Glorious weekend of FA Cup football for Bideford and Barnstaple

The opening round of the Emirates FA Cup could not have gone better for Bideford AFC and Barnstaple Town, as both North Devon clubs cruised through with impressive results.

For the Robins of Bideford, it was a case of avoiding an upset at home to Western League Wellington, and they made the ideal start with Louie Slough pinging a lovely pass wide to Javan Wright, who fizzed a shot goalwards.

While the initial effort was blocked by the Wellington custodian, Ryan Turner was in the right place to slot home the rebound.

Bideford continued to control proceedings and had numerous chances to extend their lead before Wellington popped up with an equaliser against the run of play, and just moments away from the half-time whistle.

The setback proved short-lived, however, as the Robins set about dismantling their tiring visitors. The next breakthrough arrived just before the hour, Finn Roberts whipping over a delicious cross with his left wand and Archie Reay steered a lovely header into the net.

More chances were missed by the hosts but progress was virtually assured when Scott Robinson snaffled up the rebound after another good save from the over-worked Wellington ‘keeper.

The final act once again saw a good save in the visiting goal, and again his defenders were slow to react, Charlie Wright nodding home for a 4-1 victory and a trip to Falmouth Town awaits in the next round on Saturday, August 16.

On paper, Barnstaple had a far tougher task, travelling to Southern League opposition in the shape of Willand Rovers, but it was all about a blistering start from Barum that left their Mid-Devon hosts in a state of shock.

Willand have yet to get their competitive season underway, while Barum have two games under their belts in the Western League, and that extra sharpness showed in the early stages, as Josh Parry pounced on hesitant defending to stab a neat finish beyond the home custodian.

Moments later, the lead was doubled with a worldie from Gabby Rogers, curling a fabulous strike into the top corner from 30 yards. Willand tried everything to recover the situation but Barum always looked comfortable in defence, and arguably could have scored more.

“We were very good today, everyone worked really well,” said Barum boss Ben Potter. “We got the two goals and then defended like warriors for the rest of the game.

“We had a game plan and the lads performed. Everyone is happy with the result, we’ve set the standards now and we take that on to Helston next week. We had a bit more experience in the midfield, a bit bigger physically and we sat in together as a unit.

“We also had two good outlets going forward.”

Barnstaple will host Tavistock in the next round.