Ottery St Mary will hope that the weather allows their A and S paving Devon Intermediate Cup tie against Fresha League Division Six leaders Whipton and Pinhoe tomorrow (Saturday).

The game is set to be played at Hamlin Lane Exeter and Otters boss Mike Dawe is looking forward to the contest, despite the fact that he is without three players who would have played had the game been played last Saturday.

That match fell foul of a water-logged Hamlin Lane surface.

Dawe says: “I really hope we can get the game on. Cup ties are very important elements of our season and I want nothing more than a good cup run, especially in such a prestigious competition as the County Cup.”

The three players who miss tomorrow’s trip to Exeter are Adam Harris, Jake Allen and James Gibling.

Dawe says: “Replacing the trio from the wider club is not easy and that is certainly not meant with any disrespect to the Reserve team. The simple fact is that they play in Division Eight and, by definition, stepping up a couple of divisions is not easy.

“We are able to welcome back Connor Lovering and Tom Bushby, who were both unavailable to us last weekend, and so our options are good.”

As for the importance of the game. Dawe says: “This is a competition that we can win. I know I have always preached that the league is the main priority, and that remains so. However, winning is a good habit to be in and victory at high-flying Whipton and Pinhoe will give us a huge boost as we head towards the end of the year in terms of our Division Five campaign.

“I expect the match to be close. They (Whipton and Pinhoe) sport an impressive record this season and are clearly full of goals. There’s also the issue of a pitch that will be much smaller than the one we play on at home and I am sure it will also be a heavy surface. However, we have a game plan and it is up to us to try and make sure that the match is played under our terms. To do that we need to be combative in midfield, disciplined in defence and attack with pace, craft and guile.”

He continued: “When you take everything into account I think we can safely say that this is our biggest challenge to date this season. It is one I am sure my players will take on in good spirit.”

The winners of the tie in Exeter have been given a home tie in the last 16 of the competition with a December 5 date against the winners of the South Zeal versus Cranbrook tie, which is also being played tomorrow having been rained off last Saturday.