THE STORM clouds that gathered over the last few days of the Errea South West Challenge Cup did a disservice to a tournament that had been living up to its billing as a festival of football.

Blackpool manager Ian Holloway's approach — signing countless autographs, posing for photo after photo — summed up an event that had a smile on its face.

Then the heavens opened and two games, including the Wycombe Wanderers v Luton Town match for which more than 400 tickets had been sold in advance, had to be called off.

The goal-filled semi-finals lifted the mood, only for the bitterness surrounding Grimsby Town's withdrawal from the tournament late on Saturday night to cast another cloud.

Whether we take on trust Grimsby's fears for the safety of their manager, Mike Newell, or wonder if they had simply got further in the tournament than they had expected and wanted to be home in time to prepare properly for a derby clash with Scunthorpe United on Monday night, it is a shame their involvement was tainted by the manner of their exit.

Newell's team was summed up by one of his strikers, Danny North, spiky — just ask Brett Huxtable, the Torrington official who got an earful as he ruled out two of his goals for offside against Yeovil Town — but skilful.

A Grimsby-Luton final would have been an interesting climax.

Luton were a highlight, showing professionalism and flair that should see them return to the Coca-Cola League at the first attempt this season. Hatters forwards Liam Hatch and Tom Craddock were two of the cup's best players.

Rushden winger Lee Tomlin, Blackpool trialist Eric De Freitas and Grimsby striker Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro were other skilful attackers to shine on the pitches of North Devon in front of attendances that, in the early stages, were up more than 25% on last year.

So, not all bad then. "My feelings are very positive," said tournament director Mike Bradshaw. "Eight of the nine visiting clubs behaved themselves immaculately and I have nothing but admiration for those teams and the three local clubs.

"My highlights were the quality of preparation by the visiting clubs; the quality of hospitality laid on by the host clubs; the humour and humility of Ian Holloway; the turn-out of all 12 clubs at the Devon Football Association lunch and the compliments on the organisation of the tournament; the top-flight performance of Brend Hotels staff and management and the coach drivers.

"I am proud of the five host clubs, they all brought something different to the tournament, but what was common to all was the level of commitment and determination not to let us or themselves down and to do their very best for the club and the region.

"Through the

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I want to thank every chairman and their respective backroom staff. They worked so hard and I really do appreciate it.

"We have made many new friends among the visiting clubs — eight of the (nine) visiting clubs were an absolute delight to host.

"And we salute and congratulate Luton Town, worthy winners and great ambassadors for the sport."

The Challenge Cup will return in much the same format next year, although surely something must be done to avoid a repeat of the prospect of teams playing three matches in three days.

Professional clubs may pay their players to play games, but they don't like them playing too much — particularly before the season proper has kicked off.

Newell and Yeovil boss Terry Skiverton cast nervous glances at the potential pile-up at the end of the tournament, while Holloway was concerned about possibly having to play twice in two days.

"We won't change the format but we will tweak it and look at the rest day situation," said Bradshaw.

"These teams don't want to play back-to-back games but local players go to work for a living, so to put the demands of back-to-back games on them is unfair.

"We might have rest days further towards the end of the tournament, but the teams bring big enough squads to handle it.

"Will we keep the semi-finals and final? How much do local people want to see a competitive tournament rather than a kickabout on the park? I believe they want to see a competitive edge."