BOVEY Tracey and Newton Abbot Spurs fly the Teignbridge flag in the FA Vase this weekend as the competition reaches its Second Round Qualifying phase.

Bovey Tracey look forward to another game in the familiar surroundings of their Western Counties Roofing Ground home Saturday, with Western League side Welton Rovers the visitors (3pm KO).

Welton sit 13th in the Western League Premier, one division above their hosts. Rovers have played 11 league games already this season (up to five more than other bottom-half clubs) and have taken nine points from their campaign by way of two wins and three draws. With a -10 goal difference to their name, it has been a difficult couple of months for the Green Army.

The Somerset outfit have won just one of their last seven games and come into the game having only joined the Vase tournament at this stage. Last season, Welton reached the First Round Proper but were beaten 2-1 by Brimscombe & Thrupp.

Cameron Allen has been the go-to man for goals at West Clewes this season. The striker has four goals and four assists from 11 appearances but is no stranger to an unsavoury conversation with the officials, having picked up four yellow cards this term.

Bovey Tracey booked their place in the tie with a 5-0 thrashing of Newquay at the end of August. A pair of goals from talismanic striker Ollie Aplin, along with second-half strikes from Mitch Thomas, Tom Burt and Brad Crocombe ensured a superb Bovey performance was justly rewarded.

The Moorlanders’ seismic victory launched the side into a string of five straight wins coming into this weekend’s tie, scoring 21 times along the way. Bovey have seen off some strong opponents in that run, including a 6-0 demolition of Dartmouth and a 2-0 away win against Peninsula League Premier East leaders Ivybridge Town.

Ahead of the clash, Bovey boss Will Small said: ‘It’s nice to have a distraction now and a little break. [We had] nothing midweek, so the lads could rest and have a full week off going into that Welton game.

‘Everyone’s always up for the FA Vase, they’ll be up for it as well and it’s a tough challenge for us with them coming from the league above. It’s a free hit - we are not going to be expecting to get anything from it and if we do it’s a bonus.

‘It would be good to get a good crowd down here, getting behind the lads and supporting the town. We’ve got the youth doing really well in the FA Cup, they’ve gone through two rounds in that, and it’ll be nice to see a few people down here, supporting the town and getting behind the club.’

NEWTON Abbot Spurs must undertake the lengthy trek to Bath-based Odd Down on Saturday (3pm KO). The 189-mile round trip sees Spurs head off on their sixth away trip in seven games.

Odd Down put their name into the hat for the Second Round Qualifying with a 1-0 win over Bodmin Town, who sit 15th in the South West Peninsula League Premier West.

Odd Down themselves are 13th in the Western League Division One, with three wins, five draws and three losses making up their 14 points from their opening 11 matches. The Down are winless in their last four ahead of Saturday’s game.

The Bath side joined the Vase for the Second Round Qualifying last season and were beaten by Bradford Town without progressing.

Spurs’ rearguard must be wary of Luke Bryan on Saturday. The striker has been the shining star in the side, boasting 13 goals and three assists from 12 appearances in all competitions. The staggering tally sees Bryan second in the top scorers’ rankings, with his nearest teammate 10 goals behind.

Spurs enjoyed another long trek in the First Qualifying Round, when they made the journey up to Radstock Town in August. Proceedings were level at the break, but a sensational second half put the game to bed as the travellers ran out 4-2 victors.

The Devonians have seen a mixed bag of results lately. Since their Vase win, Newton have seen defeat at Ivybridge, victory at Holsworthy, another defeat to Dartmouth, another victory at Elmore and a good draw at Brixham.

Newton Spurs manager Marc Revell said: ‘It’s a horrible place to go, Odd Down. I played there a few times for Buckland [Athletic] and I don’t think the pitch gets rolled - I might be wrong when we get there, but we’ll see.

‘We’ll go off the back of [the 1-1 draw with Brixham] positive and confident. It’s a bit of an unknown with them being mid table Western League Division One. I’ve looked at their results, and they should be similar to our level, something around where we are at the minute.

‘I think it’ll be a close match and it’ll be good to get the lads on a bus together and hopefully we can roll it into smashing Exmouth [Town] next week.’