CREDITON United’s first team had a break from league football on Saturday, October 15 with a 72 miles trip over the border to sunny Cornwall and a first time visit to SWP League West Division’s Sticker AFC for the Walter C Parsons League Cup match.

Although the ground is situated out of the Sticker village in the countryside, the facilities were excellent with a very well maintained pitch - which the club own - floodlights, good pitch railings, a grandstand, a pleasant clubhouse and very amenable club staff members.

With senior players Dave Lee, Adam Bilcock and Kevin Pike unavailable the squad for the day was made up of mostly young team players and a good opportunity to show what they can do.

Fortunately the Sticker home side aren’t having a great season and their scoring opportunities were very few.

The Crediton lads quickly got used to the slight crossway slope of the pitch and soon took control of the game.

After several early near misses from the team young Kieran Knight broke through the home team’s defence to open the scoring with a well placed shot.

Sticker is situated in the lower part of its division and found it difficult to create many successful goal chances against the Crediton goalkeeper Ethan Chalk.

Despite the relative size disadvantage United’s two teenage midfielders, Shay Corrick and Oakley Bennett, grabbed a goal each before half time (0-2).

A half-time talk by the home team managers must have installed some spirit in the home team but 10 minutes after a spell of pressure on the Crediton goal the United lads broke away and Louis Stephens slotted home the fourth goal (0-4), giving United’s team manager’s Ben Watson and Jack Furzer a chance to give all their young subs a runout.

It was good to see former Crediton United player Richard Edworthy, who is now a PE school teacher in Redruth and one of the better players at Sticker.

Ironically after the completion of all SWPL first round cup games and whereas in past years the Cornish West Division of the SWP Leagues have dominated the cup games, the East Division (Devon) now have 12 of the remaining 16 total teams left in the competition.

On Saturday, October 22, United will play another cup game and will be running a team coach to take players and supporters to the other side of Bristol to play Step Five team Mangotsfield United in the first Round Proper of the FA Vase (United have already won two preliminary round games).

A victory on Saturday would be the first time that United will have reached the second round of the FA Vase in nearly 30 years of competing. Mangotsfield is lingering at the foot of the Step Five Hellenic League one level above Crediton and currently sit five from bottom with three wins and one draw in 13 games.

Man of the match: Marcus Howe.

Chris Gillard