Ottery St Mary booked a place in the next round of the Devon Intermediate Cup with a 3-2 win against previously unbeaten Sandford.

James Gibling, Tom Bushby and Jordan Rogers scored the goals that booked the Otters a tie against Whipton and Pinhoe in the area quarter-finals. Otters boss Mike Dawe said: “It was a professional job throughout the team. They (Sandford) were a physical side, but we stood firm and went about our business in the correct manner.”

The win sees the Otters campaign begin to gather momentum.

Dawe says: “I had always suspected that we would not see the real Ottery St Mary FC stand up until mid-October and I feel we are bang on course! We now have a squad of 15 players all itching to make a start and that creates healthy competition for starting berths.

“I don’t wish to sound like a cracked record, but we are on a journey to get this football club as high up the pyramid as possible. The way things are falling into place on the pitch this season is just as I would wish it to be. There’s a confident mood in the dressing room. The attitude to training could not be better and I see the players are also buying into my thinking that fitness still needs to be improved. Things are going well across the board.

Dawe continued: “There is one area I would like top see improved and that’s the strength of the second team. Currently there seems to be quite a divide between the two teams which, in football terms, is unhealthy! Ideally we’ll begin to strengthen the second team for utopia is, of course, a second team full of players who can step up and do a job in the first team at any given moment.”

Tomorrow (Saturday) the Otters return to Fresha League action and a home meeting with Feniton Reserves.

Feniton have suffered just the one defeat to date from six league outings and so will present the Otters with a challenge.

Dawe says: “The fact that is an East Devon derby raises the stakes somewhat. We have a full fit squad and are also able to call upon the services of young Tom Collins who was not with us at Sandford.

“To date our league results have not been as we would have liked with the one win, one draw and one defeat. We now have a run of league games (after Feniton it’s Awliscombe away and then Sandford at home), before our next cup match

The Otters take on Whipton and Pinhoe on Saturday, November 7, with a place in the area semi-finals on offer.

The Exeter side have scored a whopping 66 goals in eight matches already this season and they currently sport a 100 per cent record in Fresha League Division Six.

Otters boss Dawe says: “They (Whipton and Pinhoe) are clearly a side that ought to be playing at a higher level. They are not unlike us in that respect as we harbour ambition of climbing the leagues so it ought to be a cracking game. Before that though, we must put all our focus on the next three league games.”