SDFL Division One

Dartmouth reserves 2, Chudleigh Athletic 1

WITH this hard-fought victory Dartmouth secured their Division One status with a game to spare. Dartmouth started off knowing that two wins from their final two games would see them safe and from the beginning took the game to Chudleigh.

Early pressure was rewarded after only eight minutes when Josh Webber rifled home from the edge of the area.

Chudleigh slowly got a foothold in the game but it was the hosts who created the better chances and they eventually increased their lead when Ben Greeno nipped in behind the defence to round the 'keeper and slot home with 28 minutes played.

With Dartmouth looking comfortable, the first half was in its final minute when Jordan Frost was adjudged to have handled while trying to close down a shot. Chudleigh put away the resulting spot kick with barely time to restart the game.

The second half saw the visitors have all the early pressure, camped in the Dartmouth half for the first 10 minutes, but rarely was Carl Hoare in the home goal tested.

Having weathered the storm, the game descended into a midfield battle, although the better chances did fall Dartmouth's way.

At the final whistle, with three points in the bag, news filtered through that nearest rivals Ashburton had lost, but the surprise result was Paignton Villa throwing away a 3-0 lead to lose 6-3 against Kingsteignton, sending them down with Ashburton and making Dartmouth safe.

The man-of-the-match award went to Kevin Rowden.

Dartmouth reserves 0,

Newton Abbot Spurs reserves 2

Dartmouth entertained a Spurs side who still had a chance of being Division One runners-up if they won all three of their remaining games, and with that in mind they came heavily fortified with three Peninsula players.

With the pressure off however, it was Dartmouth who looked the side going for promotion as they played some fantastic two-touch football all over the pitch. With man-of-the-match Ryan Frost, Freddie Smith and Kev Rowden dominating midfield, the hosts created all the chances. The pick of the bunch was a stunning right-foot volley by Ross Prettyjohns, acrobatically tipped over by the Spurs 'keeper.

The half-time break proved Dartmouth's undoing as they never reached the same heights in the second half. Spurs took a 50th minute lead, capitalising on some slack defending, and Carl Hoare pulled off two good saves to keep Dartmouth in with a chance.

Dartmouth did manage to look theatening again late in the game but chasing the equaliser Spurs made the result safe, scoring from a dubious free kick in the 88th minute