Ottery St Mary Football Club is basking in the glory of a superb victory over Barnstaple in the U18 Devon League Cup Final.

The ingredients were in place for a superb showpiece match, with both home and away league games between the two teams ending in entertaining 3-3 draws. This latest edition to an intriguing saga was just as tense.

The game opened with Luke Paramore and Jack Drew-Cull asking early questions for Ottery before Barum responded with a decent effort save by Russ Bracey.

Barnstaple then launched a long throw into the Ottery penalty area. Jake Haggerty and Haydon Simpson cleared the initial threat but the ball fell nicely for a Barum forward to open the scoring with a lovely finish.

The Ottery reaction to falling behind was a significant raise in the tempo of their play. Simpson started a flowing move with a pass to Drew-Cull, who fed the ball to Makan Coulibaly on the wing. Play was moved back inside for Louis Stephen to supply the pass to Drew-Cull, who levelled the scores with a cheeky backheel.

Two minutes later, Ottery grabbed what proved to be the winner, and what a goal! Simpson fired a free-kick into the defensive wall but the ball fell into the path of Haggerty, who sent the Ottery crowd wild with a sensational strike.

While the Otters battled to increase their lead after the break, Barum remained a constant threat and Bracey was called upon again to produce a match-winning save.

Ottery then had to deal with a red card, playing the closing stages with ten men against an increasingly desperate Barnstaple outfit.

Simpson and Haggerty repeatedly put their bodies on the line, while Oliver Bradley and Coulibaly tried everything to relieve the pressure with a third goal. Ethan Hawes also fired inches wide, while full-backs Neil Quessou and Lewis Ayley were relentless in their defensive work.

Paramore almost added some late gloss but Ottery had done enough and were crowned champions after an epic final. 

The Otters sent a massive thank-you to Newtown Football club for letting them use their first-team kit to play in and Honiton Football club for providing their warm-up tops before the game. 

Congratulations Ottery, you have made the club very proud.