Beer Albion FC complete a memorable season next 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 2:30 pm) writes Richard Honnor.
The Fishermen will start as underdogs against strong Devon Football League opponents but should they achieve victory they will become first side from East Devon 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 and his young squad are looking forward to the challenge. “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”, said Rooke. “This game is going to be incredibly hard for us. North Molton finished fourth in a higher league and have only lost four games all season so once again 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 and we will take the game to our opponents.”
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 they 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 the Devon and Exeter Division. It was an amazing achievement by managers Jamie Bond, Chris Driver and their players. They headed the Division until the turn of the New Year and despite the squad being severely depleted by calls on the first team in 2022 they still managed to finish a very creditable 3rd.
To round off the season, the Club’s Dinner will take place on 4th June where the usual awards for on and off-the-field achievements will be presented. To be able to display the Devon Premier Cup at this auspicious event would be the “icing on the cake”!