HONITON TOWN (Mountbatten Park)

SOUTH WEST PENINSULA LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION EAST, HONITON TOWN 2-2 TORRIDGESIDE, ATTENDANCE: 96

It's funny how things work out...

Along with many other like minded football fans, I headed to the South West of England for the South West Peninsula League 'groundhop' which was returning after a six year hiatus. Seven games were scheduled over three days, starting in Honiton on Maundy Thursday but, as I arrived in the town and parked up, which was just 35 minutes before kick off, I recieved a message off a mate to say the game had just been called off. I can't repeat what I shouted out!

Despite the herculean effort of the groundstaff and volunteers, the referee deemed a small patch of the pitch in front of the stand unplayable. The managers and players of both teams were happy to give it a go, the club were obviously desperate for the game to go ahead, as it would have been a huge payday for them, but the officials were unmoved. Incredibly sad for everyone concerned.

The rain continued to fall over the weekend and it was lucky that all the other scheduled 'hop' games went ahead, some on pitches in a similar condition to Honiton, but moving onto Easter Monday the rain was still falling and still playing havoc with matches. Once again there were lots of postponements but one club tweeted that it was definitely 'game on' and that was Honiton Town, joking that it was all systems go after the pitch had had a "nice rest on Thursday". So off I headed back down the A30 to Mountbatten Park. As I said, it's funny how things work out.

Honiton Town were founded in 1950 and were members of the Devon and Exeter League until 2017 when they joined the South West Peninsula League. Last season (2022/23) was their highest ever league finish, 13th in the East Division.

Mountbatten Park is on the edge of the town and is shared with the cricket club, so there is hard standing down two sides of the pitch along with a small covered stand and a larger seated stand.

The football club are nicknamed 'The Hippos'. Why the Hippos I hear you cry? Well, about 100,000 years ago, a wide range of species lived in South Devon and the water-rich, boggy area around Honiton was particularly attractive to hippos, who migrated from Southern Europe towards England. When the construction of the A30 road began, fossils of hippo bones were discovered and are on display in the local museum.

On the subject of water-rich, boggy areas, the playing pitch was no different to Thursday, with that troublesome patch in front of the stand still very soft. This time though the game kicked off and was played to a finish. Hooray!

In an entertaining game, Jordan Harris gave Honiton the lead in the 20th minute before Torridgeside equalised in the 39th minute George King firing home a free kick. The visitors took the lead in the 57th minute through Shaun Copp and looked set for the three points until Lewis Couch bagged an equaliser for Honiton, deep into stoppage time. That sent the Hippo Ultras into delirium - cue the pyro!

That concluded a wonderful, if wet, weekend in the South West. Looking forward to Easter 2025 already.

⚽️ ⚽️ ⚽️ ⚽️ ⚽️ ⚽️ ⚽️ ⚽️ ⚽️ ⚽️

For the record, the 2024 South West Peninsula League Easter Groundhop consisted of the following matches...

11:30 - 29/03/24 - Vicarage Field 
Torrington 1-0 Crediton United
Attendance: 422

15:00 - 29/03/2024 - Donnacroft 
Torridgeside 0-3 Okehampton Argyle
Attendance: 451

19:00 - 29/03/2024 - Upcott Field
Holsworthy 0-0 Bude Town
Attendance: 906

11:30 - 30/03/2024 - Lux Park
Liskeard Athletic 2-0 Dobwalls
Attendance: 508

15:00 - 30/03/2024 - Haye Road
Elburton Villa 1-2 Bovey Tracey
Attendance: 311

18:30 - 30/03/2024 - Erme Valley Playing Fields
Ivybridge Town 6-0 Dartmouth
Attendance: 388

South West Peninsula League "Double Header"

Easter Monday, a traditional time of year for a football "double header" and today was no exception. However for me today it was a double that I never planned on doing! Thanks to storm Katie wreeking havoc across the South West, my original plans went out of the window whilst I was tucking into my breakfast. Therefore, as I had stayed over in Exeter the previous night, it made perfect sense to remain in Devon for a few more hours.....

11am, South West Peninsula League Division One East
Coombe Valley
Teignmouth 1-2 St Martins
Attendance: 56 (h/c)

Teignmouth confirmed very early that their game with St Martins would definitely be going ahead, so it was through narrow lanes I made the journey from Exeter to Coombe Valley. As the name suggests, the ground is set into a valley overlooking the town and it is a fantastic set up and vista is tremendous. The ground is effectively two-sided and there is a small stand/overhang from the teabar, and a length of open terrace alongside the pitch.

