Category: League Round Up

newton abbot 66 herald cup winners 2024

Sixes Lift Herald Cup for First Time in 24 Years

TORBAY CLEARANCE SERVICES, SOUTH DEVON FOOTBALL LEAGUE. WEEKLY MATCH REPORTS 11th MAY, report by Alastair Muirden

As the midweek games ramp up for most clubs, and some are having to play twice as well as Saturday to get their season complete, squads of players are sure to be used which can affect outcomes both positively and negatively.

In Division One Newton Abbot Spurs Reserves continue to turn their games in hand into points. A 10 -2 win versus Babbacombe Corries moves them into fourth place, 7 points behind with 3 games in hand; Kye Drinkwater, Joe Bushin and Jack Upshire got two goals each and there were singles from Ross Beer, Aiden Blackie, Callum Noyce and Jason Jones. The result also leaves Corries perilously close to the drop.

In Division Three Watcombe Wanderers Seconds had a great result at in form Totnes and Dartington Seconds; a 4 – 1 win puts them 9 points clear with 4 games to play, and depending on results this weekend, they could clinch the title next week. Casey Cooper, Keiron Dale, Jamie Smith and Kye Graham were on target for the Greens.

Wednesday night in the Premier Division focused on the relegation battle. Chudleigh Athletic’s 3 – 1 win versus WBB guarantees the Clarets Premier Division football next season and confirms that both Brixham AFC Reserves and WBB will be playing in Division One next season. Brixham, who have a very young team, will no doubt benefit from winning more games next season and will no doubt return to the Premier Division as some at the club are keen on pyramid football for the reserves as the first team consolidate at step 5; as for WBB, it has been a nightmare season for manager Andy Moore who has worked miracles just to put a team out, and I am sure that once he takes a break and presses the reset button, they will be a force in a tough Division One.

Buckfastleigh Rangers moved into second place with just 2 games to play. A 2 – 1 win over Waldon Athletic means that 1 of 3 teams could clinch the runners-up spot which will go to the wire.

And now on to the big game of the week and the flagship fixture for the South Devon Football League calendar. The Herald Cup Final was played on Friday evening at Stoke Gabriel TP where the volunteers at the host club certainly know how to put on a show, and the 300 plus spectators and the teams and their officials were well looked after.

Newton Abbot ’66 went into the game as underdogs; a poor run of form in their league fixtures has caused them to be in the bottom half of the Premier Division. Whilst most teams have players out with injuries at this time of the season, ’66 seem to have suffered more than most, and it did not go unnoticed that long-serving ’66 player Marc Graham was named as a sub; for those of you who do not know Marc, in age years he is north of 49 and south of 51, but what an achievement to be good enough to be part of the team on the biggest game in the season. For Ilsington Villa, they came into the game full of confidence; only last Saturday they were crowned Premier League champions for the first time in their history having only been beaten once this term and have already got the better of their opponents tonight by 4-nil and 3-nil.

With 8 of the top 18 goalscorers in the Premier Division playing in this final, the stage was set for a goal-fest; the truth of the matter was that Newton Abbot ’66 did not read the script and the homework and tactics that were put into place by Ian and Kurt certainly played a part in the outcome. The game itself was by no means a classic but there were lots of thrilling moments at both ends although none were on target. It was noticeable that ’66 must have felt that the main threat was going to be Jack Langford so they put a man on him for the whole game, and he was simply not given any time on the few occasions that he got the ball. The first main talking point on the sidelines was when Ilsington Villa had to replace their goalkeeper Tom Watson through injury, and despite having a substitute ‘keeper named on the team sheet, they replaced him with top scorer Daniel Langford; you could see the disbelief and delight from the ’66 bench. It was not until the 67th minute that the breakthrough came but it was well worth the wait: an innocuous cross from Ashley Dove fell a bit short for the only ’66 forward in the penalty box and he was surrounded by 4 defenders, but as it was short, it allowed Tom Lowe to chest it away from the defenders and volley the ball into the top of the net to send the team into the corner to celebrate and the travelling ’66ers up on the patio to possibly spill their drinks during the celebration.

Within 20 seconds of the restart, Ilsington Villa had their best chance of the game when Jamie Beer really should have equalised, but Jack Callum in the ’66 goal made him shoot wide. In the last 20 minutes there were 7 substitutions made in an attempt to freshen things up for Villa and to slow things down for ’66, and for a team that have been here many times before and are becoming experts at closing down cup games when they are one goal in front, ’66 knew what they had to do against all odds to win the Herald Cup for the first time in 24 years, and I am told the celebrations continued until 4am. Big congratulations to Newton Abbot ’66.

Final score. Newton Abbot ’66 1 – 0 Ilsington Villa.

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The Newton ’66 skipper lifts the Herald Cup presented by Torbay Clearance Services
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Sixes celebrate their victory
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Goalscorere and Man of the Match Tom Lowe with sponsors Torbay Clearance Services

With the Premier Division title wrapped up, the race for the runners-up spot will go to the wire for 4 teams: Kingsteignton Athletic, who lost out to a resurgent Beesands Rovers by 3 goals to 1 but remain third; Buckfastleigh Rangers, who won 2 – 1 at home to Chudleigh Athletic, thanks to a brace from Steve Sutton, and remain in second place; Morley Rangers, who still have 4 games to fit in and remain fourth, although they have not played for a few weeks, and Elburton Villa who are in top form with enough games in hand to nick second place; they had the stand out result of the week in the league by winning at WBB by 11 goals to 6; I wonder if both teams forgot to take a ‘keeper!! So to sum up this division, Ilsington Villa are champions, second place will be Kingsteignton Athletic / Buckfastleigh Rangers / Morley Rangers or Elburton Villa. The 2 relegated teams are WBB and Brixham AFC Reserves.

Division One is also going to the wire. Paignton Saints returned to pole position with a 9-nil win at Harbertonford. In the big game between the top two, Totnes and Dartington and Ivybridge Town Reserves shared the points in a thrilling 2 – 2 draw; the Ivies were 2-nil up at one point but let the visitors back into the game, a result which helps Newton Abbot Spurs Reserves who seem to be using all playing resources available to them as they continue to chip away at those games in hand. Callum Noyce, who is one of the top goalscorers in the football pyramid at step 6 and banged in 4 goals to add to the 3 he scored last week, has certainly helped their cause and leaves them 6 points behind with 3 games in hand but in fourth place. On the 23rd May, Ivybridge Town visit Newton Abbot Spurs in a game that will decide who goes up. At the bottom, Buckfastleigh Rangers Seconds are already relegated and will be joined by Babbacombe Corries, who have 2 games to play, or Upton Athletic, who have finished their fixtures and will be watching Corries’ results to see if they can get the 1 point needed to survive the drop.

Division Two is almost complete with Bovey Tracey Reserves as champions and Newton Abbot Spurs Thirds runners up. Spurs cannot be promoted unless their Seconds win promotion out of Division One which they wont know for 2 weeks; Paignton Saints Reserves will finish a disappointing third but will be hoping Spurs Seconds in Division One slip up. At the bottom, Brixham Town Seconds will return to Division Three after volunteering to fill a vacancy last season and will be joined by Waldon Athletic Seconds unless Ipplepen Athletic Reserves concede more than 15 goals in their last 2 games in which case they will accompany Brixham Town into Division Three.

