BERE Alston United 2nd XI have enjoyed a solid debut season in the South Devon Football League and could well move further up in the Division Four standings with their games in hand.

League action was put to one side this weekend though as they had a cup final to worry about, taking on Chudleigh Athletic 2nds and looking to hoist aloft the Les Bishop Cup.

They came into the fixture on good form, having won their last three games and scoring 21 goals in the process.

In both the quarter and semi-final, Bere Alston won 4-2, overcoming Teign Village and then Kingsbridge & Kellaton United respectively.

Goals weren’t on the agenda in this edgy affair though as they were beaten 1-0 at Duckspond, a second-half Jack Salmons strike making the difference in front of a good crowd. He then scored a hat-trick for Chudleigh’s 1st XI less than 24 hours later.

Elsewhere in their division, a draw for Brixham Town 2nds away at Waldon Athletic 3rds means that Bere Alston are still within striking distance of them. They sit sixth with 28 points and have two games in hand on Brixham (29pts), plus Paignton Villa 3rds are certainly in their grasp too.

The other two league clashes this weekend both ended 6-0, Paignton Saints 3rds sending Newton Rovers 2nds home empty-handed and Barton Athletic 2nds winning away at Kingsbridge & Kellaton United.

Up in Division Three, Stoke Gabriel & Torbay Police 2nd XI took one step closer to a top-three finish with a victory on their travels.

The Bees visited Ipplepen Athletic 2nds, who are fighting it out at the other end of the table, and notched seven unanswered goals.

This Stoke side have now won six on the spin and are scoring goals for fun. Two weeks ago, they beat Ipplepen 3-1 in the reverse fixture before then putting nine past Waldon Athletic reserves, Adam Blackburn helping himself to five of them.

It seems unlikely that Stoke Gabriel will be able to catch Galmpton United and Kingskerswell ahead of them but with the latter beating fourth-placed Kingsteignton Athletic 2nds on the weekend, their hold on third place has grown stronger.

This time around Stoke will welcome mid-table South Brent to Broadley Lane.

Alongside Stoke Gabriel, another in-form SDFL side is Buckland Athletic 2nd XI, of Division One.

The Yellows won once more with the rain pouring down at Homers Heath courtesy of an early strike from PJ Sharples against Paignton Villa.

Sharples latched onto a through-ball and remained calm to sweep his side ahead with less than five minutes on the clock.

They couldn’t have hoped for a better start and despite growing stronger and stronger, the second goal eluded them.

At the other end, Villa had a couple of opportunities in the first half but Bucks goalkeeper Harry Meaden was out quickly to thwart their advances.

In the middle of the park, Buckland were notably dominant and were running the game, their technical players then linking up well with attacking duo Sharples and Kai Swann, both of whom were good outlets.

It was a commanding 45 minutes with the weather playing something of a part, followed by a goalless second half.

Buckland remain in eighth after this victory and are building the gap between themselves and the sides below them, although all of them have multiple games in hand still to cash in on.