The contrast in fortunes between the football clubs of Sidmouth and Ottery St Mary were once again laid bare in fairly brutal fashion over the weekend.

While the new-look Vikings of Sidmouth Town romped to a 6-1 win over Dartmouth, the ailing Otters conceded nine at home to a strong Brixham outfit.

Sidmouth are now under the stewardship of former Ottery boss Billy Rouse, with many ex-Otters joining the club earlier this month, and they have made a superb start to life at Manstone Lane.

Mid-table Dartmouth have proven a tough nut to crack for most clubs this season, recording just four defeats in their 19 league games before visiting Sidmouth, but they had nothing in the defensive armoury to stop a dominant attacking display from the Vikings.

Marcus Fanson scored twice and there were also goals for Danny Pym, Liam Carey, Jamie Fanson and Jamie Vaughan-Ryall. The 6-1 triumph lifted Sidmouth further clear of basement club Stoke Gabriel & Torbay Police, and now just eight points behind third from bottom Honiton Town.

Sidnmouth travel to Elburton Villa on Saturday and will be targeting another three points against a side in the lower half of the table.

Ottery, on the other hand, are starting from scratch with their first-team squad under new manager Adam Carpenter, who has previously worked wonders with some of the youth teams at Washbrook Meadows.

It is, however, going to be a massive job, as evidenced by the 9-0 defeat to Brixham. The one comfort for the Otters is they have more than enough points in the bag to be safe in Peninsula football for next season, giving the new gaffer plenty of time to set the foundations for a brighter future at the club.

The performance of the Under-18s, defeating Bishops Lydeard 3-1 in a midweek friendly, is a perfect sign of that bright future and Ottery Ladies also found a positive weekend result to keep the club smiling.

It was a first point of the season for the Otterettes, Stacey Rogers and Amber Walker scoring the goals in a 2-2 draw at Bradninch Women.