TORBAY CLEARANCE SERVICES, SOUTH DEVON FOOTBALL LEAGUE. WEEKLY MATCH REPORTS 23rd MAY, report by Alastair Muirden. Photo of Signal Box Oak Villa contributed by SDFL
Midweek Roundup:
When is a title decider not a title decider? When Lakeside Athletic beat Windmill 3-2 to deny them winning it in their final game of the season. In a fantastic game of football that will surely be played at some time in the near future at a higher level, both teams were a credit to the standard of football being played in the SDFL at the moment, but it was the home team that have now set themselves up to win the title from Windmill, who have led the division since Christmas, if they win their last three games against Ilsington Villa, Plymouth True Blues and Kingsteignton Athletic on the last day of the season. Down at the bottom, Liam Ashwell, Callum Foskett and Jacob Cockram scored the three goals that will keep Newton Abbot ’66 in the Premier Division. A 3-2 win over Chudleigh Athletic confirms that Totnes and Dartington and Buckfastleigh Rangers will both be relegated to Division One.
Meanwhile, the race at the top of Division One could not get any hotter. They say at the start of every season that it’s a marathon not a sprint, but in the case of Elburton Villa Reserves, the opposite applies with them now facing seven games in eight days, and 17 points will get them promoted back to the Premier Division; but that will change by the day, so be sure to check full-time and look out for daily updates on Facebook to follow what would be an incredible achievement. Elburton only played twice in midweek, winning 4-1 at local rivals Mount Gould, who could now miss out on a second promotion, and losing 4-3 to Barton Athletic, who will be hoping that Villa lose at least twice in the final week. At the top, WBB continue to motor along, and their 12-1 win at Liverton keeps them top of the spots in Division One.
George Belli Cup Final
Just short of 200 spectators turned out at Ivybridge Town FC on a Friday evening to watch episode three of the Lakeside v Windmill saga, where the bragging rights were one each at the start of play, and when Windmill hit the bar on ten minutes then the post on eleven minutes, the game looked as if it were going to go their way, but you all know what they say about missed chances. 22 minutes in and Marley Krac scored a great goal from the edge of the box, and now it was Windmill who were wobbling. They just could not get back into the game and half-chances came and went, and talisman Brodie Simpson was frustrated with the final passes that were going astray. The second half was end-to-end, but it seemed that every time Windmill had a chance, the Lakeside ‘keeper Ben Martin was on hand to tidy things up and his eventual man-of-the-match award was well deserved. 67 minutes in, and following three or four clean passes, the ball fell to JJ Honeywell far on the left of the penalty box, and he placed the ball past Sam Wells in the Windmill goal to effectively finish the job. Windmill never gave up and kept playing their game right to the end, but it was Lakeside’s night and it could well be their season as well.
The SDFL would like to thank our hosts Ivybridge Town for agreeing to host yet another league final and allow the teams to enjoy the facilities at the club.
Saturday 23rd May: Goals galore as the final league placings are chased
In the Premier Division, there were ten goals in the East Allington United v Paignton Saints game; unfortunately for the home team, Saints scored nine of them, which has not helped the Pirates’ goal difference which is negative 21 and unusual for a team in sixth place. There were nine goals in the Kingsteignton Athletic v Newton Abbot Spurs Reserves game, and again it was the visitors who scored the most in a 6-3 victory that keeps them in third place and the only team that can break up the Plymouth union at the top. Newton Abbot ’66 and Ilsington Villa played out an entertaining end of season 2-2 draw; Cody Monk and Luke Snell were on target for Sixes, and Jack Dixon and Dan Langford were the scorers for Villa. I say entertaining, but that would be for the neutral, as the referee had a busy afternoon in issuing six yellows and one red to no doubt close off his season with disappointment. Plymouth True Blues warmed up for their local derby next week with a 5-1 win over Chudleigh Athletic to keep them in fourth place and, of course, Chudleigh reached their safety place with points gained at the start of May.
If I could have written a script at the start of the season for Division One!!!! I had to go back to the 4th October to find the last league game that WBB lost, and that was against Barton Athletic who won 2-1 back then. Yesterday, they won three-nil and leapfrogged Wattsies into pole position but have finished their fixtures. Eden Creswell-Cluer and Oakley Hunt were on target for the Blues, who will now have to wait for WBB to play two final games where they need two points for promotion, and those games are v Mount Gould away on Wednesday 27th and Elburton Villa at home on 30th. As for Elburton Villa, they kept up the pressure with an 8-4 win at Watcombe, which is not an easy place to score that many. They have six games to play and need to win them all to be champions. They also have one to arrange versus Bovey Tracey Reserves, and they only have Friday free, so they could possibly have to forfeit points if they don’t play it. Depending on the mid-week scorelines, it will probably come down to the game on 30th v WBB that decides the title. Mount Gould were gifted three points, as Bovey Tracey could not raise a team for a home game, but as results elsewhere went against them, they are likely to finish in fourth place in their first taste of Division One football. The bottom two sides met at Chuley Road, and Liverton United enjoyed an afternoon in the sunshine, scoring five goals and only conceding one versus Newton Abbot Spurs Thirds. Mathematically, Livvy could escape relegation, but that would get in the nationals as they need six points and 63 goals.
In Division Two, it’s congratulations to Babbacombe Corries, who, having picked up six points from their last two games, will join SB Oak Villa (pictured) in Division One next season. A six-nil win at Paignton Saints Seconds, with a hat-trick from Joshua Hills, two from Keiron Sweet and a single from Curtis Marshall, sees the Corries bounce straight back after last season’s relegation. Harbertonford signed off a stable season with a 2-1 win versus Ashburton; Jaimie Simmonds and Billy Bright won the points for the Fords leaving Ashes needing to win their final game to get third place.
In Division Three, incredibly, no games were played, and seven of the teams still have fixtures to play; Kingskerswell have the most, with three outstanding, and one of them has not been fixtured yet, so another team that may have to forfeit points.
In Division Four, it’s congratulations to Teign Village, who finally got over the line after using up as many lives as they could. They pulled out a four-nil win at Kingsbridge and Kellaton United to join Chudleigh Athletic Seconds in Division Three next term. Chudleigh Athletic were presented with the divisional winners’ trophy at today’s game at Bere Alston United Reserves but fell short of that standard on the pitch, losing 6-1 to the team that could finish in third place depending on the result against Barton Athletic Seconds on Wednesday 27th. Waldon Athletic Thirds have also made up some ground in recent weeks, and with two games to play, could get into fourth place. This week, they won eight-nil at Broadhempston United, and Paignton Villa Thirds signed off a good season with a 3-2 win versus Newton Rovers Seconds to finish in mid-table and only two wins away from a promotion challenge.
Games to catch Saturday 30th May:
Dependant on mid-week results, these are the championship/promotion games:
Lakeside Athletic v Kingsteignton Athletic. 2.30pm at Parkway social club.
WBB v Elburton Villa. 2.30pm at Abbrook Park.
Newton Abbot ’66 Seconds v Kingskerswell. 2.30pm at Osborne Park.
And an unusual fixture to catch on Wednesday 27th at 6.45pm, if you have no interest in the Europa League final, is a relegation one-pointer game at South Brent where they take on Buckfastleigh Rangers Seconds in a Division Three game where a draw keeps both teams up, but a win for Brent relegates their local rivals or a win for Rangers leaves Brent teetering on goal difference.
Enjoy your final week of grassroots football. You will miss it when its gone.