TROWBRIDGE & DISTRICT LEAGUE A&B CUP: Freshford stung by Bees in the cup (From Wiltshire Times)

TROWBRIDGE & DISTRICT LEAGUE A&B CUP: Freshford stung by Bees in the cup

10:26am Tuesday 30th October 2012 in Sport

THIRD division Trowbridge Town Reserves produced the result of the day in the first round of matches from this season’s AM Print & Copy-sponsored A&B Cup.

Ralph McCaldon’s men upset the odds by claiming a 3-0 victory away at first division high-flyers Freshford United, who admittedly were under strength for the cup clash but they were beaten by their guests who worked hard for 90 minutes and wholly deserved their win.

Trowbridge started brightly and certainly showed no fear playing against their top flight opposition.

Several early chances were wasted until a sweet shot on the turn from Tom Moore was followed up by Josh Ferguson to give Trowbridge the lead on ten minutes.

Freshford upped their game after this, and there were good opportunities at both ends, but it was the visitors who added to their advantage when a Chad Cain through-ball found Ferguson, who drilled the ball into the corner of the net from the edge of the eighteen yard box for 2-0.

The second half continued much in the same vein, with Town midfielders Kieran McCaldon and Kurt James dictating the pace and flow of the game, but with Freshford still looking dangerous on the break.

The Trowbridge goalkeeper was called on in the 53rd minute, coming quickly off his goal line and blocking a shot which looked destined to get Freshford back into the game, while at the other end Ferguson and Natty Mills both went close.

On 65 minutes, Ferguson and James combined well with James going on to beat the keeper with a side footed finish, making it 3-0 to Trowbridge.

Further chances came in the last 25 minutes, with Ferguson clipping the bar with a free kick, and McCaldon ghosting past four players into the penalty box, just to be nudged off the ball as he was about to pull the trigger but with the tie already won, the missed opportunities counted for nothing as the Bees were left celebrating a famous cup win.

Boomsbury 4 Westbury United Reserves 2

The all-first division heavyweight battle between Ben Howe’s Boomsbury side, who were beaten finalists in 2011, and Phil Alford’s Westbury United Reserves, who are the current Knock Out Cup holders, lived up to all expectations as Boomsbury dominated for long periods but had to come from two goals down before claiming a 4-2 win.

Against the run of play, Westbury took the lead through Gary Tugwell and when Kane Scott added a second, it looked as if the visitors to Trowbridge Cricket Club would go into the break with a comfortable lead.

Bbut with the first half drawing to a close, Dave Appleyard halved the deficit for the hosts who got the goal their efforts had deserved.

After the break, Boomsbury again had most of the play and the better of the chances but they had to wait until the 75th minute before getting back on level terms; Billy Baker on his debut was upended in the area and Booker Woodford stepped up to knock the resulting penalty into the net for 2-2.

Carl Davies turned the ball in to put Boomsbury 3-2 ahead on 80 minutes and the victory was sealed when Dan Dominy headed home the killer fourth goal five minutes from time.

Bratton 5 Trowbridge Wanderers 2

With defending champions North Bradley among three sides to receive a bye into the second round of this season’s competition, it was last term's beaten finalists Trowbridge Wanderers who fell at the first hurdle when they were beaten 5-2 away at second division leaders Bratton.

Nigel Penelhum put Wanderers ahead when he unleashed a stunning strike from 30 yards out but Bratton got on level terms through Chris Storey and went in front courtesy of Shane Newman. A second from Newman put the visitors to Lambrok Road 3-1 up.

The second half started the way the first had finished with Bratton in the ascendancy and the villagers increased their lead via Ben Mead.

James Orchard won and scored a penalty for Wanderers prior to Newman scoring his third and Bratton’s fifth of the game to take his side effortlessly into the draw for the second round.