The promotion race in Division Three is now between 3 teams; Watcombe Wanderers Reserves, who won the Devon Intermediete Cup this week by beating Railway FC from Exeter by 3 goals to 2, remain at the top and need 4 points from 4 games to clinch the title. Should they not get the required number of points then Liverton United or Ashburton could win the division. South Brent are also in the race for second place but don’t have enough games for the points needed to top the division. At the bottom, Kingsbridge and Kellaton United will have a better season in Division Four and will be joined by either Paignton Saints Thirds or Teign Village who need 3 points from 2 remaining games to stay in this division and condemn Saints to Division Four. Unfortunately for them, they have Watcombe and Ashburton to play.

Division Four has also been a great competition this season and the top spot could go either to Liverton Utd Seconds or Elburton Villa Thirds; both had good wins on Saturday; Liverton won 4 – 1 at Kingsteignton Athletic Reserves who themselves have had a great season and will get a top 4 place; Villa, who won 5 – 1 at Newton Rovers Reserves, remain in second place 7 points behind with 3 games in hand, so they will need to win them all. Drake FC have also had a great season in their first venture into adult football; whilst they did not play on Saturday, they need 6 points from 3 remaining games to secure third place in what has been a very competitive competition.

Game to catch this week: Friday 17th May, with a 6.30pm kick off. The George Belli Cup Final at Foxhole Ground, Totnes and Dartington. This is the Premier Division league cup and features the in form team in the premier division, Elburton Villa, who will be looking to win their first silverware since joining the league three years ago, and Newton Abbot ’66, who will be hoping to add the Belli Cup to the Herald Cup which will allow Geeman to buy another shelf – all shelf-installers are asked to contact the club directly!!

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Ilsington Villa Win Premier League while May Day Derby Victory Sees Sixes Make Back to Back Herald Cup Finals

Double in their sights: Ilsington Villa have won their first ever Premier League title – but can they overcome Newton ’66 in Friday night’s Herald Cup final? Photo contributed by SDFL.

TORBAY CLEARANCE SERVICES, SOUTH DEVON FOOTBALL LEAGUE. WEEKLY MATCH REPORTS 4th MAY, report by Alastair Muirden

The weather continued to play its part in this season’s South Devon League football fixtures with waterlogged pitches on Tuesday reported at Ashburton and South Brent causing the Fixtures Secretary to count the days left in May.

In the games that were played, Totnes and Dartington continue to surprise; a 2-nil home win versus Paignton Saints puts them into second place in Division One, and on this form they may be joining their opponents in the Premier Division next season. Also in this division, Buckland Athletic Reserves and Paignton Villa met in a pre-run of this season’s Dartmouth Cup final at Homers Heath. On this occasion, the home team won with a single strike from Charlie Shearer 10 minutes from the end.

At the top of Division Two, with Bovey Tracey Reserves already crowned champions, the race for second place will go down to the last game of the season. Both Newton Abbot Spurs Thirds and Paignton Saints Seconds won their penultimate games; Spurs scored 7 goals at relegated Brixham Town Seconds, and Saints scored 3 against Newton Rovers. Spurs have a 2 point advantage so will bag the second spot if they win their last game of the season at home to Waldon Athletic Seconds. But a reminder that promotion for the Thirds is dependant on their second team also getting promoted as two teams from the same club cannot play in the same division. No pressure for Spurs Seconds then!!

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Fading light after the Herald Cup semi-final derby between Newton ’66 and Newton Spurs Reserves went into extra-time. Photo contributed by SDFL.

Wednesday evening produced the biggest talking point of the week when the Torbay Clearance Services Herald Cup semi-final went to extra-time and, due to the fading light, could not have gone on any longer. The referee, who had a busy night on the pitch, deserves a lot of praise for managing to get the game completed in a safe manner. This was not a classic cup game by any stretch of the imagination, but it is one that will be remembered by the 200 plus people that were there. Spurs were the better team for large parts of the game and when Joe Bushin put them in front on 33 minutes, it did look as if the Division One outfit were heading for the final. But ’66 have been here many times before, and they just dug in and made it difficult for Spurs to get a second and seal the tie. Then a big tackle on the edge of the box by Joe Bushin was not to the referee’s liking and he saw yellow for the second time in the game, and Spurs had not only lost their captain but their talisman; this lifted ’66, but it took them until the 75th minute to find a breakthrough with a fine strike from Ashley Dove. With extra-time looming, Spurs seemed to get their second wind and again were the team more likely to win it, but then a moment of madness and spurs found themselves down to 9 players and going into extra-time. Rather than go straight into extra-time to beat the light, the Spurs team disappeared into the changing room for a break, but the referee was having none of it; he blew his whistle to get them back out and get extra-time underway. In fact, it only took ’66 five minutes to score through Stijn Brussen, and now all they had to do was hold on to the lead and hope the light held out. Even in the second half of extra time, Spurs were the better team for large parts but in the end, ’66 did hold on as did the light – just.

Newton Abbot ’66 now progress to their second final in two years to meet fellow Premier Division side Ilsington Villa on Friday 10th May under the lights at Stoke Gabriel, and Newton Abbot Spurs have a county cup final to look forward to and 8 more league games to play, and if they win all 8, they will be crowned Division One champions or 6 wins may be enough to get promoted to the Premier League.

Also on Wednesday, in the Premier League, Brixham AFC Reserves remain in a relegation place despite beating Waldon Athletic 2 – 1. A Dalton Sanders double brought home 3 points that will worry both Chudleigh and East Allington who, despite the later winning 7 – 1 at WBB, remain only 5 points clear with Brixham having only 2 games left to play.

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Bovey Tracey Reserves captain Ryan Stanbridge gets presented the Lidstone cup by sponsors Bettesworth. Photo contributed by SDFL.

On Friday evening, it was the turn of Bovey Tracey Seconds and Paignton Saints Seconds to compete for the Division Two Lidstone Cup. Once again, Liverton United was the venue as the South Devon League committee continue to support member clubs in giving them an end of season boost to their finances. The game was an absolute credit to the strength of competition in Division Two of the Torbay Clearance Services League. It was end-to-end action for 90 minutes and played in a very good spirit, and the referee only had to intervene on a couple of occasions; Saints took a first half lead through Jason Dingley on the half hour, and it was not until the 75th minute when Bovey could finally find an equaliser thanks to Matt Churchill who was in the right place at the right time. Extra-time came and went with a number of stoppages for cramp, and it was down to the dreaded penalty shootout; there is normally only ever one hero in a shootout: it’s either the last scorer or the ‘keeper. That honour this time goes to the Bovey ‘keeper Jack Smith who saved the last 2 Saints spot-kicks to give Bovey Tracey the league and cup double and complete what has been an amazing season.

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Bovey ‘keeper Jack Smith saved two spot-kicks. Photo contributed by SDFL.

Ilsington Villa have been crowned Torbay Clearance Services South Devon Premier League champions for the first time in the league’s long history. A 4-nil home win against Beesands Rovers, thanks to a Daniel Langford hat-trick and a single from Jamie Beer, did the trick and considering they only finished third in Division One last season, is testament to the whole team at the village club as to just how much progress has been made in the past 12 months. A big well done to Tony Lacey and his team of volunteers for what they have achieved this season. As it transpired, they would not have needed to win as Kingsteignton Athletic surprisingly slipped up to Brixham AFC Reserves who beat them 5 – 1 and if they had shown their current form earlier in the season, who knows where they would have finished.

Division One continues to produce shocks and spills and now has new leaders in Totnes and Dartington thanks to a hard fought 3 – 1 win at Watcombe Wanderers, but the standout result in the division was the 7 – 1 demolition by Newton Abbot Spurs Reserves on Paignton Saints; this not only knocked Saints off top place but puts the Herald Cup disappointment to bed. It leaves Spurs with 7 games still to play, and they can afford 1 defeat and still win the league. Saints, Ivybridge Town Reserves and Totnes and Dartington must win their remaining games, and on 23rd May, Spurs host Ivybridge.

