Tag: beesands rovers

kingsteignton athletic sdfl premier division 2025

Leaders Villa fend off stern Bees challenge

TORBAY CLEARANCE SERVICES, SOUTH DEVON FOOTBALL LEAGUE. WEEKLY MATCH REPORTS 8th FEBRUARY, report by Alastair Muirden. Photo of Kingsteignton Athletic, who hit Elburton Villa Reserves for six this week, contributed by SDFL

It may well be as you were in the top half of the Premier Division after this weeks results, but Ilsington Villa huffed and puffed to get past a determined Beesands Rovers side that are fighting for their Premier Division status; it took goals from Daniel Langford and Myles Caldwell to secure a 2 – 1 home win and remain in pole position with 7 games to play.

Keeping up the pressure, and remaining level on points with the Moorlanders, are Newton Abbot ’66 who have played a game more and made no mistakes in their 4 – 1 victory over Chudleigh Athletic who are also fighting for their top division status. Ashley Dove scored twice with Carl Foskett and 17 year old Marley Rivers also finding the net. No doubt young Marley will be hoping to follow in his fathers footsteps into the pro game. In Mark’s career, he made 331 appearances for Crewe Alexandra, Norwich City and Carlisle United and netted 62 goals along the way. Coincidentally, ’66 only have 6 games to play and two of them are against top four clubs, so there are plenty of points to be played for especially next week against Newton Abbot Spurs Reserves. Elsewhere, Kingsteignton Athletic (pictured) remain in third place after brushing aside Elburton Villa Reserves by 6 goals to 1; Nick Garret won the match ball with a hat-trick, and Tom Reeves, Kelsey Leech and Matt Williams weighed in with singles. That was more than enough to give the Rams a comfortable afternoon at Broadpark. Buckfastleigh Rangers stay in fourth place, but it could have been so much more as they were held to a 1 – 1 draw by Paignton Saints in a game that both teams felt that it was 2 points dropped; the two teams meet again next week in the Herald Cup and with extra time and penalties there will definitely be a winner. Newton Abbot Spurs continue to be upwardly mobile; they had a good win over East Allington United and stay in fifth place thanks to a 3- 2 scoreline at the Rec; Callum Noyce, Jamie Micklewright and Jake Mitchell were the target men for Spurs who are 8 points off the lead with 4 games in hand and as the weeks go by, they are becoming the writer’s favourites for the title just two seasons after joining the South Devon Football League from the Devon Football League. Waldon Athletic got back to winning ways after a turbulent week for the club; a 4 – 1 home win against Totnes and Dartington was just the medicine for the Torquay-based team who will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season; Les Afful bagged two and there were singles for Kyle Doughty and Frank Major to keep the Clarets in contention.

There were only two league games played in Division One due to delayed cup games as Bovey Tracey Reserves took advantage with a fine 5-2 win at Newton Spurs Thirds to keep themselves ahead of The Windmill and within touching distance of Plymouth True Blues. Paignton Villa moved above Buckland Athletic Reserves in the standings with a 2 – 1 win over the Newton Abbot side; goals from Daniel Petty and Charlie Thomas puts the Villa into fifth place and just 4 points off the top four.

In Division Two, Barton Athletic picked up three free points as Buckfastleigh Rangers Reserves could not raise a team, but despite being in pole position, they must be looking over their shoulders as the clubs as far down as East Allington Seconds in seventh place have games in hand over the leaders who only have 7 to play; Mount Gould in third place have an incredibile 7 games in hand and are 12 points behind. Paignton Villa Seconds have been in a run of good form of late but that came to an end at Harbertonford who ran out winners on the day by 3 goals to 1. Strikes from Seb Looker, Joshua Block and George Haan won the points for the Fords who have now picked up points from over half of their fixtures and seem to be more settled after a worrying couple of seasons. Most of you know that you can never write off a Watcombe Wanderers team and the Greens, having had an indifferent start to the season, are up to fifth place with games in hand thanks to a 5 – 1 win at Bakers Park against Newton Rovers; Keiron Dale scored two and there were singles from Simon Ross, Steve Doyle and Sam Edney. Paignton Saints Reserves also moved away from any potential squeaky bum time with a 6 – 2 home win versus Upton Athletic who are also in a safe mid-table berth.

