Sidmouth Town and Ottery St Mary are heading into the final weeks of a tumultuous season and, for the Vikings, there is still all to play for.
Sidmouth endured a tough opening four months to the Peninsula League campaign, while the Otters made a terrific start to life at a higher level, and were briefly flirting with the top positions in the East Division.
Everything changed at Christmas, when a dispute at Ottery led to manager Billy Rouse opting to leave and take up the manager’s role with Sidmouth. Many of his top players followed and the impact on results was instant.
The Vikings put together an outstanding run of form and now sit 20 points clear of bottom club Stoke Gabriel & Torbay Police and they have a chance of catching the likes of Crediton, Honiton Town and Torridgeside.
Sidmouth moved a step closer to those above them after a 4-0 demolition of Crediton in midweek, with an og, Oscar Walsh, Danny Pym and Nathan Cooper the scorers.
Sidmouth have four games left, starting with a daunting trip to title-chasing Torpoint Athletic on Saturday, followed by a crucial home game with Honiton Town on Good Friday, away to Holsworthy and then Torridgeside away on the final day.
Ottery, in stark contrast, have slumped considerably since the departure of their manager and a number of players, a fact painfully demonstrated in the 7-0 loss at home to Ivybridge last weekend.
Thankfully, the Otters had accrued enough points in the first half of the campaign to avoid being sucked into the bottom places and will look for a summer of regrouping and recruitment.
Ottery begin their run-in with a visit from Elmore on Saturday, a trip to Crediton and then Axminster Town visit on Good Friday. The Otters welcome Honiton on April 20 and finish the season with trips to Okehampton Argyle and Axminster.
At the top of the division, it is a three-horse race for the title. Okehampton are one point ahead of Torpoint but have played two games more, while Brixham are two points behind the leaders with one game in hand.
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