DEFENSIVE ALARM ENDS CUP DREAM

U18 Tigers had all hopes of finally securing the EBFA Trophy extinguished by the team who are rapidly becoming the bête noir of Simon Wallis's squad. Having ended Tigers league title hopes last season, Ashridge Park Royals have now delivered a first round exit from this year's cup competition.

On a glorious late September morning, both sides started crisply. Tigers applied the early pressure and a strong run from Sabado created the space for Gabe Sinclair to apply a powerful finish to open the scoring.

In the middle and top third of the pitch, Tigers looked as though they were going to be too quick and too strong for the visitors to get a foothold in the game. Royals passing game was being broken down by Pickrell and Carter in the middle of the park, while Davies, Lee, Sabado and Sinclair always looked threatening, without ever properly testing the Royals' keeper. But when Ashridge did manage to get beyond Tigers' midfield, the hosts' back four always looked a little under pressure, although Jabir Ahmed and Chilvers were usually able to recover. It was unfortunate that a slightly weary looking Sinclair, having made his way back to help out an overloaded defence, underhit a pass back to keeper Joe Wallis who was caught on his heels and was easily beaten by the Ashridge striker to level the scores.

The remainder of the half was fairly balanced. Sinclair was withdrawn to enable Liddiard to give a bit more zip on the right and a couple of times the ball zipped across the Royals box without anyone managing to apply a finishing touch. Royals forced a handful of corners, with Wallis making one exceptional stop with his foot as the ball headed for the Hearts goal. The Royals' left wing went down on the edge of the box but, having lost control of the ball, was adjudged to have run across Rustomji.

Tigers made three changes at half-time, restoring Sinclair, this time at left back in place of Kassab who was unwell, along with Biggs and Mbogholi who replace Ahmed and Sabado. Unfortunately, it made little difference to what is a growing problem for Tigers. A Royals corner was poorly contested by the defence and the visitors scrambled the ball over the line to take the lead for the first time.

Tigers soon battled back. Andrew Mbogholi was proving a real handful for the Royals' defence and was perfectly placed to finish off a surging run by George Lee to level the scores with almost 35 minutes still to play. The midfield continued to be evenly matched and both teams managed to make ground, with Davies and Liddiard both having efforts on goal. George Lee was becoming increasingly involved in forward positions and one attempt hit the post. But it was Tigers' defensive frailties that were ultimately their undoing. A lack of communication and a lack of concentration allowed Ashridge to secure the tie with two scrappy goals. Hearts heads dropped a little and the buoyed Royals defence forced the Tigers into long range shots.

It was a good game, a very good cup match and in the end Ashridge just had a little more clinical finishing than the hosts.