Broughton Gifford 5 Lacock FC 3

Third division Lacock FC were unable to transfer their good league form into their cup tie away at second division strugglers Broughton Gifford, who after getting of to a perfect start with a goal in the opening five minutes grew in confidence as the game went on and progressed to the next round thanks to a 5-3 success.

Ben Forester scored Broughton’s opener and added a second before the break, with Stuart Tutty and Luke Wolf netting for a Lacock side who would have fancied they chances of causing a shock after holding their hosts after the first 45 minutes.

Broughton retook the lead through Jack Woolsgrove and edged further in front when Ben Forester completed his hat-trick to make it 4-2.

Scott Boyd’s deflected effort made up Broughton’s five goal haul and although Stuart Tutty scored his second of the game and Lacock’s third, it was just a consolation as John Forester’s hosts had done more than enough to claim a deserved win.

Civil Service Larkhall v The Flecce A/W

Third division newcomers The Fleece booked their place in the last 16 without even having to kick a ball.

Dan Cass’s side received a walkover when opponents Civil Service Larkhall withdrew from the league earlier this month.

Heytesbury 3 Semington Magpies 5

Second division Heytesbury were unable to take their recent upturn in league form into their game with first division Semington Magpies, who ended their own seven match win-less run with a 5-3 victory over their hosts at Heytesbury Park.

The Magpies went one up through Sam Malone, who slotted home from a tight angle.

Andy Harrison made it 2-0, taking on four players before beating the goal keeper from close range, before Harrison added his second of the afternoon and the Magpies' third with a great finish from 20 yards out.

Richard Allum made it 4-0 when he drove home from six yards.

A mistake from Darren Morris gifted Heytesbury a lifeline, with Paul Arnold picking up Morris’s loose back pass to reduce the arrears.

Early in the second half Harrison made it 5-1 when he completed his hat-trick with a header from a Nigel Hall corner.

A second from Arnold and a well-taken goal from Bradley Edwards gave Heytesbury a glimmer of hope but thanks to their first half display, the Magpies had done enough to fly into the next round.

Levi’s 3 Steeple Ashton 1

Levi’s, who have been in excellent form in division three over the last month, produced another solid all-round performance to cause a cup upset by sending second division Steeple Ashton crashing out of a third cup competition this term.

After losing to Levi’s third division stable-mates Westwood News in both the Knock Out and Wilts Junior Cup, they suffered a 3-1 loss to see them exit the A&B cup.

Steeple Ashton took the lead when Nick Gittins scored from the penalty spot but his effort was cancelled out by Jonathon Hogarth, who squared things up before half time.

After the break, Levi’s won a penalty of their own which was converted by Levi Wood.

With chances falling at both ends, neither team could add to their earlier efforts until Marc Harewood scored the all important third goal for Levi’s to give them a 3-1 win, however their victory was marred by an injury to Nick Mead who suffered a suspected broken ankle and could be out of action until the new year.

Melksham Town Reserves 3 Bradford United 2

Bradford United produced one of their best performances of the season but it wasn’t enough to save them from suffering a 3-2 defeat away at 2010 cup winners Melksham Town Reserves.

After a goalless first half, Melksham broke the deadlock when Jordan Kirk fired them in front.

Bradford restored parity from the penalty spot when Mark Maguire made it 1-1 from 12 yards.

Jamie Broom regained the lead for Melksham and when Ashley Caws added a third it should have been game over.

Bradford gave themselves a glimmer of hope when Lee Gilder added a second for the visitors to the Conigre, but his effort came too late in the game to save the visitors.

Polenez Westbury 0 Worton & Cheverell 6

Second division Worton & Cheverell never had to get into top gear for their contest away at third division Polenez Westbury, who were always second best and had Worton had their scoring boots on, would have hit more that the six unanswered goals that they did.

Tom Mason was the star of the show for Worton with his goals on the 14th and 26th minutes giving his team a 2-0 lead at the break.

Worton had to wait until the 70th minute before they bagged their third and once again it was Mason who found the target to complete his hat-trick.