The Division Two runners-up spot was secured by Newton Abbot Spurs Thirds with their final game of the campaign. A 4 – 2 home win against Waldon Athletic Seconds who ended the game with 8 players thanks to 3 red cards. Deven Webb and Owen Green were on target for Spurs who must now wait for their second team to secure promotion for them to be playing in Division One next season. Paignton Saints Seconds need 4 points from 2 games to guarantee third place and a possible promotion berth should it not happen for Spurs.

The Division Three title race looks like it’s going to the wire with 5 teams still in the race for silverware. Watcombe Wanderers Seconds remain 3 points clear after a 6 – 1 win over South Brent; Simon Ross scored 4 goals with Kye Walker bagging 2 to keep the Greens on course for the title. Meanwhile, Ashburton slipped up in a 13 goal thriller at Stoke Gabriel TP; 8 – 5 was the final score. Marc Hagland also scored 4 with Russell Cooper, Daniel Treseze and Max Prestwood keeping Stoke in mid table.

Division Four is also going to the wire this season; Liverton Utd Seconds remain in pole position following a 3 – 2 win over Drake FC who drop to third and will be glad to see the back of Liverton this season after 3 defeats in 5 weeks. Elburton Villa Thirrds move into second place with their 4 – 3 win at Kingsteignton Athletic Seconds who are now fourth and must be favourites to win this division as they have a game in hand and a relatively easy run in; up next for Kingsteignton is Liverton United on 11th May.

Game to catch this week in the South Devon Football League…well it has to be the Herald Cup Final on Friday 10th May under the lights at Stoke Gabriel with a 7pm kick off. Ilsington Villa, Premier League new boys and newly-crowned champions will be playing in the final for the first time since 1981 and only the second time in the club’s history where they will face Newton Abbot ’66 who are playing in their second successive final, and they last won the cup in 2000. Although there is plenty of parking available, supporters are advised to arrive early as this is a well-attended event in the South Devon League calendar; gates will open at 5.30pm and the host club will have a full bar and food service available.

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Champions Increase Pressure on Top Two with 4-0 Victory

EYES ON THE PRIZES: The Division Four race for silverware is hotting up with Liverton United Reserves beating leaders Drake FC in their quest for a league and cup double. Photo contributed by SDFL

With almost a full program of fixtures for the first time in many weeks, the Torbay Clearance Services South Devon Football League returned to the business part of the season where teams that have worked hard since last August make their moves for silverware or the points that are needed to keep the status they currently hold.

Before I get on to the results I do have some sympathy for Premier Division Morley Rangers who have somehow managed to hold on to the runners-up spot despite suffering their sixth weather-related postponement in the last seven weeks; in fact, if they had played every week, they would have finished their season last weekend; hopefully they will play some games in April.

In the Torbay Clearance Services Premier League, Kingsteignton Athletic had a massive 4-nil victory at Buckfastleigh Rangers and are now just 2 points behind Morley Rangers in third with a game in hand. Tom Reeves and Luke Manuell were on target for the Rams. The other two games played in the Premier Division were in the Belli League Cup where Newton Abbot ’66 progressed to the semi-final with a 4 – 2 win at East Allington United; Aiden Corcoran and Daniel Joyce scored for the South Hams outfit, but ’66, who are also in the quarter-finals of the Herald Cup, continued their good cup form with goals from Tom Lowe, Joe Clarke Farley, Jacon Cockram and Carl Foskett. Brixham AFC Reserves also bowed out of the league cup at the hands of Elburton Villa Resurves; the 6 – 1 scoreline did not do justice to the hard-working youngsters at Brixham who now have 6 league games left and are 8 points from safety; they will be hoping for a spring revival in their remaining games.

Division One has proved to be as exciting and competitive as everybody thought at the start of the season, and there are still 5 teams in the mix and no runaway leaders as some thought. Ivybridge Town Reserves have been knocked off top spot; a 3 – 2 defeat at Buckland Athletic Reserves has let Paignton Saints move into pole position albeit on goal difference. The Ivies scored through Daniel Hodgson and Matt Hill, but they were sent packing back down the A38 empty-handed following strikes from Lee Grimshaw, Gordon Stevenson and Luca Staniforth. Paignton Saints, who are enjoying life in the South Devon League following a spell in the football pyramid, had a comfortable 5 – 1 home win against local rivals Paignton Villa at Coach Road. Also in the same situation, Newton Abbot Spurs Reserves seem to be enjoying their football again and are still in the mix; just 9 points off the top with 3 games in hand, they ran out 7 – 1 victors over bottom club Buckfastleigh Rangers Reserves, and Brixham Town, who may be outsiders but are level on points with Spurs, had a great 3 – 2 win against a strong Watcombe Wanderers team.

The big game at the bottom of the table went the way of Upton Athletic; they beat Harbertonford by a single goal on the slope at Steps Cross and have moved 3 points clear of the drop zone.

In Division Two of the Torbay Clearance Services League, pre-season favourites Paignton Saints Reserves slipped up away at Barton Athletic losing by 3 goals to 2; they are now 7 points off the lead with only 2 games in hand; the only other game in this division was at Ipplepen Athletic Reserves who moved up 4 places with a 4-nil win over bottom club Brixham Town Seconds.

In Division Three, Stoke Gabriel TP cemented a mid table position with a 2 – 1 win over Newton Abbot ’66 Seconds at Osborne Park; Adam Blackburn and Garry Drew got on the scoresheet for the visitors and with some games in hand, ’66 still have some work to do. The league cup for this division saw favourites Ashburton lose the A38 derby game by 1 goal to nil to South Brent who are 7 places below them in the league; it took an extra time strike from Jono Ellis to put Brent into the semi-final. Joining them will be Watcombe Wanderers Seconds who were taken all the way by Teign Village but ran out 2 – 1 victors in the end; goals from Simon Ross and Mike Fieldhouse were just enough for the Greens.

The Division Four title race was blown wide open by an experienced Liverton United Reserves team who travelled to league leaders Drake FC, and it was the visitors who took the lead 2 minutes before the break when Aaron Underhill broke free and slotted the ball past the advancing ‘keeper. Prior to that, the home team simply did not take their chances and when in the second half Liverton were awarded a free-kick some 30 yards from goal and the speculative cross took a deflection…you know where it ended up. The visitors sat back and soaked up the pressure and again Drake spurned their chances; they did get a consolation goal 3 minutes from the end but the visitors took the points back to Halford. This division also has 5 teams in with a shout for honours: Liverton are now 1 point behind Drake with a game in hand; Kingsteignton Athletic Reserves are fourth, 8 points behind with 3 games in hand and Elburton Villa Thirds are 10 points behind with 5 games in hand. Outsiders Chudleigh Athletic Seconds remain in third place but only have 3 games in total to play.

Games to catch on 6th April (or earlier if you need a football fix as teams start playing midweek to catch up on their postponed games): South Brent still have 13 games to play in Division Three; they sit third from bottom but are in fact promotion candidates with games in hand; they play Teign Village who are 1 place below them and need the points to stay up KO is 6.15pm on Wednesday.

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TAKE TWO: Division Four leaders Drake FC will once again welcome Liverton Reserves to Millbay Park as they battle for a place in the Les Bishop Cup final.

