Junior footy

A bright day and a strong start for a rejuvenated Sidmouth under 16 squad beat Exmouth Amateurs 2-1.

In the opening minutes, Sidmouth put pressure on Exmouth and Nathan Brace put the side ahead with an excellent strike, writes Marc Colson.

Exmouth replied two minutes later displaying their intentions clearly. Sidmouth remained positive and could have had more goals but chances were missed.

At the other end, Robbie Powell's keeping skills were also put to the occasional test but he was supported by his defence with Matt Colson and Man of the Match Matt Hill linking well.

The second half was scrappy but Sidmouth finally broke the deadlock with Dan Bartlett shooting into the net having received a fine ball from Jules Hudson. Jules was unlucky not to be on the score sheet having his shot saved.

The team thanked coach Tom Chaplin and wished him well on his three month trip to Australia and hope to be top of the league table when he returns in the New year.

Sidmouth under 11s, wearing their new kit which was kindly sponsored by Exeter Medical, got their season under way with a 3-0 win against Crediton.

Sidmouth Warriors U9s lost their opening game 2-0 against West Exe Exiles. In their second match they were very unlucky to lose to West Exe Rangers by 3-2.

The under-13s and the under-12s kick off their season next week.

Sidmouth Raiders U10 joined their Warrior teamates in a friendly last Saturday against Alphington and Crediton, writes Paul Buckland.

The Raiders came up against a well-drilled and efficient Alphington and, despite some gallant efforts from Scott Hughes in goal, Adam Harris in midfield and a late strike from Reuben Raffell, Alphington dominated play and triumphed 6-1.

It was an important lesson for the Raiders on the need for tight marking.

Taking turns to rotate goal-keepers, the Raiders responded with true determination and returning confidence against Crediton.

It was a great team performance. Stern resistance in goal from Jack Silks and Jordan Parsons, and stout defence from Joe Tweedy, Gabe Stamp and Toby Gilbody all helped secure goals from Drew Birkhead, Jack Gibson, Scott Hughes(2) and Reuben Raffell (2) and left the day ending on a high with a 6-2 win.

SidMouth Warriors U10s beat Crediton 3-1 away in the last of the pre-season friendlies.

Straight from the whistle the Warriors won the ball, a quick one - two between Joe Lowe and Joe Buckland fed Ollie Jarrett into the box to smash home.

Despite good passing and strong play, the Warriors couldn't score, and Crediton equalised.

They should have scored another, but were beaten by a great reaction save from keeper, Tobi Pugsley. In the second half, the Warriors totally dominated. Ethan Mead`'s blistering pace down the right wing and pin point crosses allowed Ben Gosse to score. Ollie Jarrett got his second of the game.

Sidmouth U10 Warriors went on to beat Alphington 2-1.Having to defend strongly, Matt Jones and Kade Hayman made solid challenges to keep Alphington at bay, but they eventually took the lead. Warriors kept battling and were rewarded with a penalty, but it was shot wide!

In the second half, the Warriors started stronger and dangerous. George Harris's solo effort evened the score and the last couple of minutes was nail-biting stuff. A great tackle from Tom Woodruff allowed Joe Lowe to pick up the loose ball on the halfway line and take it straight through the middle to unleash a belter from outside the box to win the game

Ottery St Mary FC U11s beat Heavitree 6-4 away, with two late Heavies' goals taking the shine off what would have been an emphatic away victory, writes Steve Flinders.

Both sides had early chances but the new Otters' side took a deserved lead when Aden Mitchell battled well to set up Kyle Stone to score.

Heavitree were soon back in it when a good cross was met on the volley leaving the keeper no chance. Ottery almost regained the lead when Alex Flinders put Kyle Stone through, whose shot went just wide. Great defensive work by Bradley Goodier and Jac Khaliq kept the Heavies out.

Ottery went 2-1 up when Alex Flinders scored his second in two games and Tom Hayes made it 3-1 before half time.

The Otters pushed forward in numbers after the break. Shaun Jepson shot over the keeper from the edge of the box to make it 4-1. Heavitree hit back with a bizarre goal.

Ottery attacked again and Tom Collins shot low beyond the keeper to make it 5-2. With 10 minutes left, Aiden Mitchell got the goal he deserved slotting his shot into the far corner. In the last few minutes Heavitree hit back with a long shot to make it 6-3 and with the very last kick of the ball made it 6-4 at the final whistle.

This was a great display by both teams.

