it would be Glynn, Kevin and Cora that were taking the Dartmouth Cup back down the A38.

chey hammond the windmill dartmouth cup winners 2025

The sponsors for the Dartmouth Cup are Francis Clark Accountants, and they judged that the Windmill skipper Chey Hammond (pictured) was the man of the match and presented him with a commemorative glass.

In the Premier Division midweek games, Newton Abbot Spurs Reserves once again called on their resources, as did their opponents Waldon Athletic, but the Torquay side were off the pace and still suffering a Herald Cup hangover as Spurs took another step towards being crowned champions. Toby Pullman scored 4 of the 9 goals that puts Spurs 5 points behind Ilsington Villa with 2 games in hand.

Move forward to Friday 9th May and Newton Abbot Spurs are back in action again, this time against relegation threatened Chudleigh Athletic who were no match for the now favourites to become the SDFL champions for the first time in the history of the club’s 2nd team; a 5 – 1 victory, thanks to goals from Toby Pullman, Callum Noyce and Jack Upshire, leaves them with 2 games to win against Waldon Athletic and Totnes and Dartington. Meanwhile, Chudleigh only have 1 game to play, also against Waldon, where they need a win to give themselves a chance of retaining Premier Division status.

Ilsington Villa remain in pole position after their final game of the season, but Beesands Rovers will be mightily proud of holding the Moorlanders to a 2-2 draw at Loddiswell in the sunshine; Ilsington led twice but could not hold on to either lead; Jack Eades equalized from the spot in the first half and Adam Winkworth scored in the dying seconds to earn a point for the Bees. It looks like Beesands are still going to need a win from playing East Allington or Kingsteignton; that is depending on the outcome of the Waldon v Chudleigh game.

East Allington United must be wishing they could go back to the future with their their end of season form having only lost one of their last eight games; this week’s 4-1 victory over Totnes and Dartington sees the Pirates up to fifth place and a top four place is a possibility for this team who at Easter were 2 points off a relegation spot; there must be something in the water, or it’s Geraldine’s after game biscuits that has helped the team.

In Division One, the games are coming thick and fast for Phoenix who made the long trek to Brixham Town on Tuesday and came away with a 7-1 win thanks to 4 more goals for David Moore’s season tally of 36 so far. Phoenix are 6 points behind True Blues with 3 games in hand. In fact, Phoenix still have 5 games to play in the last two weeks of the season, and 2 of them are against True Blues.

Brixham Town closed out their season with a trip to face Bovey Tracey Reserves, and it ended with a disappointing 4-1 defeat for the Fishermen; on the flip side, Bovey are cemented in fourth place and could nick third if The Windmill slip up, and they both meet on the last day of the season. On target for Bovey were Ben Moyle, Ryan Stanbridge, and a worldy from Christian Fleet was the highlight of the afternoon.

The gap at the top of Division Two that Mount Gould have been working away at over the past few weeks is now down to 3 points; their midweek outing at Buckfastleigh Rangers Seconds resulted in a 7-nil win helped by a Joshua Bance hat trick, and they are looking go joint top with a win at Watcombe Wanderers Seconds at the weekend which is exactly what happened; the 7-nil scoreline, thanks to 4 goals from Nathen Lang and a couple from Jack Trigger, was enough to put the Mounties top on goal difference, a point away from the formality of being crowned Division Two champions on their journey back to the football pyramid. The only other game in this division was at Halford where Liverton United had another good win; a 5-3 scoreline leaves them needing just two points to guarantee that spot; only East Allington Seconds, Paignton Saints Seconds and Watcombe Seconds can also finish third in what has been a great competition, but congratulations are due to Mount Gould and Barton Athletic who will be playing in Division One next term.

The top of the table game in Division Three was at Ashburton where they welcomed the only team that can beat them to the title in Elburton Villa Thirds. In a game that was a credit to this division, the visitors ran out 4-2 winners and the Ashes will have to wait another week until they visit Newton Abbot ’66 Seconds to get the win that is needed to clinch the division title. Elburton return to Plymouth with the points that take them to within one point of the runners-up spot should Ashes win at ’66. Should that not happen, then Villa can take the title with a win at South Brent and Paignton Saints Thirds. Now is probably not a good moment to mention that a league officer was at the Ashburton game with the Division Three trophy for presentation; perhaps he will stay away from the ’66 game!! Three other games were played in this division, and Liverton United Seconds made the trip to Brixham Town Seconds, and came away with a 3-1 victory; South Brent, who still have five games to play in the next 14 days, will have been disappointed to lose 1-nil at home to Stoke Gabriel TP, and Newton Abbot ’66 Seconds, who have had a really good season, beat Paignton Saints Thirds by 4 goals to 1; Macualey Kerr, Alfie Luscombe and Russell Ellis were on target for Sixes.

