Beer Albion FC complete a memorable season on Saturday when they take on North Molton Sports Club in the final of the Sportslighting Devon Premier Cup at Devon FA HQ, Coach Road, Newton Abbot (Kick-off 2:30pm), writes Richard Honnor.
The Fishermen will start as underdogs against strong Devon Football League opponents but, should they pull off the victory, they will become first side from the Devon and Exeter League to lift this prestigious trophy.
North Molton, who finished the season in 4th place in the DFL, will provide formidable opposition but Beer will not be overawed, having already disposed of impressive opponents on their way to the final, notably DFL Runners-up Exwick Villa, Devon and Exeter champions Lapford and South Devon League Champions Buckfastleigh Rangers.
Manager Mark Rooke said: “This Cup Final is the biggest the club has ever reached, so there is understandably a lot of excitement around the game and, as usual, we will have an unbelievable amount of people coming down to support us.
“This game is going to be incredibly hard for us. North Molton only lost four games all season, so we will be massive underdogs. Despite this, our players will be going into the game with confidence in their own ability and, just like the semi-final against Exwick, we will give it everything we have.”
The game has generated much excitement amongst the Beer village community and more than 200 local supporters are expected to attend the game.
It has been a remarkably successful season for the Fishermen. Having finished third in the Devon and Exeter Premier, Beer 1st’s have secured promotion to the DFL, so will be competing against the likes of North Molton next season. Local rivalries with Feniton, Topsham Town and Ottery St Mary will also be renewed!
Beer Reserves also completed a successful league campaign, finishing third in their division. It was an amazing achievement by managers Jamie Bond, Chris Driver and their players. They topped the table until the New Year and, despite the squad being severely depleted by calls on the first-team in 2022, still managed to finish a very creditable third.
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