Honiton Under-9s returned from fixtures at Exmouth muddied but with heads held high after four battling performances against strong Exmouth and Lympstone side.

First up the Devils played Lympstone who scored two unanswered first half goals. After the break goals from Dominic McCreadie and Connor Brown saw them back at 2-2 before a late winner from the hosts. Man of the Match was Ewan Evans who was outstanding throughout whilst Joseph Charlton and Jai Freemantle also had fine games.

The Devils then played Exmouth and went into the break on level terms at 0-0 thanks in then main to the determination of Luke Matthews. The hosts struck twice shortly after the re-start. Chasing the game saw the Devils caught on the break and they fell to a 5-0 defeat.

Man of the Match was Zac Harrison for never giving up, River Leisk and Jacob Fisher also tried their hardest.

The Demons played Exmouth first and after falling behind parity was restored by Connor Richards. After the break the home side struck four unanswered goals with their main woe being not tackling with any real strength. The defeat would have been by a greater margin but for a superb performance by keeper harry Horn.

The Demons then played Lympstone and started well. However they were caught out by a long ball and clinical finish to fall, behind. Connor Richards once again levelled things up after a mazy run and shot, but the Lympets netted twice more to take a 3-1 advantage into the break. Demons conceded two more in the second half before Ben Borkowski netted his first goal of the season to complete the scoring.

Honiton’s Mark Fisher said: “On the day for both Devils and Demons tackling and defending were the main issues. The teams cannot be faulted for their endeavour and enthusiasm though. The Player of the day was Connor Richards for his great work rate whilst Elliot Holdsworth, Jake Mabbutt and Josh Edwards need a mention for the effort they collectively put in.”