WBB will attempt for the sixth time to host Morley Rangers in the Belli Cup, and Beesands Rovers will be looking to get their season back on track at home to Kingsteignton Athletic. Totnes and Dartington host Newton Abbot Spurs in a Division One game at Dartington Hall and in Division Two, Newton Abbot Spurs Thirds host Paignton Saints Reserves who are both chasing a promotion place. There are a couple of promotion clashes in Division Three: Liverton United host runaway leaders Watcombe Wanderers Reserves and South Brent play Ashburton in an A38 derby game. In the Division Four league cup, Drake FC will lock horns with Liverton United reserves for the second time in two weeks, and there is a wooden spoon fixture at White Rock where Paignton Villa Thirds welcome South Brent Reserves, and may the best team on the day win. Just also a reminder that the first South Devon League cup final kicks off on Friday 12th April at Buckfastleigh when Paignton Saints Reserves face Watcombe Wanderers Reserves in the Fred Hewings Cup which is the knockout competition for reserve teams; kick off is 7pm and it should be a cracker.

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Weekly Match Reports 23rd March

ON ANOTHER CUP RUN: 2023 Herald Cup runners-up Newton Abbot ’66 are into the last eight. Photo contributed by SDFL

Farewell to a Brixham Legend

I start this weeks report with the sad news that Brixham football stalwart Bill Harris has passed away. Bill was secretary of the Brixham Villa club for over 50 years and was the driving force in the merger with Brixham Utd in 2012 to create the Brixham AFC that we have today. And what a merger it turned out to be with the first team now playing football in the Western League, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Buckland Athletic, Clevedon and Falmouth to name a few, and the second team playing in the South Devon Premier League where both Villa and United used to play. Bill also received a services to football award from the FA for the work he had done for football in the county; as a player, he won the Herald Cup and the South Devon Premier Division with Brixham Villa. Bill will also be remembered for setting up the Brixham AFC lottery which funds the club to this day. The current secretary of the club Mark Buley, who provided the above information, described Bill as an absolute legend and a man that has done so much for football, and he will be sorely missed. Bill’s funeral is at All Saints Church, Brixham at 10.30am on Thursday 28th March.

South Brent’s Herald Cup Run Ends –

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JOURNEY’S OVER: Division Three side South Brent were dispatched from the Herald Cup.

In the games played on Saturday, there was no fairytale ending for South Brent in the Herald Cup Third Round against Premier Division Newton Abbot ’66. The home team ran out 9 – 1 winners, but it was not plain sailing in the first half. ’66 scored in the first minute and added a second with a penalty, but it was not until manager Ian Clennehan made sweeping substitutions that ’66 started to click. Three goals in a two minute period put the game beyond the Division Three side who did manage a consolation goal with the last kick of the game to prevent a clean sheet. Tom Lowe and Jamie Groves scored two each after coming on as subs, and there were singles for Callum Foskett, Joe Clark Farley, Ashley Dove and Liam Ashwell.

In the Torbay Clearance Services Premier Division, Ilsington Villa remain two points clear at the top after a 5 – 2 home win against bottom club WBB. Daniel Langford notched up a hat-trick with Jack Langford and Jack Dixon adding singles. Just behind them are Plymouth based Morley Rangers who played a home game in Newton Abbot versus Brixham AFC just to guarantee the game would be on, and the move proved profitable as they ran out 3-nil victors. Matt David, JJ Honeywell and James Melluish were the target men for Rangers. Buckfastleigh Rangers opened up a gap into fourth place with a 6 – 4 home win against Beesands Rovers whose season has stalled since December. East Allington United slipped to third from bottom despite holding Kingsteignton Athletic to a nil-nil draw at Broadpark, and that’s because Chudleigh Athletic had a great result, running out 4 – 1 winners over Waldon Athletic at Kate Brook. They are now eight points clear of the drop zone. Joe Potter scored two with Gavin Hammon and Jack Edward Salmons adding singles that could keep the Maroons safe from the drop.

In Division One, it was the quarter finals of the Dartmouth Cup, and Buckland Athletic Reserves booked a semi final slot with a 2 – 1 home win versus Brixham Town, and there was a real heavyweight tussle at South Devon College where Paignton Saints knocked out top of the table Ivybridge Town Reserves by 4 goals to 1; Jamie Micklewright scored twice with Ben Clarke and Jake Powell adding singles. There was also a big result for Watcombe Wanderers who defeated Newton Abbot Spurs Reserves by 2 goals to nil, and Spurs finished the game with 10 players, a result that may be costly for Spurs come the end of May. Totnes and Dartington have now moved into third place, four points clear of Spurs in fourth. Jack Whitby scored in each half for the Tots to secure the points. Paignton Villa moved into the safety zone with a 3-nil win at Upton Athletic who remain at the wrong end of the table and in desperate need of a win; they wont need to wait long for that opportunity as on Easter Saturday they play fellow relegation candidates Harbertonford at Steps Cross.

In Division Two, the top four all won and it remains very tight as we move into the business end of the season. Newton Abbot Spurs Thirds stay top with a 5 – 2 win over Paignton Villa Seconds; East Allington United stay in second place after a 4 – 1 win at home to Newton Rovers and in third place, Bovey Tracey Reserves had a comfortable 7-nil home win against Waldon Athletic Seconds. Pre-season favourites Paignton Saints Seconds remain in fourth place, three points off second and seven points off the top following their 4 – 1 victory at bottom side Brixham Town Seconds. Billy Reay, George Keats and Syzmon Brzezinski were the heroes for the Saints. There are three points separating four of the bottom five, and Ipplepen Athletic, Paignton Villa Seconds, Newton Rovers and Waldon Athletic Seconds could all do with winning a game.

In Division Three, Watcombe Wanderers Seconds beat third placed Totnes and Dartington Seconds by 2 goals to nil to remain three points ahead of Ashburton who had a comfortable afternoon by inflicting an 8-nil on Kingsbridge and Kellaton United, and Stoke Gabriel TP moved into the safety zone with a 7 – 1 win at Teign Village; Adam Blackburn, Max Prestwood, Paul Christie and Ian Sloman were all on target for Stoke.

Elburton Villa Thirds continue to improve and make inroads into their games in hand on their rivals; a 5 – 3 win at Broadhempston United puts them into fifth place but only eight points off the top with two games in hand. Their neighbours Drake FC were given a walkover as Watcombe Wanderers Thirds could not raise a team.

Games to catch on Easter Saturday in the South Devon Football League include the Premier Division clash at Buckfastleigh where Kingsteignton are the visitors; there is a relegation battle for Brixham AFC who host Elburton Villa Reserves. Who does not like a local derby? At Coach Road, Paignton Saints entertain Paignton Villa and there’s a relegation six-pointer at Steps Cross where Upton Athletic play Harbertonford. In Division Two, there is a promotion six-pointer when Bovey Tracey Reserves welcome East Allington United Seconds. In Division Three, there are two big cup quarter finals at Ashburton who host South Brent in an A38 derby and at Totnes and Dartington Seconds who play Liverton United. The big game in Division Four is first versus third in the form of Drake FC versus Liverton United Seconds which could have a big say in who is in the top two come May.

Thank you for supporting grassroots football in South Devon.

