Sidmouth Warriors Under-13s were richly deserving of their 3-0 success when they entertained Seaton in an Exeter and District Youth League East Devon derby.

Adding spice to the contest was the fact that there were classmates from the same school in both line-ups.

Warriors, playing in their alternate red kit, started brightly, and, following an initial break, were awarded a corner which Michal Bielawski beautifully delivered to the far post for Finn Cotton to rise majestically and head into the net.

It proved to be the only goal of a well-contested first half that saw both sides contribute plenty to an entertaining half.

It took some great defensive work from Warriors captain Callum French and a superlative Man of the Match performance from Christian ‘Bean’ Pinnock to keep the opposition at bay, controlling the midfield and running tirelessly at his former teammates.

The Sidmouth boys did create several chances, but weren’t able to find a finish to match the approach play and half-time arrived with the one goal between the teams.

After the break, Warriors began brightly and it wasn’t long before a through-ball found Ryan Barnes and he ran on to net his 12th goal of the season.

Seaton showed lots of heart and were unlucky themselves not to grab a goal. Indeed, it was the excellent Anthony Nita in the Warriors goal who denied them on a number of occasions.

Warriors held the upper hand for much of the second half and, with Max Nevell impressing on the right of midfield, they created a number of further chances with Barnes going close.

A third goal did eventually arrive when Warriors, who used the wider squad to underline the strength in depth this Sidmouth team has, saw the ever-reliable Dev Nair net from close range – though the goal might also be one for Michael Bielawski to claim as both players met the cross at exactly the same moment. Not even a parent’s mobile phone version of VAR was able to determine the scorer!

Once they were three goals to the good Warriors closed the game out in a degree of comfort. Perhaps a three-goal margin was not reflective of the immense Seaton effort, but it’s a result that gave the Warriors team the bragging rights when players from both teams met up on Monday at school!