FA Cup wins for Bideford and Barnstaple

Bideford AFC and Barnstaple Town both opened their competitive campaigns with comfortable progress in the FA Cup.

The Robins took on Wellington in a game played at Willand Rovers and goals from Ryan Turner and Finn Roberts proved enough for a 2-0 win on a day when Storm Antoni made it very difficult to play fluent football.

Bideford broke the deadlock on 18 minutes, when Javan Wright and Jack Winsor combined neatly to release Turner, who calmly slotted past the Wellington custodian. Josh Coles was then denied by a good save, as Bideford threatened to overrun the Tangerines.

Coles curled a lovely effort narrowly wide in the final chance of a strong first period for the Robins, who played into the breeze after the break. Lloyd Tucker went close for Wellington and a terrific last-ditch tackle from Charlie Madden preserved the slender lead.

Passage into the next round was eventually confirmed on 74 minutes, when Wright sauntered through the Tangerines before crossing deep to Roberts, who arrowed a deflected strike into the bottom corner.

The Robins cruised through the closing stages and now welcome Helston Athletic in the next round on August 19, but it will be a dangerous tie against the Cornishmen, who were impressive in their 3-1 win over Willand Rovers.

Barnstaple welcomed Saltash United to Mill Road and a potentially tricky tie on paper, as was evidenced by the Ashes jumping into the lead on five minutes, when Jack Wood pounced on a defensive error to score.

Barum gradually recovered their composure, and survived a couple of close scares before Callum Laird struck the equaliser. The game then changed massively in terms of momentum with the dismissal of Jordan Ewing for the visitors.

Barnstaple were ruthless in exploiting the numerical advantage and surged into the lead with a goal from Harry Foster on 36 minutes, a lead they maintained into the interval.

The second half was largely dominated by the windy conditions, with both teams struggling to find a solid rhythm. Barum needed one more moment to confirm their progress and Tommy Rogers duly obliged with a fine header to seal the win. Next up is a very tough game at Tavistock in the next round.

Sadly for Ilfracombe Town, their FA Cup journey has fallen at the first hurdle. Ollie Beck scored a consolation for the Bluebirds at Mousehole and the overall performance was encouraging, but they were beaten by a very good team on the day.