Barnstaple Town vs Bideford
Southern League Division One South
Monday 27th December 2021
3:00pm kick off
Mill Road, Barnstaple

A day later than usual for the festive edition of the North Devon derby (normally played on Boxing Day), Bideford make the short trip to Mill Road for the first time in three years due to the pandemic and the way the fixtures have landed. Both Bideford and Barnstaple have struggled in Division One South this season and both find themselves in the bottom four places at the halfway point of the campaign.

Bideford have lost four of their last five league games although on the whole performances have improved lately with the most encouraging displays coming against Melksham and league leaders Frome. The Robins haven’t had the best preparation for the derby with no fixture last week and a wasted journey the week before due to the abandonment of the game at Cinderford. Sean Joyce will at least be hoping to have a few players available again including Lewis Wilson, Mattie Buchan, Javan Wright and George Tucker.

There have been many changes at Barnstaple this season who remain winless and bottom of the league but things are starting to look up for Barum. After the departure of Dean Edwards, Bideford legend Kevin Squire took over the managerial reigns alongside Kevin Darch and while a win has yet to come, Barnstaple have been much more competitive. Barum have also been buoyed in the last few weeks by significant investment in the club which has enabled them to prise another former Robin in Billy Tucker away from big spending Helston Athletic and it’s sure to be a much improved Barnstaple that line-up against Bideford in the derby with more new players coming in.

It’s a game that both teams really need to win with both in danger of relegation this season. Bideford sit one place outside of the bottom three on goal difference with an eight point gap to Slimbridge above them. Barnstaple are bottom with just a single point from 19 games and are 12 points from safety so really must use this new opportunity given to them and begin to get victories under their belt quickly.

Bideford’s last six (WLLDLL) Pos 16th Pld 16 W3 D3 L10 Pts 12
04/12/21 Bideford 1 Melksham Town 2 (League)
27/11/21 Slimbridge 1 Bideford 0 (League)
23/11/21 Bideford 2 Frome Town 2 (League)
20/11/21 Bideford 1 Winchester City 2 (League)
16/11/21 Mangotsfield United 3 Bideford 1 (League)
09/11/21 Bideford 6 Stoke Gabriel & Torbay Police 0 (St Luke’s Cup R2)

Barnstaple Town’s last six (LLLLDL) Pos 19th Pld 19 W0 D1 L18 Pts 1
18/12/21 Evesham United 3 Barnstaple Town 2 (League)
04/12/21 Mangotsfield United 2 Barnstaple Town 2 (League)
27/11/21 Barnstaple Town 0 Willand Rovers 4 (League)
20/11/21 Lymington Town 3 Barnstaple Town 2 (League)
16/11/21 Barnstaple Town 4 Bristol Manor Farm 5 (League)
13/11/21 Barnstaple Town 0 Sholing 3 (League)

A Brief History of Barnstaple Town FC
North Devon League founder members Pilton Yeo Vale were founded in 1904 and became Barnstaple Town in 1905. Barnstaple spent the first half of the century playing local league football in the North Devon League and the Devon & Exeter League until joining Western League Division Two for the 1948/49 season. In 1949/50 Barnstaple were Division Two champions and were promoted to Division One. Barum became Western League champions in 1952/53 and once again in 1979/80 (now the Premier Division). They were relegated back to the second tier (Division One) in 1990/91 but bounced back as Division One champions in 1993/94. Barnstaple were relegated back to Division One in 2012/13 but once again returned to the Premier after winning their third Division One title in 2014/15. Barum carried that momentum in to 2015/16 finishing as runners-up in the Premier Division and accepting promotion to the Southern League for the first time after champions Odd Down turned down the opportunity. In their first season in Division One South & West Barum finished 17th. In 2017/18 they finished in 21st position and avoided relegation due to a league restructure while in 2018/19 they finished 19th and were reprieved from relegation as Street resigned from the Southern League. In 2019/20 Barum were bottom of the division after 27 games when the season was abandoned due to the coronavirus and were 19th in 2020/21 when the season was again cancelled. Barnstaple Town are two time Western League champions, three time Western Division One champions and also Western Division Two title winners. They have won the Devon St Luke's Bowl on one occasion and have also reached the first round proper of the FA Cup four times.

Barnstaple Town FC
Mill Road
Barnstaple
Devon
EX31 1JQ
Tel: 01271 343469
Web: http://www.barnstapletownfc.com
Twitter: @Official_BTFC

Most recent meetings:
30/08/21 Bideford 1 Barnstaple Town 0 (Southern Div One South)
21/08/21 Bideford 1 Barnstaple Town 3 (FA Cup PR)
26/12/19 Bideford 3 Barnstaple Town 2 (Southern Div One South)
26/12/18 Barnstaple Town 1 Bideford 4 (Southern Div One South)
27/08/18 Bideford 1 Barnstaple Town 0 (Southern Div One South)
26/12/17 Bideford 1 Barnstaple Town 1 (Southern Div One West)
28/08/17 Barnstaple Town 1 Bideford 2 (Southern Div One West)
26/12/16 Barnstaple Town 0 Bideford 1 (Southern Div One S&W)
08/11/16 Bideford 1 Barnstaple Town 4 (Southern League Cup R2)
29/08/16 Bideford 2 Barnstaple Town 1 (Southern Div One S&W)
18/11/14 Barnstaple Town 0 Bideford 1 (Devon St Luke's Bowl QF)