With just two weeks of the grassroots season left, it should be noted that only one of the South Devon Football League’s five divisions has a confirmed champion and runner-up, That is, of course, Division Four where Kingskerswell won the title with an unbeaten season and Templer Way finished second in their first season in Saturday football.

The Premier Division will be won by Newton Abbot Spurs Seconds or Ilsington Villa; the relegation spots will be Elburton Villa Reserves plus Beesands Rovers or Chudleigh Athletic.

Division One will be won by Phoenix or True Blues; runners-up will be either of them plus Windmill. The relegation spots will be Ivybridge Town Reserves plus Watcombe Wanderers, Paignton Villa or Newton Abbot Spurs Thirds.

Division Two will be won by Mount Gould, unless they concede 27 goals in their last three games, and runners-up will be Barton Athletic. The relegation spots will be Buckfastleigh Rangers Seconds and Ipplepen Athletic Seconds.

Division Three will be won by Ashburton or Elburton Villa Thirds. Drake FC could get runners-up if Elburton lose their last two games. The relegation spots will be Brixham Town Seconds and Paignton Saints Thirds.

I can tell you that the league management committee are delighted with how good the competition has been this season, and to have only one confirmed champion with 14 days of the season left would have been on all of their wish lists.

Games to catch this week:

The Premier Division George Belli Cup Final between Totnes and Dartington and Newton Abbot Spurs Seconds will be played on Thursday 15th May at Liverton United with a 7pm KO.

Spurs are still in the hunt for a league and cup double and start the game as favourites as they won their only league encounter 5-nil; they still have to play again in the league at the Rec. But Tots have had some good scorelines in their promotion season and having knocked out Waldon and Paignton Saints en route to the final, plus knowing that Spurs cannot use squad players, will boost their confidence of crowning off a good season. There is plenty of parking at Dartington and a full bar and food service will be available alongside Pauline’s famous pasties.

Enjoy your final two weeks of grassroots football.

liverton united south devon football league division two

Liverton Take Their Chances to Lift Lidstone Cup

TORBAY CLEARANCE SERVICES, SOUTH DEVON FOOTBALL LEAGUE. WEEKLY MATCH REPORTS 26th APRIL, report by Alastair Muirden. Photo of Liverton United contributed by SDFL

Friday 25th April: Division Two Lidstone Cup Final

Liverton Utd 1st Versus Watcombe Wanderers 2nds

The end result of this well-supported cup final did not tell the whole story of the game; whilst 7-nil is a big scoreline for any game, never mind a cup final, it was all about taking chances which Liverton United did and Watcome Wanderers did not. The game itself was end to end for 90 minutes, and Watcombe, to their credit, never gave up even when they found themselves 1-nil down to a Joshua Passmore-Tarpey strike 4 minutes into the game. The same player ended up with a cup final hat-trick and was presented with the sponsor’s man of the match by Coast and Country Estate Agents. Liverton’s other scorers on the night were Harry Atkinson, who got two, and there were singles for Jamie Passmore and Marco Lekkas.

Saturday 26th April

In the top of the table Premier League game at Osborne Park, Newton Abbot Spurs Reserves won the town’s bragging rights, as well as the 3 points, against their closest neighbours Newton Abbot ’66 who were playing their final game of the campaign. A 1-nil win, courtesy of a Beck Hannah strike, was enough to put Spurs just 5 points behind Ilsington Villa with 2 games in hand and 4 to play; the defeat for Sixes guarantees them a respectable third place in the top division. At the other end of the table, Chudleigh Athletic continued with their end of season upturn in results with a 3 – 1 win at Elburton Villa Seconds and this condemns Villa to Division One next term; Gavin Lake, who scored twice, and Tom Corbin were on target for Chudleigh who not only move 5 points clear of Beesands, who have 2 games in hand, but also drag Paignton Saints into the relegation pack, and they only have one game to play and that is against Beesands who may be able to catch them. Totnes and Dartington had a great result with a 3-1 win against Herald Cup finalists Waldon Athletic who still have fifth place in their sights but only just, as they will need to win 3 of their final 4 games to get there.