Drake Scuppered Near The Hoe

Holders Out: Buckfastleigh Rangers (green), pictured here in last season’s final, are out of the Belli Cup following a 2-1 loss at home to Waldon Athletic. ©Al Macphee/MiraclePR

In the game of the day between the top two teams in Division Four of the Torbay Clearance Services League, Chudleigh Athletic Seconds inflicted the first defeat of the season for Drake FC. In an end-to-end game that was a credit to the South Devon Football League, three goals from the visitors, courtesy of Ben Hamilton-Hill, Gavin Lake and Kai Stocker, secured the points to take back up the A38. The win keeps the Maroons well on course for promotion in second place behind Drake but with fewer games to play. Liverton, Kingsteignton, Elburton and Broadhempston can all catch the top two with their games in hand, and none of these teams played last weekend. The only other league game played in Division Four was at the bottom where South Brent Seconds and Barton Athletic Seconds shared the points in a 2 – 2 draw. Two of the delayed divisional cup first round games finally went ahead and resulted in safe passage to the next round for Elburton Villa Thirds, who who had a comfortable 8 – 1 home win against Babbacombe Corries Seconds, and Liverton United Seconds also took the brakes off, winning 5-nil versus Paignton Villa Thirds.

In Division Three, Liverton United moved into one of the automatic promotion places with a 5-nil win on the 3G at South Devon College against Paignton Saints Thirds. As a club, Liverton have certainly been on a rollercoaster of a journey from twice being crowned champions of the South West Pennisula League at Step 6 in the football pyramid to having just one team in the bottom division of the South Devon Football League, and whilst players will always come and go at a whim, or God forbid they have to sit on the bench, it is the people behind the scenes that pick up the pieces and keep football clubs afloat, and full credit to Sue and Chris Stephens, with Norman cutting the grass when he is able, is the main reason that clubs like Liverton United survive, and with both of their teams growing in confidence, the club is in a positive mode.

There was only one game that survived Fridays downpour in Division Two and that was at Whiterock where Paignton Villa Seconds surrendered to Bovey Tracey Seconds who, with a 5-nil win, remain in fifth place but are now only two points off the top with three games in hand. Lewis Perring and Mathew Churchill got two goals each, and Alistair Chuchuk got a single for the Moorlanders who are looking good for consecutive promotions.

In Divisions One’s only game, Upton Athletic rolled back the years in their relegation six-pointer versus Buckfastleigh Rangers Reserves; a 10 – 1 victory moves them out of the bottom two on goal difference. Sam Lamburn scored four, Jamie Lane hit a hat-trick and there were singles for Callum Dunn, Keiron Nixon and Shaun Johhansen.

Just two Premier games survived, one in the divisional cup and one in the league. Brixham AFC Seconds’ recent good run of form was halted at Loddiswell where Beesands Rovers managed to put a halt to their recent run of poor form and produced a 5 – 1 win that puts them in fifth place but leaves the Fishermen with some work to do. Aiden Bovey was on target for the visitors but strikes from Adam Winkworth, on three minutes, and 17 year-old Alex Smith put the Bees on track; Jack Eades and Louis Brace scored singles which secured the points for the the home team.

Jacob Knapman scores the winning goal for Waldon, from the penalty spot, in their 2-1 Belli Cup win. Photo contributed by SDFL.

The other game was a real heavyweight tussle between two of the Premier league’s more solid teams and the conditions certainly helped them live up to their reputation. Full credit goes to the groundsteam at Buckfastleigh for preparing the pitch to be playable, and full credit to the players for trying to play football in very heavy conditions, and they all had to work hard as the pitch did deteriorate as time went on. Louis Roberts scored in the first half for Waldon Athletic and Jacob Knapman scored the winning goal from the penalty spot following a clumsy challenge which probably was not helped by the sticky conditions to put Waldon into the next round of the George Belli Cup with a mouth-watering home game against Ilsington Villa on 16th March.

Games to catch on Saturday 9th March.

In the Torbay Clearance Services Herald Cup, it’s quarter-final stage and Elburton Villa Reserves (Premier) welcome Newton Spurs Reserves (Division One), Ilsington Villa (Premier) welcome Brixham Town (Division One) and hopefully the two delayed games featuring Newton ’66 (Premier) and South Brent (Division Three) and the all-Premier tie between WBB and Morley Rangers will finally get played. Elsewhere in the divisional cups, Ivybridge Reserves host Paignton Saints which should be a great game. There is another relegation six-pointer at Buckfastleigh where the Reserves host Harbertonford.

For all of this weeks games, click TCSSDFL Fixtures on the menu bar.

ilsington villa v kingsteignton athletic herald cup semi-final

Divisional Cups: Villa Dispatch Rams as Fisherman Fight Back to Oust Bees

Ilsington Villa made amends for their 2022 Herald Cup semi-final defeat (pictured) by knocking Kingsteignton out of the Belli Cup. ©Al Macphee/MiraclePR

Despite a Saturday morning downpour 11 games went ahead and a big shout out to club volunteers who gave up their time to prepare the pitches for play, especially those who play on grass. Well done and thank you.

There were a number of divisional cup games scheduled, and in the Belli Cup, which is the knockout competition for Premier league teams, without doubt the game of the day featured the top two in the division. Kingsteington Athletic and Ilsington Villa have only met a couple of times in recent years, due to being in different divisions, but the games have always been a great advert for grassroots football and this game did not disappoint. In a pulsating first 45 minutes, Jason Jones was on target for the Rams just before the break, and having spent 10 minutes in the sin bin for dissent, Daniel Langford repaid his team-mates for letting them down by scoring his 13th goal of the season in as many games; he remains the team’s top striker. At the other end of the goal scoring chart, Darren Rowe, making only his fourth start for the Moorlanders, scored his first goal of the season to give his side a 2-nil lead, and it was enough to see Ilsington Villa progress into the second round. Also safely through to round two are Brixham AFC where a revival in fortunes seems to be happening. At 2-nil down, the home team looked to be going out of the cup, but three second half goals secured a 3 – 2 victory against a Beesands Rovers side that are going in the opposite direction; goals from Callum Glew (2) and Noah Green will have put some smiles on the faces of the Wall Park faithful.

In the league, only one Premier Division game went ahead, and East Allington took a giant step in their quest for status in the top division by beating fellow relegation candidates Chudleigh Athletic by 4 goals to 1. Robbie Chalk, Martin Finneron, and brothers Ben and Rob Tapper secured the points for the Pirates taking them 9 points clear of the bottom two who did not play.

In the Dartmouth Cup for teams in Division One, there was a straight forward 5-nil win for Brixham Town against Upton Athletic at Armada Park, and at Long Lane, Totnes and Dartington, who seem to be getting better every week, had a tremendous result in dispatching a very strong Watcombe Wanderers team by 5 goals to 2. Joshua Squires and Jack Whitby got two goals each and James Blackshaw scored a single. Sam Pyne and Keiron Dale were on target for the Greens but there is no doubt that the T and D team are a team to watch.

Only one league game was played, and Paignton Villa moved into mid table by beating Harbertonford by 3 goals to 2. Both these teams only have 6 league games to play but should be safe from the drop.

In Division Two, positions are starting to take shape at the top. Unbeaten Bovey Tracey Reserves remain in fourth place, but with games in hand, thanks to a 4 – 2 win against a stubborn Barton Athletic at Barton Downs. Lewis Perring scored twice with Clifford Walters and Mathew Churchill getting singles; that keeps Bovey on course for consecutive promotions. Also in the mix are pre-season favourites Paignton Saints Seconds. Having been relegated to make way for their first team, they are looking to be back where they should be, but of course that also depends on their first team moving up. A 5-nil win against bottom side Brixham Town Seconds has moved them into second place in a division where one point separates three teams.

In Division Three, only one game went ahead and Paignton Saints Thirds moved 8 points clear of the drop in an 11 goal thriller on the 3g at South Devon College against Newton Abbot ’66 Seconds.

