All the action from across the district

Lower Junior Challenge Cup

FORDHAM’S hopes of success in this cup were quashed at the last 16 stage as they lost 4-2 at home to Tydd United.

It started badly for Fordham as they went 2-0 down within 20 minutes and it stayed that way until the halfway stage.

The home side were disappointed not to be given a stonewall penalty that would have put them back in the game but the referee declined to award it.

More defensive errors led to Tydd extending their lead to 3-0 before Ryan Saban was dragged down in the box to give Clive Boucheron the opportunity to score from the spot.

He duly obliged but another mistake took the game out of Fordham’s reach even though they had the lion’s share of possession.

Sub Grant Pearson came on and smashed a consolation low into the corner of the net to make it 4-2 but that was not enough to stop them tumbling out of the trophy.

Kershaw Premier League

ELY City Reserves continued to plummet down the table as they fell to a 2-1 loss at Hundon.

City’s second string are now only five points away from the drop zone and relegation is threatening after their sixth consecutive loss.

Manager Dale Spring is hoping to bolster his beleaguered troops with four or five new faces and hopes that will bring a change in fortunes for his side.

The Robins took the lead in the first half through an Adam Salmons free kick but two sloppy goals were conceded and the points disappeared again for a despondent Ely outfit.

Cliff Bullen Challenge Cup

LITTLEPORT Town made it through to the last four in this competition as they beat Cambridge City Reserves 2-0 at home.

Michael Ward opened the scoring for Port with his seventh of the season but this was eclipsed by a fantastic individual effort from an unlikely source, Kevin Hills.

Hills started and emphatically finished a move that saw him smash the ball into the roof of the net to score his first of the season and secure victory for his side.

William Coad Cup

SOHAM Town Rangers Reserves travelled to Cherry Hinton and came away with a super 1-0 win.

This sees them through to the semi final of this trophy where they will face a tough challenge in Milton who are directly below Town in the league. Substitute Thomas Christie was the hero as he came on and scored the winner to take his impressive season’s tally to 11 goals in 14 games.

Kershaw Senior B

IN the battle at the bottom of this section, Ely City A and Swavesey Institute played out a hard fought 2-2 draw at the Unwin Ground that helps neither of them in their quests to avoid the drop.

City now have five points but are six away from getting out of the relegation mire in what is turning out to be a miserable season for Ely’s third string side. On a very windy afternoon both sides struggled to make headway and it was goalless at half-time.

Swavesey then upped a gear early in the second half and raced into a 2-0 lead within 15 minutes of the re-start.

The Robins though, showed fantastic fighting spirit to claw that lead back through a Jamie Gayfer penalty and a Rob Parker strike and ended the game on top and unlucky not to record a much-needed win.

Division 3B

PROMOTION hunters, Mepal Sports were the big winners of the day as they moved ominously into third position with a great 1-0 win at Brampton, a notoriously difficult place to pick up a result.

Sam Morgan was the goalscoring hero for Sports as their promotion hopes gathered pace.

Ely Crusaders’ up and down season was on the up again as they brushed aside Hemingfords United A at home by four goals to nil. Ben Stone struck a double, Joshua Bailey grabbed one and James Collins also notched as Crusaders climbed to sixth in the table.

Little Downham Swifts were breathing a sigh of relief as they almost let a 5-2 half-time lead slip at home to Fenstanton Reserves to squeeze through 5-4.

Jamie Dews helped himself to a brace of goals, Dan Bell, Scott Dews and James South also scored as Swifts went napp in the first half. The certain victory almost never came though as Downham shipped two second half goals to leave them biting their nails until the final whistle blew and the three points were safe.

Philip Harle was on target twice for his new club Stretham Hotspurs after his move from Haddenham Rovers, but this was not enough against league leaders Exning Athletic who scored four of their own to win 4-2.

Division 4B

WICKEN Amateurs’ recent run of good form deserted them this week as they lost at home to a well-organised West Row Gunners Reserves side by three goals to two.

It all started well for Wicken as inspirational captain, Steve Kesseck, surged through to beat the keeper with a low shot to give them the lead after five minutes. West Row soon equalised though, and then took the lead before Amateurs shot themselves in the foot as Ashley Woodruffe was dismissed for violent conduct.

It remained 2-1 at half-time and stayed that way for much of the second half until the Gunners scored a well-worked third. Wicken threw on subs Gareth Draper and Michal Rola as a last throw of the dice and a rousing end to the game saw Draper score with a free header on his debut for the club, but then miss an identical header which would have given his new side a point.

Haddenham Rovers Reserves recorded a fine 4-0 victory over Milton A that sees them move away from the relegation zone and into ninth place. Rovers produced a quality performance on the day and fully deserved their emphaatic win. Top scorer Darren Easey led the way with a double to make it 13 goals in 13 games for him this season and he was backed-up well by Fabio Bourges Da Silva and Alasdair Gilbert who chipped in with a goal apiece.

Division 5D

MEPAL Sports Reserves were on the wrong end of a seven goal thriller at Wisbech St Mary B, a result that dents their hopes of promotion as they fell further away from the leading teams in this section.

David Abbott scored in each half for Sports and Nick Marsh netted again to take his season’s tally to four for the club. There were also four yellows (including one for Marsh) as Sports fought desperately hard but to no avail.