Honiton Town finally got to play a home match after nine fixtures away from Mountbatten and the familiar surroundings helped produce an excellent 2-1 victory over Elmore.
After a 0-0 draw at the Eagles in the reverse fixture, the Hippos came out firing in the early stages and got their reward just before the half-hour, when a free-kick from Ben Ede was met by Sam Kemp.
His initial effort was blocked by the Elmore defence but the ball fell nicely for captain Elliot Dyer to fire home from the edge of the box. Honiton continued to control the game and a deserved second goal arrived from another set-piece, Dan Savage lashing in the loose ball.
Elmore, to their credit, kept on fighting for their way back into the game and grabbed a goal ten minutes from time. The Hippos were forced to defend valiantly through the closing stages and a top save from Luke Ashford ensured all three points remained at Mountbatten.
It was a far tougher weekend for Axminster Town, who travelled to Barnstaple Town in the FA Vase and found the North Devon side in ruthless form, as goals from Tor Swann (2), Stuart Bowker and Joe Edmonds gave Barum a 4-0 victory.
There is something special happening at Beer Albion, where over 100 supporters watched the Fishermen maintain their fine start to the Devon Football League season with a gritty 1-0 win over Thorverton.
After slow starts in their previous games this season, Beer were quick out of the blocks, twice splitting open Thorverton’s defence within the first 10 minutes but first Taylor Rooke and then Jake Rowe failed to convert good chances.
The Fishermen deservedly took the lead on 22 minutes. Giles Basson picked up a cross-field pass from Finley Rooke on the edge of the penalty box and jinked his way past three tackles before inducing a foul. Referee Fullam had no hesitation in awarding the penalty and Tony Pinder coolly slotted home the spot kick.
The second period was far from pretty but Beer did enough to secure the points and it was a similar story for Beer Albion 2nds, who also won 1-0 at Bow AAC. Harry Lawrence scored the only goal after a lovely pass from Alex Paget.
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