Carlsberg Vase: Last year's beaten finalists Chippenham Town put all of their disappointment behind them when they beat Yate Town 2-0 in the Second Round of the FA Carlsberg Vase on Saturday.
Tommy Saunders' men took their first step towards going one better by winning a pulsating derby game with consummate ease.
An extremely heavy pitch but, crucially, dry weather conditions led to another excellent home attendance.
A 500-strong crowd at Hardenhuish Park saw the Bluebirds put in a workmanlike team performance, with the goals coming from Mark Cutler and Steve Tweddle.
Chippenham dominated the first half, but they were unable to break down the resilient Yate defence.
After a goal-less first half, the game needed a kick-start. This came after just 75 seconds through the quick thinking of Mark Cutler. He met Nick Tily's corner with a header against the crossbar, and reacted first to stab home the rebound.
Yate seemed beaten once Paul Netherington had been sent off after the hour, and Chippenham sealed their place in the next round five minutes later.
Cutler proved too quick for his marker when his sharp turn left him bearing down on goal before he was fouled in the penalty box.
Steve Tweddle made sure he marked his return from suspension with a goal when he stepped up and sent the goalkeeper the wrong way.
Once Chippenham had the two-goal advantage the game petered out until five minutes from time when Yate had a golden chance to pull a goal back and set-up a tense finish.
However, a clearance off the lineand a brave save saw Chippenham hang on for a place in the last 64.
Their name now goes into the hat for today's draw at Villa Park, which is also scheduled to be the venue for the final at the end of the season
Chippenham manager Tommy Saunders was delighted with the performance, but cautious about his team's chances in the competition.
"We've been working hard in training, and it showed on the pitch. I thought we deserved to win and I am looking forward to Monday's draw.
"It's going to be a lot harder this year because everyone knows us from our run last year, and wants to beat us. We are now the team to beat and there's a lot more expectation this year."
His side are back in action in the Screwfix Premier League next week when they face Dawlish Town at home. Elsewhere in the Vase, many games had to be postponed due to atrocious weather conditions.
New dates have had to be set for Melksham and Warminster's ties while Taunton Town, Screwfix Pre-mier leaders, thrashed Street 9-0.
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