WEST HERTS suffered a disappointing weekend as they recorded successive defeats, the second ending their involvement in the cup.

On Saturday, October 27, West Herts faced local rivals St Albans in a friendly and produced a lacklustre performance that gave the impression that they were saving themselves for the important match the next day.

West Herts did have chances, most notably a penalty flick, but squandered them and were deservedly beaten 3-0.

Sunday's cup match against Bexleyheath was always going to be a sterner test with the visitors plying their trade two divisions above West Herts.

However, spurred on by a loyal and vocal band of supporters, West Herts rose to the challenge and had much the better of the scoring chances in the first half and almost took the lead when a cross from the right lead to a goal-line scramble.

The second half saw Bexleyheath redouble their efforts without any reward as West Herts continued to provide brave resistance.

But just when an upset looked possible, West Herts suffered a lapse in concentration that allowed Bexleyheath to score twice in the space of five minutes.

West Herts refused to lie down and continued to put a tiring Bexleyheath side under pressure. Sam Erabadda made a number of jinking runs down the right to earn a succession of short corners and free hits on the edge of the D, only for the final killer touch to elude them.

November 3, 2001 15:04