Game of the day in Division Four went the way of Drake FC who remain unbeaten and are now five points clear at the top after an 8 – 1 win over an improving Broadhempston United team with Lewis Thomas scoring four and Callum Collings, Oliver Wells and Oliver Hodgson making short work of their Saturday afternoon. The other game played in this division was in the Les Bishop knockout competition where Chudleigh Athletic Seconds progressed to round two with a 5-nil win at South Brent; Lloyd Hitchins, Gavin Lake, George Nicholls, Christian Williams and Dan Martin all got on the scoresheet for the Maroons.

With another wet week of weather predicted, who knows what games will be played in the Torbay Clearance Services League but you can get up to date information on full time. Click TCSSDFL Fixtures on the menu bar.

My games to catch on Saturday 24th February are: in the Herald Cup at Osborne Park is a potential banana skin for Newton Abbot ’66 (Premier) versus South Brent (Div 3) or a relegation battle at Chudleigh where the visitors are WBB. There is a South Hams derby at Loddiswell where families come together for Beesands Rovers versus East Allington United. In Division One, two promotion candidates meet at Newton Rec where Spurs Seconds take on Ivybridge Town Reserves in a game that could open up a gap at the top, and at the top of Division Three, Totnes and Dartington Seconds welcome Liverton United where only two points separate them (at the moment). The stand out game in Division Four is between the top two: Drake FC host Kingsteignton Athletic Seconds and a home win could see silverware heading for Plymouth in their first season in the Torbay Clearance Services League. There are so many great games to catch and spring is just around the corner, so why not get out in the last of the winter weather and support your local football team.

kingsteignton athletic ollie kewell v newton abbot 66 luke snell herald cup final 2023

Champions End Leaders’ Run

2022/23 Double winners Kingsteignton Athletic have now won four on the spin. Photo © Al Macphee/MiraclePR. Report by SDFL.

At the top of the Torbay Clearance Services Premier Division, leaders Ilsington Villa finally surrendered their unbeaten run, losing by 3 goals to 2 to last season’s champions Kingsteignton Athletic.

Luke Manuell (2) and Joseph Long scored the goals that move the Rams up to fourth place. Daniel Langford and Jamie Soper replied for the hosts but it was not enough. Ilsington Villa stay top but only by 1 point, ahead of Morley Rangers who did not play. In the only other Premier game played, Newton Abbot ’66 came out on top in a feisty game against Waldon Athletic who finished the game with 10 players following a red card issued to Ashley Grimes; Sixes held on to their one-nil advantage to remain in mid table where there are a cluster of 5 teams within 3 points of each other.

In Division One, Ivybridge Town Reserves move into top spot following an excellent 2 – 1 win at fellow pace setters Brixham Town; Jayden White and Matt Hill scored the goals that take the points back to Erme Valley. Watcombe Wanderers also had a successful afternoon, taking all 3 points at Paignton Villa, a result that moves them into fourth place and remain a tough team to beat. At the other end of the table, the bottom four teams played each other, and the only team to pick up maximum points were Babbacombe Corries who won 4 – 3 at Armada Park against Upton Athletic; Brendon Highfield scored a hat-trick and Alex Chaimberlain got the winner in a tense game on a sticky pitch. Both these teams will be moving to play at Steps Cross in the new year as the changing rooms at Armada Park are being demolished and rebuilt. In the other game at the bottom, Harbertonford and Buckfastleigh Rangers Seconds shared the points in a 2 – 2 draw, a result that probably feels like a win for the Fords; Sebastion Looker and James Thomas were the scorers.

Division Two is turning into a five horse race with 2 points separating the teams; Barton Athletic stay on top after a 7-nil demolition of Waldon Athletic Seconds at Paignton College; Paignton Saints Seconds also stay on course with a 2-nil win at Newton Rovers, and it was one of a number of games that went ahead with a stand in referee due to the shortage of officials at all levels of football; unfortunately, the Torbay Clearance Services League takes the brunt of the shortage as they have to help higher leagues fulfil their own fixtures with three officials whilst managing to play a large number of games in this competition with no referees where the difference in the standard is minimal. The league management committee recently held a training session for stand in club volunteers to take charge of games and another one is planned for the new year as the situation with referees is not improving.

In Division Three of the Torbay Clearance Services League, Ashburton failed to close the gap on leaders Watcombe Wanderers Seconds, losing 2 – 1 at home to Newton Abbot ’66 Seconds in a surprise result; the points move Sixes away from the dreaded drop zone whilst leaving the hosts 6 points off the leaders who were in County Cup action. The other game played in this division was at Loddiswell where bottom team Kingsbridge and Kellaton welcomed second from bottom Paignton Saints Thirds, and at one stage in the game, the home team looked nailed on for their first win of the season; with 1 minute of the first half to play, they were leading 2-nil. Within 2 minutes of the restart, they were 3 – 2 behind and whilst they had chances they just fell short. Billy Reay was the difference for Saints who added a fourth to move them out of the relegation spots, but they wont be taking anything for granted as they have already played more than half of their league games and the teams around them have games in hand; a big well done is due to Tina Thomas of Kingsbridge and Kellaton who spent her Saturday morning marking the pitch, putting the nets up and getting the changing rooms ready so that the game could be played, all of that while her husband Andy is in hospital; true dedication from a South Devon League stalwart, and I am sure the players appreciate it.

In Division Four, whilst most of the clubs were in County Cup action, Chudleigh Athletic Seconds took full advantage by recording the highest score so far by beating a young Watcombe Wanderers Thirds by 13 goals to nil; the result puts them into second place with the best goal difference in the division; Lloyd Hitchins scored 5 goals against his old club with Charlie Forey, James Bowden, Lois Hooper, Gavin Lake, Joe Potter, Gavin Martin and Thomas Stoppard finding the net for Chudleigh.

As we prepare for the last full league program in the Torbay Clearance Services League before the winter break, there are some great recommended fixtures to catch and they are sure to beat Christmas shopping:

The weather-delayed Herald Cup game between Bovey Tracey Seconds and Newton Abbot Spurs Seconds kicks off at 2pm at the Western Counties Ground and should be a Christmas cracker. In the Premier Division, at the bottom of the table, Chudeigh Athletic welcome bottom club Brixham AFC Reserves in a game where a win for the home team could make a massive difference to what division they play in next season.

The big game in Division One is at Homers Heath where Buckland Athletic Seconds take on Brixham Town who will want to keep pace with the top three. The stand out game in Division Three is at Chuley Road, Ashburton; the visitors, Watcombe Wanderers Seconds, will be looking to extend their lead at the top against the second placed hosts. Finally, in Division Four, and possibly game of the day, is in Plymouth between Elburton Villa Thirds and Drake FC, both teams playing below the level that you would expect to see in this division, meet for the first time in the competition at Haye Road in a league game that kicks off at 2.30pm

Just a reminder that you can check all of the other games being played on Full Time Enjoy your Saturday afternoon supporting grassroots football.

Clark-Farley Hat-Trick Sees 2023 Herald Cup Finalists Through to Last 16

Newton ’66 are a step closer to back-to-back Herald Cup finals. Photo © Al Macphee/MiraclePR. Report by SDFL.

Most clubs returned to either league or cup football this weekend as the break in the weather allowed groundstaff to repair the damage caused by the recent wet spell.

