Ottery St Mary go into Saturday’s Macron League Division Three game at home to Sandford (3pm) looking to chalk up a sixth successive win.
A fifth victory in a row was registered last Saturday thanks to a 3-1 win at Otterton.
The Otters, who had lost all three previous derby outings this season – losing home and away to Tipton and going down 2-1 to Otterton in the game played at Ottery earlier in the season - scored twice in the first half with Connor Swingler netting both.
The two-goal half-time lead was no more than the Otters deserved for an impressive all-round show.
Straight from the re-start Otterton halved the deficit, but Ottery remained disciplined, organised and inventive going forward and sealed the points with a late third scored by Corey Ringer.
That was the second goal in as many starts for the Ottery hit man, who had gone eight games without a goal before netting the winners seven days before in the home win over Clyst Valley.
Otters boss Dave Fairweather said: “We played very well and fully deserved the three points. If anything, I felt we ought to have won by a greater margin. We could, possibly should, have scored many more.”
The Ottery boss added: “Let’s give bags of credit to them [Otterton] for getting the game on. That said, conditions were so heavy, they almost bordered on the ridiculous!”
Ottery skipper Curtis Winchombe was named Man of the Match for his superb shift.
The win lifted the Otters into sixth place in the Division Three table and they are now just six points shy of a top four slot.
As for the meeting with Sandford, when Ottery travelled to Mid Devon in November they suffered what remains their biggest defeat of the campaign, going down 5-0.
Ottery boss Fairweather says: “We met Sandford at a time in our season when precious little was going right for us.
“We went to the game with a bare 11 players and then went on to produce a seriously below-par performance.
“However, now things have changed and we are in a good place both in terms of recent results and individual player form.
“I should not need to offer any additional motivation to the lads, many of whom will clearly remember the drubbing we took at their place back in November.”
Sandford will pitch up at Washbrook Meadow for the game sitting one point and one place below Ottery in the table.
Since that 5-0 win over Ottery on November 18 they have only played four times, losing to Budleigh Salterton, drawing with Clyst Valley and Crediton and winning one, against Lympstone.
?Ottery St Mary ladies are also in action this weekend when they travel to Plymouth to take on a Keyham Kolts side against whom they chalked up their record win - 15-0 - when the sides met last month at Washbrook Meadow.
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