Elburton Villa 0-4 Bridgwater United

A strong second half performance sealed what was in the end a comfortable victory for the Robins at a chilly but sunny Haye Road on Saturday in the FA Vase 2nd Rd.

The home side are struggling in the SW Peninsula League East, only kept off the bottom by Bridport and in truth were rarely in the game although Bridgwater were made to work hard for their goals, three of which came after the break.

Dave Pearse again shuffled his pack after Tuesday’s 5-0 win at Cheddar in the Somerset Premier Cup with Jordan Greenwood unavailable and Morgan Williams still on the injured list and Conor Hartley kept his place after his brace.

Elburton’s red and white striped shirts appeared to pose no problems until they turned around as their backs were identical to Bridgy’s white but referee Gascoigne went with it and although often confusing from the sidelines wisely all just got on with it.

Both teams struggled to settle on what was a bobbly surface and Bridgy’s passing game was neutralised for a while with Villa opting to go long and Jordan Rundle and Bentley Alcantara brought routine saves out of Jake Viney, who was looking for a third clean sheet in seven days. It took 16 minutes to break the deadlock as Tom Llewellyn wandered into the area and was brought down by Aaron Hicks and Jack Taylor’s spot kick was perfect in the top corner past Jack Dixon.

Top scorer Jake Brown twice weaved into the box to test Dixon, scuffing the first but bringing a save out of the home keeper then Hartley curled a cross goalwards but it was nodded off the line. Villa occasionally broke free of the shackles and Alcantara was close with a drive which was deflected just wide before Brown brought a flying save out of the hard working Dixon who had a fine game for Villa. Bridgy adopted a shoot on sight policy before the break with limited success as the pitch was causing no little frustration to the likes of George King, Lewellyn and Hartley but moments after the break the game was effectively sealed. Man of the match Dave Thorne picked up a loose ball on an angle outside the box and crashed it past Dixon and into the far corner to erase any lingering nerves then moments later Jake Brown was gifted the ball by a defender and he made it three with the minimum of fuss.

With half an hour left Bridgy were able to relax and enjoy themselves a little and Hartley collected Llewellyn’s superb crossfield pass to again test Dixon, whose save was cleared from danger. Alcantara was a nuisance all afternoon for Villa and his volley brought a save out of Viney with King calmly dealing with the immediate aftermath before he made way for Troy Simpson, who almost connected at the far post with his first touch.

Villa’s best chance came just past the hour when Callum Courts nodded over from a couple of yards out and after Taylor, playing in a much deeper role and Brown had efforts go wide a corner routine worked wonders and Llewellyn rattled in the fourth to end the scoring.

With Saltash winning in the league they take over at the top of the Western League Premier Division, albeit with the Robins having a game in hand and a better goal difference but the cup football continues on Tuesday as Wellington once again visit Fairfax Park in the Les Phillips Cup. With two draws so far in the league between the sides Pearse will be expecting to go one better as they begin their defence of the Vase won last May.

Earlier in the morning the college based U18 side stayed top after a 1-0 home win over Swindon Supermarine courtesy of an Acey Mead goal.