Two goals apiece from Bailey Mabin and Luke Cloke ensured that Mount Gould won the Premier cup for the third time in four years.

Although Newtown had a lot of the early possession and almost went ahead in the fourth minute, Mount Gould  keeper Jenson Manning doing well to keep out a fierce angled drive from Joe McKenzie, they had no answer to the pace with which Mount Gould were able to turn defence into attack and by the 16^th minute found themselves two goals down, Mabin scoring both.

In the 13^th minute he drifted completely unmarked into the Newtown penalty area to get on the end of a cross from Cloke to lift his shot over keeper Lee Bailey. Three minutes later he scored his second with a fierce drive from 30 yards that left Bailey grasping air.

Despite the two goal deficit Newtown kept pressing forward but were unable to break down a resolute Gould defence well marshalled by Jordan Powell and Sean Eason. In the 30^th and 33^rd minutes they could have gone further behind, Owen Pritchard’s shot from the edge of the box fizzing just wide followed by Danny Brook, from a similar position, striking his shot against the crossbar with Bailey beaten.

The game had started to open up, but it was not until the 45^th minute that Mount Gould got their third goal. A slick passing move between Brook and Pritchard down the left cut through the Newton defence drawing Bailey out of his goal and leaving Pritchard to find Cloke, who made no mistake slotting into the open net.

Three nil now and it seemed there was no way back for Newtown. However, in the second minute of added time they got a goal back, Joel Greenslade sent a cross in from the left which Manning failed to grasp and the bouncing ball was nodded home from a yard out by Ben Howard to make the half - time score at Mount Gould 3, Newton 1.

The second half began with Newtown on the front foot and, in the 48^th minute, Greenslade, having skipped clear of the defence, should have brought the scores within one goal but placed his shot straight at a grateful Manning. Then, in the 50^th minute, Mabin missed a good chance for his hat trick but couldn’t keep the ball down. The next chance fell to  Ryan Gilpin on as a substitute for Newtown who, in the 53^rd minute ,saw his shot pushed for a corner by Manning which came to naught.

Three minutes later it was Bailey’s turn to excel pushing a shot from Pritchard wide of the post.

As both teams made a series of substitutions few chances were being created, the intense heat clearly having an effect. However, in the 59^th minute Gilpin failed to convert when clean through and at the other end, in the 72^nd minute Cloke crashed a shot from the edge of the box against the near post. Cloke was not to be denied his second goal however, and in the 81^st minute made the game safe, skipping past a defender to slot home from twelve yards. Four one to Mount Gould and no way back for Newtown who had battled gamely but came up short

Star Player - Luke Cloke (Mount Gould)

Written by Dennis Smith
Devon County FA