Brixham joint manager Tim Porter bumped into Willand Rovers manager Ben Watson at Faro airport in Portugal on Thursday night, ahead of the two teams meeting in the preliminary round of the FA Cup on Saturday.
It was already a strange coincidence, but the meeting happened just an hour after both bosses had been contacted by Radio Devon about appearing on the station’s Friday night football show.
Once the pleasantries were out of the way, it was Brixham who were celebrating on Saturday afternoon. They beat Willand 2-0 at Wall Park to book their place in the first qualifying round, on a day when two other Devon teams, Tiverton Town and Exmouth Town, also made progress.
Goals from Kieran Parkin on 30 minutes and Ryan Beattie on 60 were enough for Brixham of the Western League Premier Division to beat their rivals, who were in a relegation battle in Division One South of the Southern League last season. While Brixham ended up going down, Willand were saved when other teams dropped out of the division instead. So it was a good day for the Fishermen, and Porter is hoping for a “kind” draw in the next round.
“It’s fantastic for the club,” he said. “It’s the sort of game that means so much to the supporters and volunteers. Getting to the next round is always brilliant for the club as a whole.
“In terms of performance, the lads were brilliant. We’ve been off it recently and every single person involved delivered on their capabilities.
“It was a proper fortress Wall Park performance that we have been used to over the years – but that has been missing for a while.”
Tiverton entered the competition at this stage and will also be in the draw tomorrow afternoon after they beat Ivybridge Town 2-1 at home.
Asa Hall’s team had to come from behind at Ladysmead, though. Jake Lane gave the visitors a 15th-minute lead that lasted until half-time. Before Ivybridge’s goal, their goalkeeper Kane Gregory had already saved a penalty from Owen Howe. Matt Wood headed home a Finn Roberts cross for the equaliser in the 62nd minute, with Howe scoring the winner for Tiverton in the dying seconds.
The other Devon team going through was Exmouth Town, who beat visitors Bridgwater United 3-1. Exmouth were actually 3-0 ahead in 13 minutes with goals by Ben Steer and Ethan Slater, and an unlucky Bridgwater player. Will Collins got a goal back for the visitors in the second half, but it wasn’t enough.
Barnstaple Town’s participation in the competition came to an end when they lost 2-1 at St Blazey, whose goals were scored by Harry Blows and Kai Burrell, following an early opener by Joe Hatch for Barum.
Cornwall will have two teams in the first round qualifying draw after Falmouth Town won 2-1 at Street, where Oli Evans and Oscar Massey scored the late goals to send them through.
Plymouth Parkway from the Southern Premier will join the competition at the next stage, with Taunton Town another new name in the hat. And with Torquay United and Truro City both added to the competition after that, the prize for going through again could be huge for Brixham.
Porter is only looking forward one round at a time, though. Porter, who wants a home draw, said: “There are plenty of Step 5 clubs still involved and some local ones at Step 4. This could absolutely be an opportunity to progress ever further if the draw is kind.”
Elsewhere in the South West, Mangotsfield United will be in the FA Cup first qualifying round draw following a 3-0 Cossham Street victory against Thatcham Town.
Ollie Price’s side took a sixth-minute lead when Owen Pritchard intercepted a pass and saw his shot go into the net via the inside of the post.
Harlee Vozza added a second midway through the first half when he blocked a clearance and fired home, despite the ‘keeper getting a strong hand to his shot.
Pritchard wrapped up victory in the 87th minute after winning the race to a through ball and slotting home.
Portishead Town will also be in the draw following a 2-2 preliminary round draw at Larkhall Athletic, which has set up a Bristol Road replay tomorrow night. Former Clevedon and Portishead winger Freddie King gave Larkhall the lead with a stunning strike. Then, after Portishead scored twice, Stan Wyatt grabbed a late equaliser for the Larks.
Brixham, Tiverton and Exmouth Progress in FA Cup