Major shocks in the Herald Cup

This week was all about the cups and there were some major upsets in the Herald Cup.

Division One outfit Brixham Town caused the biggest upset of the week by beating last season’s losing finalists Ilsington Villa by three goals to two at JC Park.

Luc Pilkington and Jack Dixon were on target for Villa but goals from Mark Griffiths, Macca Dallow and Hugo Griffiths brought Town back from 2-0 down to record an outstanding win and secure their place in round two.

Another Division One team, Plymouth Phoenix, gave Premier League opposition Totnes and Dartington a lesson at Devonport High School, not by the odd goal but by nine goals to nil with seven players getting on the scoresheet.

Buckfastleigh Rangers secured their place in the hat with a comfortable 4-0 home win versus Elburton Villa, who can now concentrate on gaining some league points.

Paignton Villa of Division One progressed to round two of the Herald Cup by overcoming a potential banana skin game against Templar Way from Division Four, 11-2 was the final score and a bit of a reality check for the new boys who can look forward to better results in the league.

Other teams to safely make it in to round two were Bovey Tracey, a 7-2 win versus Babbacombe Corries thanks to strikes from Bradley Rooney, Ryan Stanbridge, Oliver Clifford Bourne, Ben Moyle and Rory Wolfe made for a good day at the office for the Moorlanders, and Harbertonford won the all-Division Two game versus Upton Athletic 4-0 thanks to Andrew Doran, George Hann, Jason Wilkes and Luke Collens who all found the target for the Fords.

In the Fred Hewings Cup, Kingsteignton Athletic 2nds won the big first round tie against Chudleigh Athletic 2-0, Finlay Lumgair and Mark Prowse finding the target for the young Rams. Cup favourites from Division One, Newton Abbot Spurs 3rds, enjoyed a big 7-0 win against Division Three Waldon Athletic 2nds, goals from Dominic Osbourne, Louis Green, Rhys Fewings and an Oliver Belotti hat-trick saw Spurs safely into the hat for the next round.

Joining them will be Elburton Villa 3rds who just scraped past Paignton Villa 2nds at White Rock by the odd goal in seven and Totnes and Dartington 2nds overcame Newton Abbot 66 2nds by 2 goals to 1, Jordan Baxter and Ryan Turner finding the net for Tots.

Paignton Saints 2nds also secured a place in the 2nd round by winning 4-0 at Bakers Park, where Newton Rovers 2nds were still in the game with 15 minutes to go but could not penetrate the Saints defence, Szymon Brzezinski, Darren Millea, Konrad Wozniak and Michael Hernandez were on target for the Saints.

East Allington Utd 2nds also recorded a 4-0 win versus Buckfastleigh Rangers 2nds at Poole Lane, Daniel Bastin, Lee Prestage, Sam Quick and Aden Corcoran found the net for the Pirates.

The top two in the Premier Division met at Osborne Park, Waldon Athletic were 3-0 in front before Newton Abbot 66 pulled two goals back to make for an exciting last 10 minutes for the supporters. Tom Lowe was the man who gave 66 some hope when he found the net but earlier strikes from Les Afful (2) and Jacob Knapman did too much damage to the sixes.

The result puts Waldon six points clear of Ilsington Villa, who leapfrog 66 on a goal difference and the Torquay side are now the team to beat in the top division. Newton Abbot Spurs, who had a free Saturday, could go 2nd if they win their two games in hand.

East Allington Utd continue to improve, a 2-1 win at Chudleigh Athletic moves them up to fifth from bottom but with a positive goal difference, Finley Bullen and Dan Hurrell were the target men for the Pirates.

Paignton Saints finally got a good result for all of their hard work, a 2-1 home win versus Kingsteington Athletic thanks to goals from Jake Powell and Eden Cresswell Cluer that moves them away from the bottom three and inflicts the first defeat for the Rams in six weeks.

Division One has a new leader, Plymouth True Blues return to the top spot with a 3-0 derby victory over Windmill, goals from Nick Porter, Connor Byrne and Michael Storey did the business for the Rangers boys.

In the only other game in Division One, WBB and Buckland Athletic shared the points in a 1-1 stalemate and both are cemented safely in mid-table.

In Division Two, Mount Gould have lost their unbeaten crown, a 2-1 victory for Liverton Utd has kept the possibilities alive for a number of teams who are there or thereabouts in this tight division. For example, East Allington Utd 2nds are down in seventh place with four games in hand that could put them joint top if they win them.

I would imagine Barton Athletic will be sending Liverton Utd a Christmas card this year as they returned to top spot following Liverton’s win and their own victory at home to Newton Rovers, Zach Norton and Oakley Hunt shared all the goals in a 5-3 triumph.

Division Three is also hotting up at the top, Ashburton were never in doubt of keeping their unbeaten record intact when they hosted bottom club Paignton Saints 3rds at Chuley Road, 13-0 was the final score, there were hat tricks for Derek Cartmill and Brandon Hext but the top scorer of the day was Kameron Pouladdej with five goals in the game. Full credit is due to the Saints team that kept their heads up and contributed for 90 minutes.

Ashburton’s near neighbours South Brent can also expect a Christmas card this year, they got back to winning ways by defeating Drake FC 1-0 at Palstone Park. Brent have now won three out of four games since regrouping and the future definitely looks orange.

The other team that have slowly been going about their business is Stoke Gabriel TP, they are up to third in the table with games in hand following a 4-1 win in an ill-tempered game at Liverton where both teams ended the game with 10 players on the pitch, an Adam Blackburn hat trick and a single from Daniel Trezise won the points for the Bees.

Division Four also only had two league fixtures because of the cups and the top two continue to move further away from the rest, Kingskerswell beat Waldon Athletic 3rds by 10 goals to 1, they now have a positive goal difference of plus 77 and have only conceded 7 in 9 games.

Teign Village remain level on points with them having played three games more and having to work harder for the points, they just had enough to get passed Kingsbridge and Kellaton by 3 goals to 2. Strikes from Alexander Easson, Thomas Beer and Jake Attard won the points for Village who seem to be enjoying their football again.

Games to catch on Saturday, November 23.

There are some big games to watch this week, the one that caught my eye is at Broadpark where Kingsteignton Athletic host Newton Abbot Spurs in a league fixture for the first time in many years and it should be a great game.

Also in the Premier Division, there is a South Hams derby at Poole Lane where East Allington Utd lock horns with Beesands Rovers in a game where league positions go out the window and at Osborne Park, Newton Abbot 66 welcome Buckfastleigh Rangers in what will be a heavyweight tussle.

Division Two is where I find my game of the day, Watcombe Wanderers versus Mount Gould could have a big say in who wins this division and the Greens will have a point to prove after not being able to raise a team to travel west in the first game of the season and the Plymouth team will not want to lose for the second week running.

The top game in Division Three is at Stoke Gabriel where the home team will be looking to inflict the first defeat of the season on Ashburton and it’s top versus second in Division Four at the Kerswell Bowl where Kingskerswell host Teign Village in what could be a cracker.

Enjoy your grassroots football.