President’s Cup Quarter-Finals
Tudor Athletic beat Reed Rangers 4-1 to reach the last four as Storm Ciara took its toll on the Watford Sunday League schedule.
With the high winds and driving rain making the game difficult for both sides it was Reed who had the better of the first half, forcing a string of corners and two efforts from long range.
Tudor were content to sit back and hit their opponents on the counter-attack and it paid off just before the break when James Fisher raced through the defence and slotted home.
Spencer Bellotti doubled Tudor’s lead two minutes into the second half with a cool finish.
Reed pulled themselves back into the tie 20 minutes from time thanks to a Louis Bircham penalty, but Phil Ifil restored the two-goal cushion with ten minutes left when his cross crept in the top corner.
Athletic wrapped up the win when former Reed player George Hobson smashed home a 25-yard shot with the last kick of the game.
Holders Oakview proved they are not a one-man team as even without top scorer Lewis Putman they gained revenge over Evergreen for their Challenge Cup defeat five weeks ago with a comprehensive 5-0 victory.
Lee Grace opened the scoring with a 20-yard volley, then Chris Blunden doubled the lead with a right-foot strike into the bottom corner.
Blunden netted his second and his team’s third with a free-kick from around 25 yards out after the break.
John Smith, who has joined Oakview from Reed, converted a penalty for his first goal for his new club before Jack Waldren drilled a left-foot strike into the bottom corner to complete the victory.
The tie between Rifle Volunteer and FC Unicorn was abandoned at the end of 90 minutes after a 3-3 draw when the referee decided that due to increasing bad weather and serious concern for the players’ safety, he could not guarantee competing extra-time and possible penalties.
It was a game that saw Rifle battle back from 3-0 down at the break but their comeback was all in vain.
Denis Jackson Intermediate Cup Quarter-Final
Dome Bar easily beat Bennetts End Rovers 5-0, whose once promising season seems to be falling apart.
Chris Dunn netted a brace with Nathan Pooley, Matt Byrne and Ben Kelly also on target.
Division Four
Batchworth picked up a well-deserved first league victory of the season with a convincing 4-2 win over Hertfordshire Eagles.
The home side took the lead after 25 minutes when Jack McLaughlin raced down the left-hand side and put the ball on a plate for Mikel Walsh to open the scoring.
Batchworth then wasted good chances to increase their lead - Callum Neal and Rob King each should have done better - and soon after they would be left to rue these opportunities as Eagles equalised with their first attempt on goal, Connor Hewitt Coleman scoring against his former club when he raced past three defenders to net a fine individual effort.
Eagles then went ahead as Josh Bunning miscued a headed clearance and it flew past his own keeper, but their opponents kept plugging away and equalised through a Luke Parry strike. Picking the ball up on the right wing and with the keeper out of position, he picked out the far top corner to level before the break.
In the second half and with conditions getting worse Batchworth seemed to get stronger and they regained the lead when Callum Neal sent an inviting through ball to Walsh who finished well.
Batchworth wrapped up the win with ten minutes to go when McLaughlin brushed past two Eagles players and with the outside of his right foot he picked out the bottom left-hand corner from around 20 yards.
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