The game kicked off in glorious sunshine but within 10 minutes the heavens had truly opened. The pitch, which had obviously took a battering from the rain overnight, suddenly became a bit of a quagmire. I began to doubt whether this game would be played to a finish. Teignmouth led 1-0 at the interval thanks to a Geoff Breslan (38) penalty.

St Martins equalised soon after break thanks to a shot from (the fabulously named) Ace High, which just managed to crawl over line before it stopped in the mud. St Martins, despite being down to 10 men, clinched the victory with a goal in the last minute of the match, courtesy of a header from High. Credit to both teams for producing a very good game in very difficult conditions.

2pm, South West Peninsula League Division One East
Recreation Ground
Newton Abbot Spurs 5-0 Appledore
Attendance: 57 (h/c)

After confirmation via twitter this game was definitely on, I decided to take in a visit to the Recreation Ground for my second installment of the day. I was greeted with a cheery smile by a couple of club officials, one of whom happened to clock my Everton badge. She told me she was also a blue, so time was spent discussing the "merits" of Mr Martinez. Disappointingly there was no programme due to a printer error (stop me if you think you've heard this one before) but this was actually genuine for a change! The chap said he would kindly forward one on when the problem was sorted and, a few days later, said programme did indeed land on my doormat. Thanks again.

The Recreation Ground is shared with cricket but it is a fine set up. The pitch is fully railed off and there is a seated stand behind one goal, plus the small covered 'Willie Boyd' terrace behind the other goal. In another corner of the ground there is also a seated memorial area in memory of former players. A nice touch.

Considering the rain that had been falling the pitch looked in good condition, if a little heavy. The game turned out to be a very comfortable win for the home side, though clearly Appledore had one eye on their upcoming Devon Premier Cup Semi Final. Newton Abbot led 1-0 at the break thanks to Shaun Bowden (24) and further second half goals from Matt Williams (53) Carl Bradley (67) and  Adam Dyson (73 & 88) ensured the three points for Spurs.

Cornwall Combination League Cup Final 2016

CORNWALL COMBINATION LEAGUE CUP FINAL (PLAYED AT GALA PARC, PORTHLEVEN) ST AGNES 2-3 CARHARRACK, ATTENDANCE: 263

I stayed in Bude after the last hop game with the intention of heading to Boca Seniors v Appledore in the North Devon League, but I was given the heads up at Bude Town that the Cornwall Combination League Cup Final was taking place at Gala Parc, the home Porthleven. I decided to double back down the A39 and take in another SWPL ground. 

Once again the the weather was a little wet, so it was touch and go as to whether game would be on with standing water on the pitch, but the groundsmen did a fine job getting the pitch playable.

Pre-match was spent in Portleven harbour at the Ship Inn (5 ales on offer) and Atlantic Inn (4 ales on offer). Adjacent to the ground is the Out of the Blue bar where, they were selling Spingo ales, which I had enjoyed considerably in Helston on Friday gone.

The final was contested between North Cornwall based St Agnes and Redruth based Carharrack. St Agnes reached the final with victories over Porthleven Reserves (7-0) Ludgvan (2-0) and Helston Athletic Reserves (4-3). Carharrack's route to the final saw wins over Holman (2-0) Mullion (5-1) Falmouth Town Reserves (8-1) and Newquay Reserves (1-0).

The game was most enjoyable, with some fine goals scored in the process. Carharrack scored first through a Jake Shaw (15) header before St Agnes came back to lead 2-1 thanks to Sam Mansfield (20) and a fabulous strike into the top corner from Alec Penrose (22).

The game was all square at the interval, when Ryan Stephens (25) levelled. However Carharrack did have a chance to take the lead again just before half time through Bradley Leivers, but he blasted his penalty high over the crossbar (pictured right).

The Carharrack winner came just after the break when Luke Osborne (47) and they managed to keep St Agnes at bay to claim silverware in their first season at this level of senior football, a well deserved victory.

Carharrack will now play Bodmin Town Reserves in the Evely Cup final after they beat Torpoint Reserves 2-1 in the East Cornwall Premier League Cup final.

Carharrack AFC, Cornwall Combination League Cup Winners 2016.