Visitors Whipton gave the boys two very different challenges last Saturday, writes Alex Spalding.

Sidmouth fielded an experimental line-up against first match opponents the Wanderers, and coped really well. Jack Miller, Will Ashby and especially Jay Harris were a revelation in unfamiliar defensive positions, while up front Ben Plowden constantly unsettled his markers.

James Emmett converted an early penalty with panache. In the second half, Matt Salter drove forward and played a lovely through ball to Jack Miller, which he finished smartly to make it 2-0. Lucas Richardson and Toby Garrick ran their socks off on the wings. A superb stop from Ben Plowden kept the scores unchanged at full-time. It was a pleasure to watch the boys play with such confidence.

Next up, Whipton Youth, were reported by our scouts to be one of the best footballing sides around. The boys had a superb first half - kept their shape, retained possession, battled and closed down quickly - for a long time it looked as if it would be stalemate. But Whipton scored two quick goals from close range which, on other days, we would have kept out. In the second half the boys continued chasing and pressing tirelessly - it took an excellent Whipton strike to finish an attractive game 3-0, although 1-0 would have been a fairer reflection of the balance of play.