In the Torbay Clearance Services SDFL Premier Division, Waldon Athletic were made to work hard for their 1-nil victory over East Allington United who are in the unusual position of being third from bottom and in desperate need of a win to boost the confidence; George Stahlmann scored the only goal of the game which sees the Torquay team move into a respectable fifth place in the division. The other Premier Division teams played their second round fixtures in the Torbay Clearance Services-sponsored Herald Cup; there were no shock results, but Broadhempston United from Division Four put in a real shift at Premier title contenders Beesands Rovers, where the home team ran out 4 – 1 winners in the end. In the all-Premier Division clash at Chudleigh, the home team knocked out Morley Rangers, but it took them extra-time to score 3 goals; Jack Lee, Louis Hooper and Charlie Forey scored them. They also had an extra player as Morley’s top scorer Dalton Brammer was sent off for foul play. Also safely through to Round Three are Newton Abbot ’66 with a 4-nil win over Babbacombe Corries; Joe Clark-Farley set them on their way with a hat-trick, and Callum Foskett added one to see off the Division One team. Harbertonford were unable to raise a team to visit Premier Leaders Ilsington Villa, and Paignton Saints were given a taste of what may be to come for them next season when they hosted Buckfastleigh Rangers. To their credit, they made last season’s Premier Division runners-up work for their place in the Third Round; in the end, Rangers were a bit stronger than Saints and a 2-1 win for the visitors was a fair result. Louis Moody and Ryan Clarke were on target for the Greens.

In Division One of the Torbay Clearance Services League, Totnes and Dartington had a great result on their trip to the seaside to take on joint league leaders Brixham Town, coming away with a 3-nil win courtesy of strikes from Ryan Walton (twice) and Harrison Hardy. There was also a cracking game at Long Lane, in a local derby, where hosts Watcombe Wanderers and Buckland Athletic Reserves cancelled each other out in a 2-2 Draw; Luca Staniforth and Abdulsalim Benmaloud got the goals for the young Bucks. Ivybridge Town Reserves join 3 other teams on 15 points at the top of the league courtesy of a tight 2-1 win over bottom club Buckfastleigh Rangers Seconds.

The only game in Division Two saw East Allington United Seconds move to the top of the division with a 4–1 victory over Ipplepen Athletic Seconds.

In Division Three, South Brent continue their good start to the season following promotion; a 4–1 home win against Paignton Saints Thirds moves them into second place in the division. Jono Ellis, Josh Miller and Will Poundall secured the points for Brent. At the other end of the Division Three table, Waldon Athletic Thirds secured a valuable 2-nil home win at Cricketfield Road against a stubborn Kingsbridge and Kellaton side who had chances to win the game but on the day failed to take them. The result leaves the South Hams side still looking for their first win of the season.

The unusual story of the day unfolded at White Rock where the fixture between Paignton Villa Thirds and Barton Athletic Seconds had to be abandoned. The pitch at White Rock is a designated landing spot for the Devon Air Ambulance which needed to land to deal with a incident close by. Liverton United returned to winning ways, and to the top of Division Four, with a 2-nil home win against Watcombe Wanderers Thirds; Curtis Milford scored both the goals to secure the points for the Halford club. Chudleigh Athletic Seconds moved into fifth place, in what is a very open division, with a 3–1 win at Bakers Park against Newton Rovers Seconds; the game was effectively over, but Sam Bird scored a consolation for the home team.

With a look forward to the fixtures on Saturday 18th November:

The teams outside of the Premier Division can look forward to the Second Round of the Fred Hewings Cup which is a knockout competition for reserve teams only; there are also a few outstanding Herald Cup games that offer top of the table games, potential banana skin games and local derbies to be played.

My game of the day is in the Herald Cup at the Western Counties ground in Bovey Tracey where Newton Spurs Seconds are the visitors. They currently sit on top of Division One whilst the hosts are top of Division Two and will be looking to take a Division One team’s scalp following their defeat to Paignton Saints in the Devon Senior Cup two weeks ago. Also in the Herald Cup, there is a tricky game for Premier Division strugglers East Allington United when they visit the Kia Stadium to take on Stoke Gabriel TP Seconds who sit in second place in Division Three; another potential banana skin fixture is at Foxhole in Dartington where the Division Three side Totnes and Dartington take on the Premier Division’s bottom side Brixham AFC Reserves who will be looking to win their first game of the season.

For all other games, click on Full Time and search South Devon Football League to see who is playing where. Just a reminder: the cup games kick off at 2pm. Enjoy your Saturday supporting grassroots football.

paignton villa v babbacombe corinthians torbay clearance services sdfl division one

Three in a Row for Elburton with Narrow Win at Poole Lane

Villa thrash Corries as Paignton sides clean up in Division One. Photo © Al Macphee/MiraclePR. Report by SDFL.

The weather was the big winner this week in the Torbay Clearance Services South Devon Football League washing out all but 7 games. A big thank you is due to the groundstaff volunteers that managed to get the pitches prepared at those clubs that played on grass this weekend.

In the Premier League, only 1 game survived the weather: Elburton Villa continued their run of good form by beating East Allington United by 5 goals to 4 at a windswept and wet Poole Lane. This win moves them up to fourth place in the division whilst leaving the hosts looking over their shoulders at the 2 teams below them.

The biggest attendance of the day, and perhaps the season for a league game, was at Coach Road where over 100 spectators were made to wait by Paignton Saints until the 45th minute of the game against Harbertonford to see any real goal mouth action, and it came courtesy of a penalty kick that Jamie Micklewright despatched; it was, in fact, the last kick of the half and saw the players running to the changing rooms to get a deserved break from the constant rain. Prior to this, Harbertonford did have some half chances but just could not penetrate a well organised Saints defence, whilst up front, it’s fair to say that Saints were poor and more balls went out of the ground than on target. The Saints manager must have said some choice words at the break as Saints went on the attack from the kick off, and when Ben Clark scored a 30 yard screamer 3 minutes after the restart, that effectively put the game to bed. The Fords’ heads started to drop and they never really got going in the second period, and whilst most of the players were now cold and soaking wet, it proves that it is easier to play when you are winning and Saints were now playing some of their best football, Jamie Micklewright finished off a lovely move from close range, and a further goal by Ben Clark sealed the points and moves Paignton Saints level on points with Brixham Town and Newton Abbot Spurs at the top of Division One. The other game played in Division One was on the artificial pitch at South Devon College where Paignton Villa hosted Babbacombe Corries (pictured) in a one sided affair that Villa won by 7 goals to nil.

There were no surviving fixtures in Divisions Two and Three, but in Division Four, incredibly, 4 games were played; the biggest shock came in the A38 derby where Liverton United Reserves surrendered their unbeaten start to the season with a 5 – 1 home defeat by Chudleigh Athletic. Gavin Lake scored twice for the visitors with Ben Hill, Joe Potter and Daniel Martin adding singles to complete a great afternoon for the Clarets. Babbacombe Corries Seconds are the latest team to fire blanks when Drake FC visit the bay; the Plymouth outfit, who look nailed on for honours in their first season in the Torbay Clearance Services league, ran out 8 – 1 winners, a result that keeps them top of the division, but right on their heals are Kingsteignton Athletic Seconds who came out on top in an 11 goal thriller at Broadpark against South Brent Reserves; Ashton Hogarth did the damage with a hat-trick and Ashley Hayworth and Tom De Young made sure the points were staying with the Rams. The result moves Kingsteignton Athletic up to second place in the table. The final game played in this division saw Barton Athletic Seconds win their second game of the season and move away from immediate danger by beating mid-table Broadhempston United on the 3g at Paignton Community College ( Tweenaway to people of a certain age !! ) the game was almost over at 2-nil, but Mathew Carroll scored a late consolation for the visitors before they ran to the changing rooms.

