Looming Lockdown leaves Exmouth Town boss in limbo

Exmouth Town manager Kevin Hill spent the early part of this week preparing for a game that might never happen.

Keynsham Town were the scheduled visitors to Southern Road in the Toolstation Western League on Wednesday evening but uncertainty surrounding the new national lockdown left local football in limbo over the weekend.

The focus for Hill was to ensure all plans were in place, just in case the game was given a green light, and confidence is high in Town ranks after a solid 2-0 win over Wellington, thanks to an excellent Ben Steer brace.

“The lads were excellent in difficult conditions against Wellington,” said Hill. “I was delighted to get our first clean sheet in the league.

“We played Keynsham away in the FA Cup and beat them 3-0 in what was the first game after the resumption of football, but that result means nothing because they could be a very different side.

“Our home form is very good and we seem to grind out results on our own patch. If the game is played and then lockdown stops football for a while, it would be very nice for us to go into that break with a win.

“The approach from us will be to keep training and preparing until we are told otherwise. If football is stopped, I know we have a group of lads who look after themselves, they will go out running and generally keep fit.

“Whatever happens, leagues will want to get games done quickly and that will be a test of fitness for everybody. Unfortunately, if there was a further lockdown after this latest one, I think some leagues in amateur football will sadly shut down the season.

“Nobody really knows what will happen but it is my hope that we can play football through Christmas because that is such a great time to play games.”

As well as the midweek visit from Keynsham, Exmouth were scheduled to make the trip to Cadbury Heath on Saturday and then the prospect of a mouthwatering visit from leaders Plymouth Parkway on November 11.