ELY City s hold over Tiptree United was finally broken at the weekend as they were soundly beaten 5-1. Tiptree have proved a lucky side for Ely in recent times and the trend looked set to continue when Jamie Alsop gave the Robins an early lead. Alsop s go

ELY City's hold over Tiptree United was finally broken at the weekend as they were soundly beaten 5-1.

Tiptree have proved a lucky side for Ely in recent times and the trend looked set to continue when Jamie Alsop gave the Robins an early lead. Alsop's goal failed to prove the catalyst for another success however, and a seething Tiptree side came back firing with five unanswered goals securing a resounding victory.

Ely looked every inch the team in command in the opening stages of the game and played with the knowledge that Tiptree had inexplicably struggled against them in recent matches, most recently in the corresponding fixture back in February which Ely won 2-0.

Some comfortable was their ascendancy that they took the lead after just six minutes when Alsop's delightfully placed freekick sailed home. Ely were buoyed by the opener and gorged themselves in the ensuing minutes on a series of good chances, with Tony Brown in particular going close.

Alsop may even have doubled his tally for the day soon after when another of his free-kick's seemed destined for the top corner, only for the home side to be spared by the three or so inches of the goalpost.

The multiple slices of good fortune enjoyed by the home side eventually provided the spark they needed to get going and they drew level after 25 minutes when Nathan Clarke slotted home.

The aftermath of a goal is often a most vulnerable time for an attacking team still recovery from the delirium of a goal. Not so on this occasion though, and it was Tiptree who took the lead just a minute after pulling level as Lee Underwood netted.

The Robins were rattled by the minutes of madness and, despite resettling into the game for a short while, they conceded another before half time as Underwood notched up his brace.

Undoubtedly chastised at the break, Ely reformed in the second half and toiled at length to keep the home side from plundering yet more goals. Despite making it past the hour mark though, Ely were unable to stop Tiptree from sealing the points as Steve Wareham tapped home.

In the dying minutes Tiptree twisted the knife in the wound with a fifth goal courtesy of George Lay, consigning the Robins to a irksome defeat which, but for a few moments of fortune early on, could so easily have been a victory.