Ottery St Mary lock horns once more with old rivals Kentisbeare tomorrow (Saturday) when they welcome the Mid Devon men to Washbrook Meadow for a Firewatch Devon Senior Cup tie (2pm).

The Otters head into the cup tie in good sprits after last Saturday’s Macron League Division Three 5-1 home win over Clyst Valley Reserves.

Leading scorer Corey Ringer bagged himself a brace and there were also two goals from Jordan Wilkinson and one from Dan Jewel.

Otter’s boss Dave Fairweather said of the performance and result: “It was a very competent display across the pitch. There is no doubt in my mind that we have the collective ability in our squad to beat anybody in the division and it still rankles with me that we lost those games to the likes of Otterton and East Budleigh, games that I know, had we got something out of them, we’d be a lot closer than the six points we currently find ourselves shy of second-placed East Budleigh in the current table.”

There was one stand-out individual shift that pleased the Otters boss, who explained saying: “Ben [Rushton] was superb in the left back berth. He put in a terrific shift both in defence and supporting the attack.”

Rushton is one of two players unavailable to the Otters boss for the cup tie with Kentisbeare. Dan Jewel is the other player to miss the game.

Fairweather says: “They are going to be missed, but we have a squad to cope with a couple of absences and, as I have often said, if a player is not with us then it opens the door for someone else to lay claim to the shirt.”

The Otters have already met Kentisbeare this season – the teams met at Budleigh Salterton in the days leading up to the start of the league campaign when they contested the Bill Slee Cup final after it was carried over from the end of last season. That meeting was won by Kentisbeare, but neither club was able to field their ‘new-look’ teams for this current campaign as only players who would have been eligible for the final last season were able to be included.

Fairweather says: “I know that we will look very different in terms of the eleven we field tomorrow and I have no doubt that they [Kentisbeare] will be in a similar position.”

He continued: “We have played Kentisbeare many times over the past season and, given that they currently top Division One and we sit seventh in Division Three, they will no doubt expect to win and see us as the underdogs. However, that need not be the case. Our biggest problem in previous meetings as been of us being almost ‘in awe’ of them and what I want the players to do this time round is simply play the opposition as they are when they line up on the pitch. Past meetings and league table positions must count for nothing at 2pm. It’s us versus them and if we play the way we know we can and we come off the pitch at full-time knowing that we have given our all and could have offered no more, then there will be no complaints from me – win or lose!”