ELY under 10s fell agonisingly short of a spot in the county cup final at the weekend as they lost out to rivals Newmarket in a gripping semi-final. The tigers under 10 side, who have had a impressive season, improved with every match in the county tourna

ELY under 10s fell agonisingly short of a spot in the county cup final at the weekend as they lost out to rivals Newmarket in a gripping semi-final.

The tigers under 10 side, who have had a impressive season, improved with every match in the county tournament but were denied once more by Newmarket who ran over a try deep into extra-time to take the win by virtue of the golden try rule.

After seeing off both Cambridge, Saffron Walden and Shelford with relative ease, Ely came up against Wisbech in the last fixture of the pool stage.

Needing a win to secure their berth in the latter rounds, Ely started strongly and were quick to put the pressure on. From a penalty to Ely, Connor got the ball to Cameron who went over for a great try. Wisbech battled hard to try and force their way back into the game, but it wasn't to be as Ely held firm.

In the semi-final, Ely came up against rivals Newmarket and were quick to assert themselves against their lofty opponents and stormed into the lead with a try form Sam. Both Jake and Duffy put in fierce displays but Newmarket were not going to be beaten and worked hard before going over to level the game just before full time.

Extra time was called and Newmarket had the restart. With all the boys tiring, a momentary lapse in concentration saw Newmarket race through to score and take the game with a first to score rule coming into force.