Willand Rovers - Silver Street

Willand Rovers FC

3 Silver Street

Willand

Cullompton

EX15 2RG

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Ground Number: 1372

Saturday 16th November 2024

Willand Rovers 1-1 Didcot Town

Southern League D1 South

WILLAND ROVERS FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1946 following the collapse of the village's former club, Willand Wanderers, during the Second World War. They were long-time members of the Devon & Exeter Football League for the majority of their history. The club originally played on a field opposite the Halfway House pub but in 1953 they moved to their present home in Silver Street. In 1992, Willand Rovers joined the Devon County League, winning it in 1999 and 2001. After the latter of these titles, they moved up to the Western League Division 1 which they won in 2005. The success continued and in 2010, they finished as runners-up to Bideford. In 2019, Willand Rovers were Western League champions, scoring 116 goals and gaining 95 points. Ever since, they have been in the Southern League Division 1 South and although they have not pulled up any trees, they've never looked like being relegated either and remain there to this day.

Willand Rovers' best FA Cup run came in 2014. They beat Radstock Town, Odd Down, Saltash United, Blackfield & Langley and Aveley before losing to Gosport Borough in the 4th Qualifying Round. They have also twice reached the FA Trophy 1st Round. In the FA Vase, Willand enjoyed their best run in the 2018/19 season. They beat Odd Down, Tavistock, Bodmin Town, Hamworthy United and Deeping Rangers before defeat to Cray Valley PM in the Quarter Finals. In terms of local cups, the Western League Les Phillips Cup has been won on three occasions.

The village of Willand is located 12 miles north of the city of Exeter and a couple of miles from the town of Cullompton. Despite a population of around 6,000 for the village and surrounding area, it has just one pub, two small convenience stores and a fish and chip shop. Willand is a historic village that may have been settled since the Iron Age. It was first recorded in 1042 as belonging to Ethmar. The village is built on ground that is rising at a rapid rate, which is one of the fastest rates of uplift in the UK. The Bristol to Exeter railway line was completed in 1844 and a station, called Tiverton Road, was opened in Willand to serve the nearby town of Tiverton; this was renamed Tiverton Junction railway station when a branch line reached the town and also became the junction for the Culm Valley Light Railway in 1876. Both branch lines had closed by 1975, and the station closed in 1986 when Tiverton Parkway was opened.

MY VISIT

This game was considered a fortnight back after I went to Tavistock with Didcot Town FC. The fare was just £20, and they were a decent, friendly club, so I was keen to go to more games with them. Of the four grounds I needed in that league, the Bideford game was not until April and it looked like Helston Athletic and Mousehole would be done overnight. That just left Willand Rovers to do with the game scheduled two weeks later. It all hinged on the Wycombe Wanderers v Huddersfield Town ga,e being postponed due to international call-ups, which as expected, it was. Once I confirmed that the coach was running, I let the club that Colin & I would like to travel with them, weather permitting of course. The only downside is that there wasn't a lot in the village but on the flip side, it made sense to go on the coach whilst I could.

From my trip to Suffolk on Saturday, I came home via London and was able to tick off Wetherspoons 363, The Rockingham Arms in Elephant & Castle. It was remarkable to get a pint of Stowford Press for £2.49 in central London before the final leg of my journey home. Getting back at 10, I stayed up until midnight meaning I was tired when I awoke at 4 am the next day for work. Two crap nights of sleep took their toll later in the day when I went to Burnham to see Wycombe Wanderers Women thump AFC Varsity 11-1 in the League Cup. I did catch up on sleep on Sunday night but still felt tired on Monday and was glad of Tuesday off work. It was the usual walk to town and back in the morning. In the evening I watched my first game in the Football League Trophy for nine years and the first home game for Wycombe in the competition for eleven years. I'd been boycotting the competition since they introduced the Premier League U21 teams, even when we got to Wembley last season. In truth, work stopped me last time and also affected my choosing it for the 7 pm kickoff with me up for work at 4 am the next morning. Wycombe beat Crawley Town 2-1 in front of a muted atmosphere and 723 fans of which 84 came from Sussex.