Sidmouth Raiders U9s came unstuck twice against West Exe Rangers and Exiles, writes Martin Spiller.

They lost the first match 4-3 at home and the second 3-1, but what a exiting first game it was.

Great defending from Thomas Burhop and Louis Adey meant that, at half time, they only trailed by two goals.

Raiders took control after the break with an early headed goal from George Lowe.

Thomas Moore saw a gap and made it 2-2 and, minutes later, Jacob Rice made that a 3-2. Just before full time, West Exe pushed in two more goals. Sid's Man of the Match was George Lowe for his amazing goal and determination.

The Exiles match was always going to be hard against an experienced team.

Raiders worked hard and great goal saves from Oran Bramble and defending from Thomas Blackham and Thomas Burhop, was helped by Ben Goodier and Josh Allen.

They were 1-0 down at the break and pushed hard in the second half.

Exiles kept the pressure on and scored two more goals. the Raiders coming back with a goal from Luke Spiller. Man of the Match was Oran Bramble.

Sidmouth FC Under-11s started their league season with a comfortable 3-0 win over Crediton in the strange new 9-a-side format, writes Jo Newbery.

Only good awareness from keeper Finlay Marks averted early Crediton danger and, gradually, Sidmouth took hold of the game.

After Roel Ruigrok shot, Jonny Dunn fed Freddie King, who finished his good run with a goal. Jamie Newbery made it 2-0 with a good finish after his initial shot was blocked.

Sidmouth dominated the second half with Joe Miller, King and Newbery controlling midfield. King scored Sidmouth's third. As the Sidmouth boys tired, Crediton briefly came back into the match, but Sidmouth closed the game out for a comfortable win.

Sidmouth FC U15s' first league game of the season against Tiverton was always going to be tough, and they lost 4-1, writes Jo Newbery.

Tiverton did most of the earlyattacking, but their shooting was wayward. Micheal Feeney and Jack Chaman were in outstanding form at the back, holding Tiverton's forwards at bay.

Sidmouth broke and Ricki Harris played a good ball to Oein Ross, whose pinpoint cross found Harry Nolan unmarked and he tapped the ball home.

Sidmouth continued to battle with Joe Neild, Liam Tweedie and Ross working tirelessly in midfield. Right on halftime a fumble from keeper Scott Newbery found the feet of a forward who equalised. Two goals in two second half minutes found Sidmouth 3-1 down. Man of the Match Newbery made some excellent saves and interceptions but Tiverton added a fourth from the penalty spot.

Sidmouth players gave everything in effort and, as a team showed plenty of determination but were beaten by a better team. Debutants Nolan, Tweedie, Jackson and Holmes all did well and things look good for the season ahead.

Despite fielding only nine players, OTTERY FIREGIRLS U14s beat Westexe 2-1, writes Sam Czerez.

Westexe looked strong but Ottery gained the upper hand from the off, with plenty of shots on goal and a solid defence.

The Firegirls were dealt another blow when a player had to go off injured, leaving them three short, but they held on to go into the break 0-0.

In the second half, the Firegirls found themselves in front when Jess picked up a loose ball in the West Exe half and ran through to score.

West Exe began to put pressure on, with keeper Zoe forced into a number of saves. With two minutes to go, West Exe were awarded a penalty, which they duly converted.

Ottery picked themselves up for one last effort and, with the last play of the game, a corner swung in dangerously and was deflected by a West Exe defender into her own net, giving Ottery a well-earned 2-1 final result.

In a cracking first league match of the season, Sidmouth FC U14s finished disappointed to lost 3-2 to Kentisbeare, having scored a spectacular equaliser with 10 minutes left, writes Richard Seldon.

To be fair, Sidmouth were fortunate to be still in touch at all, as a strong Kents team took control and had numerous chances to put it out of Sidmouth's reach.

Sidmouth took an early lead, Isaac Thomas's through-ball finding Will Sanders unmarked to slot home fom 10 yards. After that, it was mainly one-way traffic. Sidmouth's skilful midfield was being closed down and caught in possession, putting pressure on the defence. Somehow, they made it to half-time in the lead, mainly through some top-class keeping and defending.

After the break, the Kents finally broke though when a great Lines' save was followed up. They took the lead soon after, but Sidmouth had not read the script. From a deep corner from Toby Seldon, Conor Ellis controlled the ball and laid it off to Doug Still, who smashed it in off the crossbar from 20 yards out. Sadly, the Kents snatched the win with a late free-kick.