Shoot-out joy for Brixham in the quarter-finals

Two of the leading sides in Western League football locked horns in a Les Phillips Cup quarter-final that ultimately came down to the drama of a penalty shoot-out.

Barnstaple Town and Brixham AFC are separated by just a single point in the league, although Barum have games in hand, but all thoughts of chasing down leaders Clevedon went out of the window in a pulsating cup clash in North Devon.

There was nothing between the sides in the opening period, a theme that continued throughout, but a sublime finish from Scott Piper saw Barum edge in front in the final minute of the first half. Incredibly, the Fishermen immediately sauntered up the other end and levelled the scores with a goal from Reece Somers.

It continued to be a tense struggle after the break but when home substitute Luke Cloke was shown the red card, Barnstaple were understandably content for the game to be settled on penalties.

Barum initially held the advantage in the spot-kick lottery, with Brixham missing their second penalty, but the hosts faltered at the death and the Fishermen were the side to progress with a 4-5 win in a dramatic conclusion to the game.

Brixham now turn their attention to a tricky game at Brislington next weekend.

Buckland Athletic’s recent run of positive results came to a frustrating halt with a 1-0 defeat at home to Shepton Mallet.

In another extremely tight encounter, the game was ultimately decided by a Shepton strike on nine minutes. Buckland played with customary endeavour on a chilly afternoon at Homers Heath but they generally struggled to create chances against a stubborn visiting defence.

A half-volley from Myles James warmed the hands of the Shepton stopper 15 minutes from time and an audacious overhead by Ben Fowles in the dying seconds prompted an even better block from the goalkeeper, as Buckland were left thwarted and frustrated. Next up is a visit from St Blazey.

The long unbeaten run for Stoke Gabriel & Torbay Police finally came to an end with a surprise loss at home to Bishops Lydeard in the South West Peninsula League.

It was, as they say, just one of those days for Stoke, who did lead through an own goal but were pegged back by a dubious penalty. Stoke’s second-half task was made more difficult when they were reduced to ten men and the Bishops pinched it with a goal direct from a corner.