In Division One, True Blues secured promotion to next season’s Premier Division without kicking a ball; not for the first time this season, a Watcombe Wanderers team failed to raise a side and gifted the opposition the points; the decision for Watcombe, who occupy sixth place in the division, could be a costly one; as it stands, if Paignton Villa win their final game of the season against Watcombe on 17/05, then the Greens could be relegated to Division Two which, in turn, could affect their reserve team. Brixham Town all but cemented their place for another season in Division One with a 5-2 win against Ivybridge Town Reserves at Modbury Playing Fields; the result confirms Ivies’ second relegation in two seasons; on target for the Fisherman were Macca Dallow, with a hat trick, Hugo Griffiths and Jack Thompson. Elsewhere in Division One, Phoenix will join Windmill in the Dartmouth Cup final for what will be a first for the South Devon Football League where two Plymouth based teams will contest a cup final; a 3-1 win at South Devon College against Paignton Villa has come at a cost for the visitors: 6 yellow cards will no doubt attract a misconduct charge from the county FA, but the hat-trick from David Moore was well received. The Dartmouth Cup Final is scheduled for 9th May at a venue to be confirmed.

In Division Two, another team were gifted 3 points: Mount Gould were this week’s benefactors as Harbertonford failed to play them for the third time. The gap at the top is now down to 9 points and the Mounties have 6 games in hand. Fords are in mid-table and are safe from the drop, but again a costly decision was made. The mid-table game between Paignton Saints Seconds and Paignton Villa Seconds had to be abandoned due to the Villa ‘keeper Adam Taylor breaking his leg; all in the South Devon Football Family wish him a speady recovery. The big scorers of the day were East Allington Utd Seconds: they enjoyed a 12-nil win over Upton Athletic who are just about safe from the drop, whilst the reserve Pirates chase a top four place. The final game in Division Two was at Bakers Park where Newton Rovers were beaten 6-nil by Babbacombe Corries who will probably settle for third or fourth place which will give them something to work on next season.

In Division Three, Ashburton remain on course for the title; a 4-nil win at bottom team Brixham Town Reserves sees them move closer to a championship winning season. As second placed Drake FC have played all of their games, Elburton Villa Thirds are the only other team that can possibly join them in Division Two next season. They were playing in the divisional Ronald Cup against Stoke Gabriel TP and they won it 3-1 to set up what should be a great final against Ashburton on 22nd May. Kingsteignton Athletic Seconds moved into third place with a 2-1 home win versus South Brent; Dan Rankin scored both goals for the Rams who have just 2 games left to complete a successful season. Liverton United Reserves leapfrogged Brent with a 7-3 win against Paignton Saints Thirds; the result will keep them safe from the drop and having won the Fred Hewings Cup just a couple of weeks before their first team picked up the Lidstone Cup, the volunteers will be happy with the season that has been delivered at Liverton Utd.

Game coming up

Friday 2nd May: The Herald Cup Final 100 years anniversary. Kick Off is 7pm at Newton Abbot Recreational Trust between Kingsteignton Athletic and Waldon Athletic

Congratulations to both teams on reaching this season’s Herald Cup Final. Both had to endure a gruelling experience in their semi-finals by having to win by a penalty shootout in front of a big attendance. In the league, both teams have had a rollercoaster of a season by their own expectations but both should get a top five finish. The fixtures that were played between them in the league ended up with Kingsteignton winning 2-nil at Broadpark whilst Waldon came out on top by 3 goals to 1 at Windmill Hill. Kingsteignton go into the game as slight favourites being the third highest goalscorers in the premier league with 49 goals compared to Waldon’s 29, but at the other end, Waldon’s defence has the third best defensive record having only conceded 29 goals compared to Kingsteigntons 40.

A reminder that there is no spectator parking at the Rec, and supporters should use the Cricketfield Road car park which is a two minute walk from the ground. The hosts will have a full bar and barbecue service available from 6pm.

Enjoy your grassroots football.