Ottery St Mary Under-9s were engaged in a couple of tough encounters from which they can count themselves unfortunate not to have emerged with something more than a point to show for their considerable efforts in both games.

First up they took on a well-drilled West Hill Wasps who gave the young Otters plenty to think about! The contest was end-to-end with thrills and spills in plentiful supply. Fittingly, honours ended even which was no more than both teams deserved. The Otters goal in a 1-1 draw was scored by Jack Carpenter.

Next up the Otters faced a well-established Honiton Hornets team in what was another highly entertaining game. The Otters were on the back foot early on when a n ‘avoidable’ goal was conceded. However, they rallied well and began to dominate proceedings, peppering the Honiton goal. However, as bright as their approach play was, and there was certainly no question about their enthusiasm and effort, they could not find a finish and ended up on the wrong end of a 1-0 score line.

Jake Blackmore played exceptionally well in defence throughout the morning and a special mention must also be made of the contribution from goalkeeper Zak Wilkinson and also Tom Beer, the latter showing huge improvement on the pitch, whilst goal scorer Carpenter gave his all in both games.