Plymouth and West Devon four

Yelverton Villa 3

Ernesettle DRDE

Trust 3

YELVERTON kicked off the season with a draw against league new boys, Ernesettle but Villa nearly threw the match away, after an undisciplined first half display saw them 1-0 behind and down to 10 men. However, the introduction of Jonny Leppert and Wayne Pope, early in the second half, turned the game on its head. Villa grabbed an equaliser as the pacy Matt Bird raced onto a probing pass from Leppert and drove a fierce shot past the Ernesettle keeper. Moments later, the Ernesettle keeper found Leppert's 30 yard free kick too hot to handle and could only parry the ball but couldn't prevent it crossing the line.

Ernesettle made their extra man tell as they pressed forward in search of goals and scored an equaliser in the 65th minute and regained the lead 10 minutes later. To their credit Yelverton players did not let their heads drop and, in the 90th minute, a determined chase by Pope saw him brought down in the penalty box. Mike Chatfield stepped up to fire home the penalty kick and earn Villa's first point of the season.