Rain Wreaks More Havoc But There’s No Stopping Roselands
Players and managers throughout the region are becoming increasingly frustrated by the atrocious conditions, and Saturday’s fixture-list was once more decimated, reduced to just three matches.
The only grass pitch in use was in Division Three, at the Loddiswell Playing Fields, where Loddiswell Athletic Reserves came up against a determined Chudleigh Athletic Reserves goalkeeper before claiming a deserved 1-0 win through Danny Tucker. The result was a far cry from October’s reverse fixture where Hoops shipped nine in a twelve goal thriller.
Newton Abbot Spurs Thirds made use of the artificial pitch at Ashmoor Sports College in Ashburton to contest their Ronald Cup First Round tie. Opponents Totnes & Dartington Thirds, who made the Les Bishop Cup Final last season, bowed out 3-2.
In Division Four, Roselands’ 3G pitch once more proved its worth when the first team met South Brent Reserves. In a one-sided match, Roselands came away with a 6-0 home win against their opponents in windy conditions. The first half saw Roselands attempt to get the ball on the floor and play, while South Brent tried to use the tailwind to their advantage, with minimal success. It wasn’t long before the home side went one up, young defender Ryan Traynor-Smith popping up at a corner to head well past the ‘keeper. Ten minutes before half time, prolific Roselands centre-forward Gary Aldous added another to his tally with a neat turn before scoring into the bottom right-hand corner to give his side a 2-0 half-time lead. With the wind behind their backs in the second half, Roselands continued the offensive to score another four goals in quick succession through winger Dan Paget, Marc Graham, Adam Hutchings and young prospect Sonwabile Mlenze.
The leaders have now won eight on the bounce and managed six clean sheets along the way.
