Devon sport round-up

Details about this weekend's matches

It’s been a busy weekend for our Devon sides; almost every club travelled to away fixtures. 

In the FA Cup, Plymouth Argyle held fellow Championship side Leeds United to a one, all-draw gifting themselves a fourth-round replay at Home Park. Leeds was dominant in the early stages and took the lead in the first half; Argyle came back and scored a well-deserved equaliser with less than 20 minutes to go- and held on to secure the replay.

The Pilgrims haven’t reached the fifth round of the cup in 17 years and now have the opportunity to be in the last 16. The replay for the 2023/24 edition will commence on the week commencing Monday 5 February.

In League One, Exeter City have won back-to-back league matches for the first time since August following their two-one win away at Barnsley. Exeter scored twice in the first half; it was just enough to get over the line in Yorkshire. The Grecians now sit in a more comfortable 14th in the table.

Torquay United fans may be wishing they still had Brazilian goalkeeper Lucas Covolan in the net following his stand-out performance in Maidstone United’s fourth-round FA Cup victory against Ipswich, as the Gulls conceded four goals against Worthing. The four- two defeat keeps them in the play-off places on goal difference.

Moving on to rugby, Exeter Chiefs dropped to fifth place in the Premiership after losing 40-22 away at Saracens. Both sides were level at 15-all at the break; some individual errors and a dominant last 20 minutes for Saracens cost the Chiefs a win in the capital.

This was Exeter’s last Premiership match for eight weeks to avoid clashing with the six nations. However, the Chiefs have two matches in February. They host Welsh side Scarletts in a friendly and the semi-final of the Premiership Cup in Gloucester. 

In National League One, Plymouth Albion fell to their first home defeat of the season after losing 17-28 against Darlington. Although Albion took the early lead in the match, it wasn’t enough to hold off the county Durham side. 

Fixtures next weekend (Saturday 3 February):

Football:

Championship: Swansea City vs Plymouth Argyle [15:00]

League One: Exeter City vs Bristol Rovers [15:00]

National League South: Torquay United vs St Albans City [15:00]

Rugby (Six Nations opening weekend):

National League One: Leicester vs Plymouth Albion [15:00]