After all the intensive efforts in pre-season, the football starts in earnest this Saturday for Exmouth Town as they travel to Newton Abbot based Buckland Athletic in the extra-preliminary round of the FA Cup.

Ironically, the sides met last year at the same stage of the competition, when goals from Ace High and James Richards gave Town a 2-1 victory.

In a change for this season, there are replays in the early rounds of the competition and, if the sides can’t be separated on Saturday, they will meet again next Wednesday at Town’s Circle of Care Community Stadium, Southern Road, kick-off 7.30pm. The winners of the tie will receive £1,125 in prize money, the losers £375.

Buckland, under new management this season, started their Western League Premier campaign last Saturday with a trip to Ashton and Backwell and they travelled home with an impressive 2-1 victory. They were also in action in midweek (Tuesday), when Welton Rovers were their visitors, so they have the advantage of two competitive games under their belt.

Town completed their friendlies last week when they were due to play the sides that finished second and third in the South West Peninsula East Division last season. Last Tuesday, they visited the runners-up Brixham, where they took the lead with a goal from Ace High. After the hosts had equalised, Dan Cullen restored the lead before half-time with Mark Lever sealing a 3-1 victory in the second half.

On Saturday, Town had a proposed game at Okehampton Argyle, now managed by a person well known to both Exmouth and Exeter City fans, legendary goalkeeper Kevin Miller, but the tie was called off with neither side wishing to run the risk of further injuries.

Town will start their 2022/2023 campaign with the same group of players that has served the club so well over the past three seasons and will once again be looking to leading goal scorer Jordan Harris to fire home the goals. This year, he will have Levi Landricombe alongside him from the outset in what hopefully will prove to be a deadly combination.