Tuesday 30 August, 2022, by Oli Masters
Salcombe's season got off the mark on Saturday with a pre-season fixture which was also doubling a cup fixture for the Barry cup, contested whenever the Crabs face Buckfastleigh. Having won the cup back after a long barren run and with a tough summer training regime under their belts Salcombe travelled to South Dartmoor in a confident mood. Unfortunately and despite leading 3-nil for most of the match poor discipline in the last 10 minutes let the home side back into the game with a number of kickable penalties. These were duly taken and along with it the momentum of the game and ultimately the win and the cup.
There are plenty of "work on"s for Salcombe to improve on ahead of the first league fixture against Plymouth Arguam but they will need to be better in nearly every area to equal and improve on the standards set last season. What they will take away from the fixture however, a warm up match against an unfamiliar looking Buckfastleigh squad who have clearly recruited well over the summer, is that they must take nothing for granted. Sweat and tears over the summer, new players being integrated and familiarity with positions and systems must now be blended to create a winning mentality that was lacking in patches on Saturday.
The players would like to thank all the travelling support and to the hosts who must be applauded for getting their pitch in a playable condition and the Crabs will have a chance to win the Barry Cup back later in the season. Now however focus must switch to a long and attritional league campaign where Salcombe (as is tradition) will start as underdogs with something to prove and somewhat of a chip on their shoulder. They need show once again that this is the level they belong at before setting sights even higher and proving to each other and the coaching team that they can far-and-away be better.