Recommended League games to catch next week, before two weeks of cup football with the Second Round of the Torbay Clearance Services Herald Cup on 11th October and the Fred Hewings cup on the 18th. Those cup draws are on the Full Time website.

Premier Division: its first versus third when Beesands Rovers have a trip up on to the moors to face Ilsington Villa in what should be a great game not only to watch but also for the referee as both teams have an exemplary discipline record.

In Division One: at the wrong end of the table, Harbertonford entertain Totnes and Dartington with both teams looking to move away from the danger zone; this could be a close game.

Division Two sees fourth placed East Allington United Seconds take on the leaders Paignton Saints Seconds where a home win will see the Pirates leapfrog Saints to the top. The groundstaff will no doubt be working hard on the pitch to get this game on.

Division Three fixtures have bottom of the table Kingsbridge and Kellaton, who have yet to pick up a point, host Waldon Athletic Thirds, who are just two places above them. The Kingsbridge camp will no doubt be hoping that the Waldon lads suffer a bit of jet lag on their journey into the South Hams.

The stand out game in Division Four is at Kinsgteignton Athletic Reserves who host a wounded Liverton United Second team who will be looking to bounce back following their surprise defeat last weekend.

If the weather is poor, there is one fixture that will definately be played and will be worth a watch. One of the many County Cup games taking place on Saturday is the clash between Paignton Saints and Bovey Tracey Reserves at Coach Road in the Senior Cup. Bovey, the Intermediate Cup holders, and Saints, one of the favourites to win it this season, should provide a cracking fixture that kicks off at 2pm.

Whichever game you decide to watch thank you for supporting grassroots football in South Devon.

tom reeves kingsteignton athletic v joey burton windmill herald cup final 2022

11 Goals at Lewthorne Cross as Villa Edge Rangers

Tom Reeves scored three as Kingsteignton move up the gears. Photo © Al Macphee/MiraclePR. Report by SDFL.

In the Premier Division, the moorland machine that is Ilsington Villa continues to plough through the opposition. The latest team to visit Lewthorne Cross and come away with nothing were last season’s runners-up Buckfastleigh Rangers who scored 5 goals, but conceded 6 to a team that finished third in Division One last season.

Buckfastleigh were winning 5 – 2 at half time, but a hat-trick from Dan Langford and 2 from Matt Goodwin keeps the moorlanders top of the table with the only 100% record in the Premier Division. Elsewhere in this division, Morley Rangers stay in second place following a scare at bottom club Brixham AFC Reserves. Dalton Brammer and Jack Tribble made sure of the points for the Plymstock team in a 3 – 2 victory. Beesands Rovers cemented their place in third following a fine 3 – 1 win at Osborne Park against Newton Abbot ’66. Last season’s champions in the Torbay Clearance Services Premier League, Kingsteignton Athletic, are finding their feet after a tricky start; a 4-nil win at home to Waldon Athletic makes a statement to the new boys. A hat-trick for Tom Reeves and a single for Matt Williams puts them up to fourth. Elburton Villa have moved into fifth place following a comfortable 3-nil home win against a young Chudleigh Athletic team who lost their manager during the week and no doubt some players.

In Division One, the match of the day between Newton Abbot Spurs Reserves and Watcombe Wanderers had to be abandoned following a serious injury to Spurs player Ben Frost. All of the South Devon Football League family wish Ben a speedy recovery. The other big game in this division took place at Homers Heath where two of last season’s Devon League teams met for the first time in the Torbay Clearance Services Division One. Paignton Saints moved into third place with a 4-nil win against Buckland Athletic, and Brixham Town remain in second place with a comfortable 6-nil win at Buckfastleigh Rangers Seconds. A big well done to Babbacombe Corries who picked up their first win of the season at home to Upton Athletic; Brendon Highfield scored both of Corries’ goals which moves them out of the relegation zone. As expected, this is going to be a very tight division with 5 teams looking to reach the Premier Division next season.

In Division Two, the top 2 met on the 4G at Coach Road, and it was Paignton Saints Seconds that came out on top in a 5 goal thriller; and they move 3 points clear at the top of another very tight and competitive division; Newton Abbot Spurs Thirds and East Allington United Seconds fought out a 2 – 2 draw and remain in second and fourth respectively; Joel Patchet and Jack Taylor were on target for the young Spurs who are going well. Newton Abbot Spurs are in a small select group of clubs that manage to put out 3 teams in the Torbay Clearance Services League at a time where a lot of clubs struggle to get 11 players out on a Saturday; how can Spurs, Waldon, Watcombe, Paignton Saintsa and Paignton Villa manage to put out at least 33 every Saturday? One thing is for sure: it doesn’t just happen without the hard work and dedication of volunteers behind the scenes working their socks off for grassroots football; so a big thank you and well done. Also, well done to Brixham Town Seconds who picked up their first point of the season with a 3 – 3 draw at home to WBB Seconds.

Division Three is also proving to be a competitive division, with Stoke Gabriel TP slipping up at Ashburton by 3 goals to nil courtesy of Dan Grute, Dan Wordsworth and Brandon Hext; this allowed Watcombe Wanderers Seconds to go 6 points clear with a 6-nil win at home to Teign Village; Adam Townsend got a hat trick with Mike Fieldhouse, Simon Ross and Ellis Kendall scoring for the Greens; South Brent also remain in contention with a 7 – 1 win at Paignton Villa Seconds, plus they have games in hand on the 5 leading teams.

Division Four returned to normal service with Drake FC returning to the top spot with a 7 – 1 victory at Paignton Villa Thirds; Callum and Louis Thomas got the scoring underway with Ashley Walker and Spike Nicholls scoring one each; Ben Webster and Alex Hambly scored late on to complete a comfortable afternoon. Elburton Villa Thirds are hot on their heals and a 5 – 1 win at Chudleigh Athletic Seconds will restore confidence in the young team; Kingsteington Athletic Seconds also remain at the top end of the table following a 3-2 win at South Brent Seconds; Sam Arthurs and Ashton Hogarth got the scoring underway with Louis Dickinson rolling back the years and remembering where the goal is. And finally, congratulations to Barton Athletic Seconds who picked up their first win of the season with a 2 – 1 win against fellow strugglers Newton Rovers Seconds. With 135 goals scored across the Torbay Clearance Services South Devon Football League, it proves that the grassroots football grounds of south Devon are the perfect place to spend your Saturday afternoon.

Pick of the games on the day the clocks change are in the Premier Division; Buckfastleigh Rangers host in form Beesands Rovers and Newton Abbot ’66 host Morley Rangers at Osborne Park; in Division One, the 2 stand out games are at Ivybridge Town Reserves who welcome Newton Abbot Spurs Seconds and up at Long Lane there should be a cracker when Watcombe Wanderers play Brixham Town. In Division Two, Newton Abbot Spurs Thirds host Ipplepen Athletic Seconds at Chuley Road; Ashburton and Newton Rovers will be looking to upset leaders Paignton Saints Seconds at Bakers Park. The stand out game in Division Three is Stoke Gabriel TP Seconds versus Liverton United whilst South Brent host Totnes and Dartington who both were promoted last season; and finally, in Division Four, Kingsteignton Athletic Seconds host South Brent Seconds in what should be a lively encounter. If none of these take your fancy, have a look at the Torbay Clearance Services South Devon League full-time website where you will find a list of all the games, and they all kick off at 2.30pm. Enjoy your weekend and support your local grassroots team.