Ben Mason added a fourth on 75 minutes before Keiran Dickinson scored number five ten minutes later and shortly afterwardsm Tom Mason completed the scoring with his fourth and Worton's sixth of a productive afternoon.

Seend United 3 Westwood News 2

Third Division leaders Westwood News, who have previously accounted for second division Steeple Ashton in both the Knock Out Cup and Wilts Junior Cup, suffered their first loss of the season that brought their interest in the A&B Cup to an abrupt end as they crashed out to first division Seend United.

Westwood stunned Seend by taking the lead - Ben Ludwell’s good work setting up Steve Bryant to score Westwood’s first goal on the road this term.

Seend dragged themselves level before the interval with Luke Harfield finding the net from close range after a goalmouth scramble following a corner.

James Eatough scored Seend’s second before an own goal stretched the hosts lead to 3-1 with 15 minutes still to play.

Westwood scored a second late on with a smart turn and finish from Dan Thorne and with Westwood pushing for an equaliser, Thorne hit the post in the last minute and Seend were able to see out time to secure their win.

The Stiffs 1 United FC 2

Just three weeks after United FC thumped their third division stable-mates The Stiffs 8-1 in their first league meeting of the season and two weeks before they are set for the reverse fixture, the teams were drawn together in the A&B Cup and like the league meeting it was United who emerged triumphant.

United started the game with the bare eleven and with what was a scratch team but they took the lead after an excellent team move led to Mateusz Piotroski scoring.

United were unable to add a second and they paid for missed chances as Nathan Litterick got the Stiffs back on level terms.

United started the second half really well but couldn’t add to their first half effort, despite have many chances to double their tally.

The breakthrough came when the Stiffs keeper did well to keep a Rafael Mocko shot out with his legs but the ball fell kindly to Jakob Koman, who slotted the ball home to give United a 2-1 lead.

United went looking to finish the game off but at the final whistle a 2-1 win was the best they could achieve despite having enough chances to have won the tie many times over.

Warminster Town Reserves 2 Calne Eagles 0

First division Warminster Town Reserves eased into the second round of the A&B Cup with a hard fought 2-0 win over second division Calne Eagles.

Warminster had the majority of the play throughout the first half but were left frustrated by a stubborn defensive performance from the visitors to Weymouth Street.

Consequently, very few clear cut chances were created by either side as the play was contained primarily within a very crowded midfield.

Early in the second half, Warminster got the breakthrough that their superior possession deserved.

For once the Calne defence were slow to react after a good save by their keeper Andy Windsor from a Mark Bailey shot failed to go out for a corner.

In the scramble that ensued, Ashley Nicholls fired home from eight yards out after good work from Steve Matthews.

Warminster could have doubled their lead only a minute later when Bailey cut through the Calne defence, but he fired his shot wide.

After this period of confusion, Calne once again regrouped and continued to defend well.

However, they still struggled to really cause enough problems going forward and are clearly struggling to find the fluency that was a feature of their play at the start of the season.

With eight minutes left, a horrible mix-up between Calne defenders Roy Wenham and Tom Evans let in Matt Dyer, who went clean through on goal and clinically took his chance to make the game safe for his team.

Westbury Town 5 Trowbridge Rangers 1

Third division Trowbridge Rangers saw their cup dreams disappear after they were beaten 5-1 away at second division Westbury Town, who were thankful once again for the goals of Daryl Maxwell, whose four timer for the hosts gave the a safe and easy route into the next round.

Maxwell put Westbury ahead and his second of the game gave them a 2-0 lead at the interval.

Maxwell completed his hat trick early in the second half before Jordan Lukas pulled a goal back for Rangers.

Josh Dowd regained Westbury’s three goal-cushion prior to Maxwell completing the scoring with his fourth and his sides fifth of the afternoon.

BYES: Castle Combe, North Bradley, The Lamb