TORBAY CLEARANCE SERVICES, SOUTH DEVON FOOTBALL LEAGUE. WEEKLY MATCH REPORTS 6th DEC, report by Alastair Muirden. Photo of The Windmill contributed by SDFL
Only three games survived another Friday downpour with the league issuing a wet weather protocol for the third time in six weeks.
In the Premier Division, Paignton Saints had a great result against East Allington United on the 3g at Coach Road (full report and photos available on Daves World) A 3-nil win, with goals from Cairo Broadway, Billy Reay and Brandon Kelly, moves Saints into fourth place and just three points off second place. A disappointing afternoon for the in form Pirates who remain in fifth place with the same points tally as Saints.
In Division Two, Upton Athletic travelled to the Manadon 3g to face an unforgiving Signal Box Oak Villa team looking to stay in pole position. The visitors travelled with the bare eleven and were reduced to ten early in the game through injury, and the home team went on to score every five minutes ending up with 17 on the score card. There were ten different scorers, but Callum Austin, Jordan Rickards and Finley Comerford scored hat tricks. The result puts Signal Box five points clear of Corries who have two games in hand. Upton remain bottom of the table, but fair play to them for travelling and doing their best in squalid conditions.
Division Four was able to offer Paignton Villa Thirds the chance to welcome Kingsbridge and Kellaton United to South Devon College in what was a game dominated by the wind. Villa secured their third win of the campaign with a fine 6-2 victory over the visitors from the South Hams; goals from Martin McHugh, two from Stuart McCauley and a hat-trick for Tom Bintcliffe leapfrogs Villa above the visitors into sixth place and just five points from second with a game in hand.
Another blank week will have many teams wondering when these games will be played and how many mid-week games will there be in April and May. Well, there are still 23 playing Saturdays until the end of the season, so if we look at the best and worst case scenario in each division to make it clearer: Premier – three teams have only played six games so have 16 still to play. If they do well in the cups, that could add another six games to the list, therefore it is possible that some may not need to rely on mid-week games. It also means that the division could probably take another five wet Saturdays until we need to have a closer look at the calendar. The best case are True Blues who are just one game short of playing half of their fixtures and have 12 league games to play in 23 weeks.
Division One is slightly worse off with three teams still having 17 fixtures to fit into 23 Saturdays. 2 of those teams, Bovey Tracey Reserves and Mount Gould, are likely to have seven or eight cup games as well to manage, so as we stand, those two are fairly sure to be playing mid-week or needing to find another pitch if theirs is not playable. The best placed team is Beesands Rovers who have 13 games left with 23 Saturdays to play them.
Division Two is the best division for games played. Half of the teams have either played half or are one short of playing half, so we don’t see any issues at the moment; only Watcombe Seconds have four more games but plenty of time to fit them into a Saturday.
Division Three is mostly looking fine at the moment with the top four teams having 11 or 12 games to fit in, and as they are the most likely to go further in the cups, they have no need at the moment to be thinking of mid-week games. Only Stoke Gabriel TP have five more games to fit in, but at the moment, this would take them up to 17 Saturdays and leave six free.
Division Four is also fine with seven of the 11 teams ahead of their fixtures, but Waldon Thirds have only played four games and have 16 still to play, and as they are one of two unbeaten teams, a cup run is not out of the question. They may need to switch some games to Windmill Hill to catch up. And whilst I realise that some folk will find this hard to believe, all of the above is subject to mother nature over which the SDFL has no control.
Games to catch (weather permitting) Saturday 13th December
There are some big games to look forward to this Saturday, and our Plymouth-based supporters will be spoilt for choice. Windmill (pictured) take on an Ilsington Villa side looking to get back amongst the front runners. This game is at Millennium Fields with a 2.30 KO, and just across the parkway, Lakeside Athletic meet Newton Abbot ’66 who have already taken three points in the home fixture, so Lakeside will be looking to win this game. True Blues are the other Plymouth based team facing decent opposition, in Kingsteignton Athletic, at Millbay Park also with a 2.30 KO. Whilst the Rams may be at the wrong end of the table, True Blues will know that they can beat any team on their day.
My pick of the day’s fixtures though is also in Plymouth, at Tothill Enclosure, where in Division One, Mount Gould welcome Bovey Tracey in what could well be a rehearsal for a Premier Division game next season. Both teams are going well and have plenty of games in hand to catch the front runners.
In Division Two, its third v fourth at Ivybridge Town Reserves, where Babbacombe Corries are the visitors just two weeks after winning the home game 8-1, so the Ivies will be looking for a better outcome at Erme Valley if the water stays in the river.
There is an attractive tie at Broadpark in Division Three, where Kingsteignton Athletic Seconds host a good footballing side in Galmpton United who could do with a few dry days to let them show their skills. but the current wet period could suit the home team.
The big game in Division Four is first v third at Kate Brook where Chudleigh Athletic Reserves face local rivals Teign Village in a no holds barred fixture, where a win for the home team could open up an 11 point gap at the top.
Enjoy your grassroots football.