NOBODY saw this coming! Following a week of dry misty weather with some overnight rain on Friday, 19 of the scheduled 26 fixtures in the South Devon Football League had to be postponed due to waterlogged pitches, reports Alistair Muirden.

This, in turn, left the fixture secretary at his desk rearranging games on Saturday afternoon for February 22.

PREMIER DIVISION

Not a single game survived the weather in the top division which will put a bit more pressure on those clubs with games in hand.

DIVISION ONE

In Division One, the only game to survive was in Plymouth at Millenium pitches where Windmill moved into second place in the league with a 6-nil demolition of fifth-placed Paignton Villa.

Jack Biscoe and Ethen Jones both scored a brace and Brodie Simpson and Chey Hammond added singles for the pub team. The defeat for Villa leaves them in fifth place and it would appear to be a four-horse race with both Phoenix and Bovey Tracey sitting in third and fourth with games in hand. True Blues are five points clear and remain unbeaten as are Phoenix who have four games in hand.

DIVISION TWO

In Division Two, Paignton Saints 2nds put a dent in the promotion hopes of Babbacombe Corries with a 4–3 victory at Coach Road. This moves Saints into mid-table and six points behind Corries with a game in hand.

South Devon Football League Division 2. Paignton Saints versus Babbacombe Corinthians.A 4-3 win for Saints in one of just a handful of games played over a weather-affected weekend
South Devon Football League Division 2. Paignton Saints versus Babbacombe Corinthians. A 4-3 win for Saints in one of just a handful of games played over a weather-affected weekend (Steve Pope/MDA)

There was a goal fest in Harbertonford who scored four times thanks to Jordan Ewing who scored twice with Alan Hamlet and Luke Forward adding singles. Unfortunately for the Fords, East Allington Utd 2nds used their squad strength and scored eight times to keep the Pirates in contention, Dan Bastin and Finlay Bullen hit five between them with Joe Kirby, Sam Quick and James Sheppard contributing to an end-to-end game played on a treacle like pitch.

The result puts East Allington into fifth place in a division where the top seven are in the mix.

In the only other Division Two game to get played, home team Mount Gould cruised to a 6–1 win over fellow contenders Paignton Villa 2nds. Both teams were level on points before the game but goals from Bentley Alcantara, Saddam Bello, Joe Jasper and Matt Hill moves the Plymouth side back into second place level with goal difference over Corries.

Interestingly, East Allington and Liverton have five games in hand over the current leaders Barton Athletic who remain 14 points clear.

DIVISION THREE & FOUR

No games survived in Division Three but the two that got played in Division Four went with the form book.

Teign Village had a comfortable afternoon with a 5-nil home win against a Broadhempston Utd team that had a promising start to the season. The result keeps Village in third place just one point behind Templar Way, who travel to fourth-placed Chudleigh Athletic 2nds this week knowing that with just two games remaining, nothing less than a win will do.

Also in this division, Kingskerswell can wrap up the title on Saturday with a win at Paignton Villa 3rds and with three games remaining.

PREVIEWS

There are a host of significant fixtures to choose from this Saturday. The delayed opening round of the Division One Dartmouth Cup gets underway and together with last week's postponements, make for a wide choice of grassroots football.

The good news for Division One clubs is that the management at WBB have worked their socks off to save the club from folding and will restart fixtures at Ivybridge Town no doubt, with a revived team.

Hopefully, Plymouth Phoenix will get to open their Dartmouth Cup account when they visit Newton Abbot Spurs 3rds at Chuley Road having only played one league game since the turn of the year.

In the Premier Division, Newton Abbot 66 will be looking to possibly move on top of the table with a win over bottom-side Elburton Villa and if results elsewhere go in their favour.

There is a delayed and postponed Herald Cup game at East Allington Utd where Division One leaders Plymouth True Blues will be looking to cause a cup upset. As will South Brent from Division Three, when they host Premier Division Waldon Athletic.

In Division Three, it’s 2nd versus 3rd at Stoke Gabriel TP who welcome Drake FC who will be looking to take the points back to Plymouth.

In Division Four, Kingskerswell can wrap up the title if they can win at White Rock against Paignton Villa 3rds. They still have another three games to play and I am sure their next challenge is to keep a 100% record in the league.

With loads of great grassroots football to watch, I expect the biggest crowd to be at my game of the week which again involves Newton Abbot Spurs. This week, they host the champions and currently top-of-the-table Ilsington Villa in a game where the visitors cannot afford to lose. This should be a great game so get yourself along to The Rec for a 2.30pm kick-off.