Despite the going underfoot being very heavy indeed the second round of the Uxella League's Dave Hobbs Cup went ahead regardless and the conditions undoubtedly contributed to more open games as players struggled to maintain control of the ball on glutinous surfaces. This was definitely the case in a clash of the titans special between Tiger Old Boys and Railway Club as they went head to head in Mississippi mud pie conditions at Mansfield Park. These old rivals proceeded to produce a real barnstormer of a game with no less than eighteen goals with the Tigers eventually triumphing 10-8. The returning Lee Huntley led the way for the Tigers with a five-goal haul and there were further strikes from Paul Meare, from Mike Organ via the penalty spot, from Jamie Chillingworth plus a superb Huw Richards solo effort and a 20-yard volley from Paul Cook, his first ever goal, to make it a perfect ten for the Old Boys.
There was another intriguing match-up in the tie between league leaders Woolavington and the current pace-setters in the second division, Quantock Pride. The game almost produced an almighty upset as Pride took the lead midway through the second half through a Paul Bawden header and were only seconds from a famous victory when Marcus Butler struck an equaliser for the champions in the fifth minute of stoppage time. Then Woolavington's super-sub Simon Caddy capitalised on a defensive error in extra time to win the game 2-1 and put Woolavington through to the quarter finals where they will meet Flag Old Boys.
Flag Old Boys secured their own passage to the quarters after a relatively comfortable 5-1 win over fellow division one outfit Bunch of Grapes. Flag were 3-0 up at the break and cruising but Bunch rallied after the interval and got a goal back before two further Flag strikes made the game safe. Mike Taylor (2), Jamie Stewart, Lee White and Danny Crossley were all on target for the home side.
There will be two Grasshoppers sides in the quarter finals after both teams registered second round victories.
Bottom of the league Grasshoppers '05 recorded an unlikely cup upset as they came away from their trip to first division Ashcott with a 2-1 win after a double strike from teenager Karl Griffiths. Chris Bell replied for Ashcott. '05 will now face another top flight side in the next round in the form of Red Tile.
Meanwhile the 'hoppers first team, Grasshoppers '04, faced the spirited division two side Bridgwater Wanderers at Victoria Park and were made to work hard for a 6-2 victory. Bob Hughes was in superb form in a rare striking role, scoring two including a penalty. Jason Hitchcock was again on target with a calm lob over the keeper, in the process moving clear as the club's second highest scorer of the campaign. The returning Russ Pigden drove home a stunning strike low into the net to open his 2006-07 account before Liam Wardle also bagged his first of the season. The victory was then sealed in emphatic fashion via a diving bullet header from skipper John Kervell. Kev Warre and Jamie Evans responded for the Wanderers.
Away from the muddy magic of the cup there was one game played in the First Division of the Uxella League with long-standing rivals Pawlett United and Maltshovel locking horns once again. A very tight encounter was eventually decided in the 75th minute when Lee Turner converted a penalty to give Pawlett a 1-0 win that sees them move back up to fourth in the table.
In the Second Division three fixtures went ahead with home victories in every case.
Credit must go to the eight men of Admirals Landing who battled away in their game at Bower United against all the odds before going down by a creditably low 5-0 margin. Bower still had a job to do and secured the expected victory in a professional manner after goals from Jarrid McKay, Steve Hall, Luke Morgan, Matt Selway and Scott Capel.
Cannington climb to third in the division two table after a 5-2 home win over Pawlett Reserves after goals from Darryl Taylor (2), Nathan Chillingworth and from Liam Barnett on his debut.
A single Paul Burrow strike got Huntspill Crowns back to winning ways, giving them a 1-0 home victory over Woolavington Reserves.
(Story First Published: 22.01.07) |