In Division Three, Drake FC let 2 more points slip away in their quest for a second successive promotion as visitors South Brent are more than happy with a 1 – 1 draw that moves them further away from the bottom two; Kasper Gorecki was on target for the Plymouth team who remain in second place but just to put this division into context, South Brent are third from bottom with five games in hand and should they win them, they could bag a promotion spot, so it’s all to play for; another team with games in hand are Totnes and Dartington Seconds; they dispatched Paignton Saints Thirds 6-nil with strikes from Ryan Turner, Jimmy Spriggs, Jordan Baxter, Connor Bagnell and Harry Parnham, a result which leaves Saints second from bottom having conceded 95 goals in 13 games.

It was business as usual in Division Four as Kingskerswell saw off the Teign Village challenge, winning 7-nil, and now only need 1 more win to be crowned Division Four champions, and we are only in February; they have a free weekend this week so I will report next week in case you would like to see the first silverware of the season won. The race for second place will go to the wire; Templer Way, currently in second place, won 5 – 2 at home against Broadhempston United; Toto Whittle scored 4 goals before being subbed off(!!) and James McGrain added a single after replacing him; now that’s what managers are supposed to do. And Teign Village remain in third place with a game in hand, and should it come down to goal difference, Templer are on plus 21 and Village are on plus 20, so that extra game for Village could make the difference but of course they both have to win the games before goal difference is considered. Chudleigh Athletic Reserves remain in fourth place with two games in hand but would need Templer or Village to slip up to overtake them; this week they won 4 – 1 at Kingsbridge and Kellaton United with goals from Joshua Webber, Jack Wills and Warren Smart to keep their good season on track. Paignton Villa Thirds and Waldon Athletic Thirds shared a 2 – 2 draw and both remain in mid-table.

The Torbay Clearance Services League has so far been fairly fortunate with the weather; with only a couple of weeks totally lost to the season, it’s amazing that we are in the first week of February and Waldon Athletic Thirds only have one league game to play at Cricketfield Road and whilst Division Four is a smaller division with ten teams, it’s only two less than the Premier Division where Newton Abbot Spurs Reserves have eleven games still to play. In Division One, Plymouth Phoenix still have to play thirteen games and they play on a 3g pitch!! They have been blighted by postponements by other teams and to their credit are still in three cup competitions, so if they continue to be unbeaten they could have 20 games to play, and there are only sixteen playing Saturdays left, so if you take out eight of those Saturdays for cup games, they could have to arrange at least eight midweek games in a six week period to finish the season. Another Plymouth based team in Mount Gould are also in a similar situation with fourteen league games to play not including their remaining cup games and in Division Three, South Brent, who had a month off earlier in the season, still have a bit of catch up to do in their remaining twelve games. Most other teams fall into the six to ten games left to play which should give the majority plenty of time and not so many mid-week fixtures to arrange. Having said that, I expect 6 feet of snow to hit us within a fortnight!!

Games to catch on Saturday 15th February.

It’s all up for the cup this week as teams battle for a place in the quarter finals of the Herald Cup, and what an offering is available to grassroots supporters. Premier Division East Allington United welcome Division One’s top team Plymouth True Blues to Poole Lane in what should be a difficult game for both teams. Another Plymouth based team in Phoenix get the experience of visiting Long Lane to face a Watcombe Wanderers team determined to keep a cup run going. There is an all Division One tie between Bovey Tracey Reserves and Ivybridge Town Reserves and down at Loddiswell, two of the bottom three in the top division clash in the cup when Beesands Rovers play Chudleigh Athletic in a game where the winning team will get a boost of confidence to take back to their league fixtures. The cup would not be the cup without a banana skin game and there are two on offer. Premier Division Waldon Athletic travel to Division Three outfit South Brent with no doubt a brief to avoid any trainspotting during the game, and Kingsteignton Athletic will be taking nothing for granted when Division Two side Liverton United visit Broadpark . Buckfastleigh Rangers host Paignton Saints for the second time in a week in an all Premier Division tie at Duckspond. But my game of the day is not in the cup, it is the Premier Division clash at Osborne Park between Newton Abbot ’66 and Newton Abbot Spurs Reserves where it really is a don’t lose game for both teams; the last meeting, just two weeks ago, went the way of Spurs who won 3-nil and put ’66 out of the Belli Cup, so I am sure that Mr. Clenahan and Mr. Feaver will make sure their teams have their eyes on the prize for this game. All cup games kick off at 2pm with the Newton Abbot derby starting at 2.30pm.

Enjoy your grassroots football.

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.