THE Leighton Green trophy cabinet will remain empty for another season at least after Westbury were dumped out of the Dorset and Wilts Plate in the semi final.

The White Horse men were the top seeds in this year's competition, but they were out-fought and out-classed by their south coast opponents.

Coach Jon Parker described his side's performance as "unimpressive" in the face of some stiff competition at Iford Lane .

He said: "East Dorset are flying in their league this season and they looked like they really wanted it on Saturday.

"The sidelines were packed with supporters, as you would expect for a semi-final match. We took a reasonable following with us, but we were never going to match the 100 or so they had down there.

"To be honest, the standard in this cup is not the greatest so we really thought we had a chance of some silverware.

"But credit to East Dorset for the way they played. I hope they go on to win the final."

Westbury suffered a setback on Friday when four members of their squad pulled out through injury and unavailibility.

Their deputies battled hard for 80 minutes, but they lacked the firing power of the missing sheriffs.

"Three of the players who were missing were forwards who would have started the match. They were also three of our fittest players," said Parker.

"Those who stepped in put in 100 per cent, but if you're not as fit, you're not as fit. It was noticeable that we didn't have as much energy as East Dorset. They ran in three tries in the last 20 minutes, so fitness is an area we will have to look at."

East Dorset raced into an early 12-0 lead with two well-worked tries, one of which was converted.

The visitors had reduced their arrears to nine points by half-time thanks to a penalty from kicker Chris Vaughan.

The opening 20 minutes of the second period were tense, with neither side creating any clear-cup scoring opportunities.

But the hosts upped the tempo in the closing stages and the Westbury defence struggled to contain them. East Dorset ran in three more tries, with two conversions, to seal a comprehensive 31-3 victory.

Westbury return to Dorset and Wilts One North action tomorrow with a trip to basement side Colerne, and Parker is looking for a response from his team.

"We want to win as many games as we can before the end of the season," he said.