Petroc Division 2 Dartmouth 5 , Ashmoor 2nds 1 (played on Tuesday night); Isca 5 2, Dartmouth 0 (played on Saturday)

DARTMOUTH have to beat Honiton Hornets on Saturday in their final match of the season to virtually assure promotion to Petroc Division 2.They could then look forward to two mouth-watering local derbies against Kingsbridge and Salcombe.Dartmouth coach Kevin Edwards outlined the promotion situation on Wednesday. He said: 'We have to win at Honiton on Saturday to guarantee promotion in second place.  This is based on ISCA V, in third place, winning their three remaining games which they have in hand. They could quite possibly do this and then would be level on points with us, but we have a far greater goal difference.'However, it will not be easy for Dartmouth given that the high-flying Hornets are fourth.But they can go into the match full of confidence after bouncing back from a disappointing defeat at rivals for promotion Isca 5 by hammering Ashmoor 2nds at the Britannia Royal Naval College on Tuesday night. The thrashing was notable for a four-goal haul from the prolific Lucy Pillar, who was unsurprisingly named player of the match.With only 11 players to call on again, Dartmouth took a while to get into their stride and had to defend for long periods during which several short corners were cleared under pressure from a solid back division including Julie and Hannah Pillar, Chloe Edwards and goalie Ellie Malley. Dartmouth's prime weapon was fast counter-attack play and strong drives into the D, where Lucy Pillar gratefully snapped up the passes to finish. The midfield quartet of Jody Chater, Lara Bradley, captain Siobhan Edwards and Jamie Rendle linked well all match to feed young wings Alix Vincent and Lisa Hunt. Jamie Rendle, in particular, provided top-class passes into the D, where the pick of Pillar's goal fest was a fine reverse sweep. Lisa Hunt scored her first-ever goal as her shot deflected off a defender and into the net to round off a fine display from everybody. Dartmouth now say goodbye to another player, Lara Bradley ,who moves on to Bristol in a new job. She will be greatly missed. Coach Chris Chater lauded his players, especially after the defeat of Saturday, commenting: 'They worked as a team and never gave up all match. 'We now have to do the same at Honiton on Saturday to secure promotion.' The club wished to thank a private sponsor for supporting the match.The mood at Dartmouth was very different last weekend, though, after they were brought down to earth with a bump after their stunning 6-0 trouncing of leaders Teign 2 the week before.Due to player unavailability, Dartmouth had to call up injured Sarah Barrett to shore up the backline and move a couple of players to un-natural positions.However, the damage came from midfield as Dartmouth failed to cope with the pace, passing and movement of ISCA. A goal down in the first half following a short corner, Dartmouth's discipline failed despite warnings from the umpires and two players left the field in quick succession on yellow cards for a 10-minute sin-bin spell. With only nine players on the field at the start of the second half, Dartmouth played a stubborn defensive role until it was back to normal with a full 11. They then managed to move the ball much better, but too often any attack broke down from wayward passing. Coaches Chater and Edwards were left praising the opposition as the best they had seen all season.