THE first silverware of the season has been won in the South Devon Football League with Kingskerswell FC wrapping up the Division Four title, writes Alastair Muirden.
DIVISION FOUR
Congratulations go to Kingskerswell who have won the league with three games still to play. A 6-3 victory at Broadhempston Utd brought home the trophy to the Kerswell Bowl, Shane Shobbrook (2) Josh Lowles (2) Charlie Clarke and Josh Cawsey scoring the decisive goals.
To achieve this feat in their first season since reforming the adult team at the club is all the more impressive and so a shoutout is deserved for the club chairman Paul Edwards who has done a lot of work behind the scenes to get the team up and running again.
The race is now on for second place and it’s very tight to say the least with Teign Village, Templer Way and Chudleigh Athletic 2nds all in the mix and all having a different amount of games still to play.
PREMIER DIVISION
There were two shock results in the Premier Division that have had an effect at both ends of the standings.
Chudleigh Athletic can claim the result of the day with their 2-nil win at Kingsteignton Athletic, the result moves them out of the bottom two thanks to a double strike from Gavin Lake and puts a serious dent in any hopes the Rams had of league honours.
The other big result in the top-flight was at Osbourne Park where Buckfastleigh Rangers put four past Newton Abbot 66 without reply, the result sees the greens move into third place just three points behind Sixes who remain in second place and both have five games to play.
There were also a couple of Belli Cup matches played on Saturday, March 8- Newton Abbot Spurs met Beesands Rovers yet again in a cup competition and the end result was the same, a 2–1 win for Spurs to put them in the hat for the semi-finals and leaving them well placed for a league and cup double.
Ilsington Villa will also be in the semi-final draw following their 3–1 win at East Allington Utd, Daniel and Jack Langford were on the scoresheet and Matt Pilkington added a late third goal to complete the semi-final lineup of Ilsington, Totnes and Dartington, Paignton Saints and Spurs, with the draw to come on March 17.
DIVISION ONE
Division One was the division of draws with three of the four games ending in a stalemate, the big movers were Windmill who cruised into second place with a 6–1 home win over rivals Bovey Tracey, denting the Moorlanders hopes of a fourth consecutive promotion.
The three draws were all in the bottom half of the division so it is as you were in the placings.
Brixham Town, who cannot seem to buy a win at the moment, had to settle for a 1–1 result against Newton Abbot Spurs 3rds but having acquired some players from the demise of Brixham AFC, should be able to get some points from their remaining eight games.
Ivybridge Town remain adrift at the bottom but picked up a good point at Buckland Athletic despite having a player sent off, Josh Houghton scoring for the Bucks, in this 1-1 draw at Homers Heath.
WBB also secured another point in their fight for survival, a 2–2 result versus Paignton Villa would suggest that the Claymen will have enough in the tank to complete the season.
DIVISION TWO
In Division Two, you have to read the whole story and then look at the numbers- Barton Athletic are an incredible 17 points clear with four games to play and then here comes the but. Mount Gould have 13 games to play, East Allington Utd 2nds have 10 games to play, Liverton Utd & Watcombe Wanderers 2nds have 11 games to play and Babbacombe Corries have eight games to play so it’s possible that Barton Athletic, who have led the division all season, could be caught by a few teams.
Their fixture this week has a bumper match report with photos on Facebook and as reported, earned a 4–2 win at Upton Athletic which keeps them in control for the moment thanks to goals from David Lavalee, Zach Norton, Paddy Spreadbourgh and Mark Bevan.
The other league games also went with form, except bottom club Buckfastleigh Rangers 2nds holding 2nd place Paignton Villa to a 1–1 draw at the Duckspond, but they are still ten points from safety.
Harbertonford moved into the safety zone with a fine 4–1 victory over Ipplepen Athletic whilst East Allington Utd 2nds secured a 2-1 win at Bakers Park against Newton Rovers.
DIVISION THREE
It is also very tight at the top of Division Three with five clubs still in the mix. Ashburton maintained their advantage at the summit with a fine 4–1 home win against Waldon Athletic 2nds.
Drake remain second after a 2-0 win over Kingsteignton and Stoke Gabriel TP have closed the goal difference gap on them thanks to an 8-nil thrashing of Brixham Town 2nds.
South Brent and Newton Abbot 66 2nds shared the points in a 1–1 scoreline that both will be happy with and in the League Cup, both Elburton Villa 3rds and Liverton Utd 2nds made it into the hat for the semi-final draw with wins over T&D 2nds and Watcombe respectively. Aaron Underhill was the star of the Livvy show with four goals in their 5-2 success.
The county senior cup will be an all-SDFL affair once again, between True Blues and Phoenix, the pair already locking horns for the Division One title and the Dartmouth Cup.
PREVIEWS
Its all up for the cup this week and I will start off with my game of the day in the quarter-final of the Herald Cup, which is subject to a change of venue. Division One favourites Plymouth Phoenix have given up home advantage in the game against Premier Division challengers Kingsteignton Athletic as their pitch at Devonport High School is not available, now taking place at Broadpark for a 2pm kick-off.
There is a mighty heavyweight clash in the Belli Cup at Windmill Hill where Waldon Athletic face a Buckfastleigh Rangers side trying to save their season from being free of silverware.
In the Premier Division, there is a 6-pointer at Haye Road where Elburton Villa 2nds meet Beesands Rovers as a win for either team will make a huge difference come May.
In Division Three, at Stoke Gabriel, there is the league version of the cup game from two weeks ago versus Drake FC. These two are 2nd and 3rd and again, a win for either will put them three points clear of the other.