DESPITE Teignmouth being out of action and Bovey Tracey and Newton Abbot Spurs on the road, there is plenty of football to sink your teeth into in Teignbridge this weekend.
Buckland Athletic are in action at Homers Heath again this week as Barnstaple Town visit for a Western League Devon derby on Saturday (3pm KO).
The two sides are separated by one point in the standings, with fourth-placed Barnstaple just edging sixth-placed Buckland.
Barnstaple come into the tie unbeaten in six and have not conceded in their last three, each of which they won comfortably. Town saw out a very good August with a 10-0 hammering of Godolphin Athletic in the FA Vase and a 3-0 win over Cadbury Heath back in Western League action last Saturday.
Barnstaple were relegated from the Southern Football League Division One South last season and have made a good start on their path to redemption.
The Bucks have made a respectable start to the campaign. With four wins and three losses to their name, Buckland sit on 12 points. Recent weeks have been somewhat challenging, though, as the Bucks were knocked out of the FA Cup by Frome Town, beaten by Shepton Mallet and defeated by Bridgwater United - all in the space of nine days as August drew to a close.
Looking ahead to the game, Buckland manager Dan Hart said: ‘[It’s a] really good opportunity for us to put the latter part of August behind us.
‘From a personal point of view, it was a really interesting and pleasing first month in charge of the team with results that reflect some development in what we’ve done but also show that we still have a lot of work to do in order to get things how we want them to be.
‘September is a month where the fixture list starts to settle down ever so slightly and we’ll be able to combine match days with training as well which is incredibly important for us and where we feel that we can make a great deal of difference to this group.
‘Barnstaple will be a tough nut to crack with players that have good experience in this league and at higher levels and an awful lot of quality. They will work their way into the season as time goes by, much like ourselves. That means that tomorrow will be a tough challenge.
‘They’ve also got a couple of players that have represented our club in previous years and will have a point to prove. For us its about sticking to our own plan, our own style and about not getting caught up in anything surrounding the fixture, whether that’s a decision or an opposition player and their style.
‘It’s vital that we remain focussed on the job in hand.’
Bovey Tracey face their longest trip of the Peninsula League campaign on Saturday as they head east to take on Bridport (3pm KO).
A round trip of more than 100 miles awaits the Moorlanders, who will be looking to add a third successive win in all competitions. Last time out, Bovey recorded a surprise 6-0 thrashing of Dartmouth, which came off the back of a fabulous 5-0 trouncing of Newquay in the FA Vase just four days earlier.
It may be of concern to some that only one of the four away excursions has returned points this season, when Bovey beat Cullompton Rangers 3-1 on the opening day. But things are brighten at Mill Marsh, and Bovey boss Will Small insists that his team is beginning to gel. ‘It’s taken us a little while to get used to each other,’ Small explained, ‘and I think in the last couple games, things have clicked.
‘The lads’ attitudes have been spot-on, work rates have been really good and I’m really pleased with how we performed having been a bit disappointed after the Spurs game.’
Bridport sit rock-bottom, winless and with only a single point to their name. The Bees have not won a home fixture for more than a year, when they beat Ashton & Backwell United 2-1 in a doomed Western League campaign in which they finished last with just four points and a staggering -168 goal difference.
Small continued: ‘It’s another game, we’ve just got to hope the momentum carries on on Saturday and hope we take the right attitudes into it.
‘It’s going to be a new ground to go to and we don’t really know what to expect from them but we have got to go full of confidence and hope that we get another three points and all of a sudden, things won’t look as bad as they did after our start.’
Newton Abbot Spurs also face a lengthy journey as they hit the A30 for Holsworthy (3pm KO).
Spurs look like being one of the stronger teams in the division this season but have weathered something of a storm in their first five matches. Newton’s August saw them face off against several sides that are likely to be challenging at the sharp end of the division come the end of the season.
Marc Revell’s side came out of bouts against Okehampton Argyle, Axminster Town and Ivybridge Town with only three points, but their defeats by the latter two sides were by no means comprehensive, which is a promising sign that Spurs must pick up on moving forward.
James Moxon and Toby Pullman are the men grabbing the goals for Spurs this season. Both players found the net in the 3-2 defeat to Ivybridge on Wednesday and thus both move on to three goals apiece from four appearances. Moxon and Pullman are two players to keep an eye on as Newton move into a month which sees them in action six times across all competitions.
Holsworthy sit a solitary point behind Spurs but have played two matches more than their visitors. A tough run up to this tie has seen Holsworthy suffer three straight defeats. Their only victory on home turf this season came by way of a 1-0 win over the ailing Plymouth Marjon.
Spurs boss Revell said: ‘It’s a tough place to go, Holsworthy. We lost 2-1 up there last year and we beat them at home by a considerable margin but they’ve got a good team work ethic that I’ve always admired - they’ve got a good group up there.
‘Obviously, being in the middle of nowhere, they only tend to attract a certain element of people and with who they do they work hard for each other and they’re a good side, so I go up there treating them as no mugs.
‘I’ve not looked at their league position nor their results up to now because I don’t look too much into it. I think everyone is beating everyone at the minute, so I don’t want to go up there with a preconception of Holsworthy being a lesser team or Holsworthy being really good, I want to keep my squad focussed and get over Wednesday night.’
The South Devon Football League finally gets under way this weekend, and Teignbridge plays host to two matches on the curtain-raising weekend.
Newton Abbot 66 host Kingsteignton Athletic at Osborne Park (2.30pm KO) in what is expected to be a fascinating derby. Kingsteignton recorded a quadruple-title-winning campaign last season and have already started their new campaign in the same vein as they picked up pre-season silverware in the form of the South Devon League Charity Shield last month.
Watts Blake Bearne also kick off their campaign in home comforts as they welcome Buckastleigh Rangers to Abbrook Park (2.30pm KO).
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