Wednesday saw the news that ex-Wycombe manager Gareth Ainsworth had been chosen as the new manager of Shrewsbury Town. In my opinion, it's a great appointment after he was screwed over at QPR. Thursday and Friday were pretty uneventful and I was missing football. However, Afan Lido was just a bit too far to drive to without an overnight stop having been up since 4 am. I wondered what Willand Rovers had in store for us tomorrow. On the cider front, it was disappointing for Devon with Thatchers Gold and Somersby very common elsewhere. Bottles held potential though. Food-wise it was better with pasties, sausages and chips etc. I'd rather eat there than give my money to someone else. The evening was spent at home with a few drinks, a night in, and an early night too.

 

The day of the game came and I had a lie-in until 7.30 am. I had time for breakfast and a bath before leaving at 9. I stopped at a cash machine before meeting Colin at my local bus stop. It was the usual cross-country route to Didcot with us getting to the ground at 10:05. I popped in and got some pictures, noting that they had improved the ground since my last visit in 2015. I vowed to come back for a game soon, it was a shame that they had been knocked out of the Berks & Bucks Cup by Flackwell Heath as Wycombe going there again would have been great. I started looking at next week's possibilities and a double of Stafford Rangers U21 at 10:30 and Uttoxeter Town at 15:00. A couple of new Spoons would be great and the train fare was attractive with Colin's railcard was great. However,. the 06:13 train out of Wycombe and the icy temperatures predicted made it a non-starter. Instead, a trip to London and Borough Market with a game is most likely. A couple of ciders were downed either side of a stop at Sedgemoor was useful for the toilet but not much else. We were at Willand at 1.15 but the Co Op and Halfway House were disappointing with poor range and attitude at the latter. I was back at the club before 2. It was a nice welcome and a friendly club. As a consequence, entry £10, Somersby and plastic glass £5.40 and sausage, chips and curry sauce were purchased, all very good.

 

Willand Rovers were in 13th having won four, drawn six and lost four of their games so far. In their last league game, they won 1-0 at Tavistock. Didcot Town were in 9th having won six, drawn three and lost six of their games so far. Since I had seen them a couple of weeks ago they had been amongst the goals - losing 5-3 to Shaftesbury and beating Falmouth Town 3-2. Didcot had the better of the early play but couldn't get ahead. Willand still had chances on the break. Willand had Owen Howe sent off for taking a swipe at Didcot keeper Leigh Bedwell amongst others. A Liam Carnell header from a looping right-sided cross made it 1-0 Didcot on 35 minutes. Willand improved in the second half and it was ten a side just before the hour with Owen Smith sent off for Didcot. This gave the impetus to Willand and they started to dominate proceedings. The equaliser came on 81 minutes, Douglas Camilo with a strike from 25 yards that flew in. Both sides had chances, and Didcot had a late rally but it was not to be.

It was probably a fair reflection of the play, the draw. Hopefully, both teams departed as friends despite a sending-off apiece. Certainly, Willand were a lovely club to visit, a lot friendlier and more welcoming than Tavistock a fortnight ago. We had plenty of time to kill so we we walked to One Stop. This seemed a decent place, a bottle of Crumpton Oaks cider was purchased for £1 as well as some chicken bites and a bottle of Ribena Light. From there, it was back to the coach with us there at 5.20. Given how hospitable Willand were, I wasn't expecting to leave much before the 6 PM planned departure time. The plan was to get back to Didcot at 9, drop Colin off and have an hour's rest before going to bed before my 4 am alarm tomorrow.

 

THE GROUND

I first visited Silver Street or the Stan Robinson Stadium as it was known for sponsorship purposes back on Wednesday 14th September 2016. Some of the pictures seem to be taken on Monday 13th April 2009, before Exeter City v Wycombe Wanderers. This was between games at Truro City the previous night and Wellington. It was a decent-looking stadium with a solid stand holding around 100 and an overhang from the clubhouse holding around the same standing.

2024 GROUND UPDATE

Upon my visit for a game, two stands had been added on either side of the main stand, one a 50-seater metal stand, the other a more solid structure holding 100 mainly standing. The parking was quite limited, with coaches having to park elsewhere as there was a small area outside for fans and inside the ground for players and officials. The bar sadly had no local cider but was a nice place to spend pre-match. They sold pin badges here and had branded pint plastic glasses. Outside, the food was tasty and well-priced. There were a couple of shops, a chippy, a pub and a cafe within walking distance but none stood out.