TORBAY CLEARANCE SERVICES, SOUTH DEVON FOOTBALL LEAGUE. WEEKLY MATCH REPORTS 18th JANUARY, report by Alastair Muirden. Photo of fourth placed Liverton United (Div 2), who hit the net five times to overcome Upton Athletic at Armada Park, contributed by SDFL

In the Torbay Clearance Services Premier Division, Ilsington Villa returned to the top with a 2-nil home win against relegation threatened Chudleigh Athletic; Myles Caldwell and Jack Dixon were on target for the Villa who were no doubt assisted in their return to pole position by Kingsteignton Athletics’ 4 – 1 home win versus Newton Abbot ’66; goals from Luke Manuell (2), Callum Leach and Ryan Tovagliari have brought Sixes back down to earth after their great result last week. Kingsteignton, on the other hand, are in fourth place, just 4 points behind ’66, and are now the highest scorers in the division. Buckfastleigh Rangers are also in the same boat as the Rams but with a game in hand; they had a comfortable 4 – 1 win against Beesands Rovers who were close to not putting out a team as a result of a norovirus outbreak in the Kingsbridge area; Steve Sutton added to his goal tally for Rangers who make up the top five; Newton Abbot Spurs remain in sixth place with three games in hand and with a big squad to pick from, will be challenging come May; a tough 4 – 2 win at Elburton Villa Reserves, who themselves are improving without getting the wins, was enough to bring the points up the A38. Waldon Athletic’s woes continue: a 2-2 stalemate against East Allington Utd, who twice held the lead through Finlay Bullen and Ben Tapper, have put yet another dent in the ambitions of the Torquay based team and moves the Pirates 8 points clear of the bottom three.

Division One is still very tight for the top four, and True Blues and Phoenix remain unbeaten. True Blues had an impressive 8-nil win at relegation threatened Ivybridge Town Reserves, and with seven players getting on the scoresheet, just proves they have talent all over the team and could well be playing Premier League football next season. Phoenix had a trip to the seaside to visit Paignton Villa and came away with a 5-nil win to keep them very much favourites for this division; Villa remain one of six teams in mid table and separated by 6 points and games in hand over each other. Bovey were on cup business which gave Windmill the opportunity to close the gap in a tricky game at Brixham Town; a Brodie Simpson hat-trick and singles from Louis Godwin and Myles Hunt completed a 5-nil victory at JC Park to keep up the pressure on their Plymouth neighbours. Also, a word of congratulations to Shaun Langdon and his band of volunteers who have turned a horse compound and stable into a very good football pitch with pitch-side parking which is a fantastic facility for the community, so well done to all at Brixham Town. In the two other midtable fixtures in Division One, Buckland Athletic Reserves won 2-nil at Newton Abbot Spurs Thirds and Watcombe beat WBB 3-nil with goals from Laurence Macloud, Jack White and Zac Steele.

In Division Two, the top two, Barton Athletic and Mount Gould, were on cup duty which gave the chasing pack of four a chance to close the gap, and East Allington United Seconds, Liverton United and Paignton Villa Seconds duly obliged. East Allington were the big scorers of the day with an 11-nil thumping of bottom club Ipplepen Athletic Reserves, and Paignton Villa had a very impressive 5 – 1 win at White Rock versus Watcombe Wanderers Seconds. Liverton United also hit the net five times to overcome Upton Athletic at Armada Park. Babbacombe Corries could not find the points that would have put them into second place at Harbertonford where they lost 1-nil to a Luke Collens strike that moves Fords up four places and well away from the relegation battle that they have endured in recent seasons.

The big game in Division Three went the way of Elburton Villa Thirds; a 3-nil win over Stoke Gabriel TP Reserves closes the gap to just one point between 3^rd and 4^th place. Second-placed Drake FC also dropped points at improving Newton Abbot ’66 Seconds; the Plymouth team had to settle for a 1 – 1 draw and finish the game with ten players at Osborne Park. Kingsteignton Athletic Seconds also remain well-placed for a challenge; a 3-nil win at South Brent, thanks to goals from Ashton Hogarth and a double from Harry Bannister, keeps the young Rams in 5^th place, 4 points off 2^nd with a game in hand. South Brent remain in the bottom three but have 3 games in hand on the teams above them and just need to find a win.

As expected in Division Four, Kingskerswell move further clear at the top and as the only team in all the divisions with a 100% league record, this weeks 7-nil win over Kingsbridge and Kellaton, with a hat-trick from the league’s top striker Joshua Clarke, and his brother Oliver, with Shane Shobbrook rolling back the years with a single goal, the rumour is that Shobby went over the halfway line and got a nose bleed, so he had to go back; also noted that a certain Owen Stockton could only make the bench for this successful team. Templer Way remain in 2^nd place but 8 points behind the leaders with a 4 – 3 home win in an ill-tempered game against Waldon Athletic Thirds; Chris Bennett scored a hat trick and Nick Osbourne was also on target for Templer in a game that produced 7 yellows and 2 reds and lots of paperwork for the referee and lots of fines and suspensions for the players. Teign Village make up the top three with a 3 – 2 win over Paignton Villa Thirds, and Chudleigh Athletic Seconds are 4^th, just a tad off the pace thanks to a 3 – 1 home win versus bottom team Barton Athletic Seconds.

There were two delayed cup games played this week. In the Herald Cup, Bovey Tracey Reserves, from Division One, dispatched Barton Athletic, from Division Two, by 3 goals to 1; Alister Chuchuk, John Agpoon and Ben Goble scored the goals in front of a decent crowd that put Bovey in the hat for the next round. Ashburton are also still in the cup following their trip to Mount Gould in Plymouth; the game was level at 2 – 2 and with no extra time goals or replays, the dreaded penalty shootout was on, and it was the Ashes who held their nerve by scoring 4 of the spot kicks when Mount Gould missed 2. The full draw for the next round will be published in next week’s edition and will be available on the full-time website.

Games to catch on Saturday 25^th January in the Torbay Clearance Services League:

There is a cache of great games this week to watch. Take your pick from: Liverton Utd Seconds v Kingsteignton Athletic Seconds in the quarter finals of the Fred Hewings Cup; Bovey Tracey Reserves v The Windmill, 3^rd v 4^th in Div 1; Chudleigh Athletic Seconds v Kingskerswell, 4^th v 1^st in Div 4; Kingsteignton Athletic v Newton Spurs Reserves, a classic Premier game; Stoke Gabriel TP Reserves v Ashburton, 3^rd v 1^st in Div 3; Watcombe Wanderers v Buckland Athletic, a good old derby; but my game of the day has to be up on the moor where top of the Premier Ilsington Villa take on Waldon Athletic at 2.30pm.

Enjoy your grassroots football.