Dramatic Newton Abbot derby ends with the huge tension of penalties

Newton Abbot Spurs 3rds may have been the highest ranked team to qualify for the Fred Hewings Cup but Newton Abbot 66 2nds contributed to a great final, as they took the eventual winners all the way to a penalty shootout on Friday night at Buckfastleigh.

The scoreline after 90 minutes was 2-2 with Frank Orynik and Rhys Fewings finding the net for Spurs after Jono Ellis and Russ Ellis had given Sixes the lead. With no further goals in extra time, the neutral supporters were going to be the only people who were looking forward to a penalty shootout and Spurs were more clinical with the kicks, winning 3-1 and setting up an evening of celebration to offset their league season.

Saturday’s games in the South Devon League were full of shocks and bruises, so let’s start with the bruises. In the Premier Division’s knockout Belli Cup, the Plymouth derby between True Blues and Lakeside Athletic lived up to the pre-match billing with True Blues needing to find true grit to comeback from 3-0 down at the break to force extra time and then take the tie into a dramatic penalty shootout where they scored all five spot-kicks.

Bayley Williams, Ashley White and George Davey were the second-half scoring heroes for the Blues, who finished the game with ten players. Lakeside still have another cup semi-final to look forward to next week and will be hoping for better fortune against WBB.

The other Belli Cup game went with the formbook when Windmill booked a place in their divisional semi-final for the second consecutive season with 3-1 victory over a much-improved Buckfastleigh Rangers side, all the goals came courtesy of Brodie Simpson, who is certainly having a great season when it comes to finding the net.

In the Division One Dartmouth Cup, Elburton Villa had a bruising home win versus Watcombe Wanderers by 5 goals to 3 to add yet another fixture to their gruelling April and May games programme, where they are going to have to arrange to play three times each week to avoid not finishing their fixtures.

Bovey Tracey are another team with a lot of league games to play and had a good result against a Liverton United side that was made up of reserve team players due to non-availability. Bovey ran out 5-2 winners with strikes from Ben Moyle, Ollie Bourne, Owen Caldwell and Rory Wolfe.

Babbacombe Corries progressed in the Division Two knockout with a 4-1 win against Harbertonford, thanks to Kieron Sweet, Joshua Hills, Jordan Bradshaw and Jack Cousins.

In the Division Three Ronald Cup game between the two runaway leaders, success went the way of Kingskerswell by one goal to nil but Galmpton United certainly made the home team work for the victory in a game that was a credit to this level of football.

The Division Four Cup had just one game and Barton Athletic 2nds, who have had a great season, came very close to a cup upset versus the league leaders Chudleigh Athletic 2nds in a very entertaining game at Barton Downs. The match ended 2-2 after full and extra time and it was the visitors, who were more composed in front of goal winning the shootout 3-1. In the Torbay Clearance Services Premier Division, Ilsington Villa’s title hopes were dented in a 1-0 defeat to East Allington United in a fantastic game of football that brought out the best in the Pirates and in Finn Bullen, who remains one of the top strikers in the competition.

Chudleigh Athletic and Newton Abbot 66 shared the points in a 1-1 draw in a game that both teams could have felt more comfortable with all three points but sometimes you need to keep a full complement of players on the pitch to do that. It was reported to have been a stop-start messy affair, which saw three sin bins.

Totnes and Dartington will be no doubt glad to see the back of this season and press the reset button after this week’s 9-1 loss at the hands of Newton Abbot Spurs, The Tots have struggled all season to put two sides out, which is such a shame for the Belli Cup holders with a great club ethic to be struggling to attract young players at this time. Spurs are still in with a chance of a top three finish.

Paignton Saints remain in a positive mode and a 2-1 win at Kingsteignton Athletic heaps more worries of a season-end relegation battle for the Rams, which would have been unthinkable in any other campaign.

In Division One, Watts Blake Bearne continue to plough through whoever is put in front of them and a 10-2 demolition of Brixham Town will have a different impact on both teams. Ashton Sowerby was a hat-trick hero for the Claymen and, after a great first half of the season, the Fishermen find themselves struggling to put out two teams each week as players seem to find other activities on a Saturday, That seems to be the way it is at the moment.

Mount Gould are also one of the teams to beat in this division and Paignton Villa came close. The final score was 1-0 to the Plymouth-based team thanks to a single strike from Jake McLean, which takes them a step closer to another promotion.

At the other end of the table, Buckland Athletic continue to improve and another three points, this time versus Beesands Rovers by 3 goals to 1, will give the young Bucks every hope of staying in Division One.

In Division Two, Signal Box moved three points closer to the league title with a comprehensive 5-0 win at Bakers Park against Newton Rovers and Ipplepen Athletic produced a shock result in beating Kingsteignton Athletic 2nds by three goals to nil. The Pens will be glad to get some more points on the board but they remain one of five teams that could go down a division.

Paignton Villa 2nds and Drake shared a 1-1 draw in a game that was played without a referee and both remain contenders for a top three spot (full report on Davesworld) and Paignton Saints 2nds put a dent in the hopes of Ashburton with a 4-3 victory in a tough game for all.

Finally, congratulations to Kingsbridge & Kellaton United in Division Four as they picked up another three points in a 3-0 home win versus Broadhempston United to put them into contention of a mid-table season, which would be a welcome break from the recent seasons of struggle for the family-run club. Well done to Tina and Andy and thank you for what you do for South Devon football.

Game to catch this week:

The Herald Cup semi-final, kindly sponsored by Torbay Clearance Services, on Friday, April 17 at Buckland Athletic FC with a 7pm kick off. Can WBB from Division One cause a cup shock when they face a Lakeside Athletic side bruised from a Belli Cup defeat in what should be a great advert for South Devon League football. There is plenty of parking and a full bar and food service will be provided by the host club.

Enjoy your grassroots football.