All smiles for Devon pro clubs

As we head towards the end of the first quarter in the professional football season, it has been a satisfactory start for Devon’s top three clubs.

Adjusting to life in the Sky Bet Championship was always going to be a challenge for Plymouth Argyle but, apart from one disappointing display at Bristol City, the Pilgrims have demonstrated more than enough quality and resilience to flourish at their new level.

After the midweek visit from Millwall, the Greens head into the international break with another home game on Saturday, when Swansea City make the trip to Plymouth.

Home form, as always, will be crucial to Argyle’s success this season but they will need to show strength on the road as well, which was definitely in evidence at Hull City on the weekend, when a goal from young midfielder Adam Randell secured a valuable point.

Exeter City suffered a 2-0 loss at home to Northampton Town on Saturday but the Grecians can also be generally pleased with their start, as they sit just one point outside the play-off positions with ten games played.

City are also looking forward to a fourth round visit from Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup after their outstanding 1-0 win over Premier League Luton Town at St James Park.

Demetri Mitchell scored the only goal seven minutes from time against the Hatters and manager Gary Caldwell was understandably thrilled with the result.

"I'm really proud of the players, they were absolutely incredible,” he said. “We had to come up with a game plan and had one day to work on it and they performed it to the letter.

"In the beginning we understood it, but weren't quite aggressive enough. However, as the game wore on, we got better, they got more frustrated and it was an amazing win.”

Torquay United are also riding high in the National League South and they marched into the next round of the FA Cup with a 5-0 demolition of Hungerford Town.