Tricky passage for trophy holders

Holders FC Colerne were given an almighty scare by Third Division opponents The Crown FC before booking their place in the second round, thanks to a 5-3 penalty shoot out victory.

Colerne who had home advantage for the tie were stunned by their guests who took the lead on five minutes when Jason Lucas crashed home speculative 25 yard shot. Colerne had numerous chances to equalise but the Crown keeper John Hampshire was in splendid form producing a series of great saves to keep the Crown's 1-0 half time lead in tact.

The hosts were stunned again early in the second period when Jack Fisher doubled the underdog's advantage and at this stage a major upset was on the cards and the holders looked likely to exit in the first round. Colerne were given a lifeline when Richard Smart was pushed in the box and Jamie Bowler tucked away the resulting penalty.

Within minutes Colerne were level when from a corner Steve Tarran smacked in the equaliser. A few minutes later Scott Lees thundered in a 25 yard drive to make it 3-2 to Colerne which looked as if it would be the winner until with minutes left Crown squared things up thanks to a second from Jack Fisher who made it three apiece which took the game to extra time. With no goals in extra time it came it came down to the dreaded penalty shoot out which Colerne won 5-3, thanks to Ian Tasker's winning spot kick after, Dave Leask, Richard Smart.

Jamie Bowler and Steve Tarren had tucked away successful licks for the hosts and Dean Kerr had missed for the Crown in-between Jason Lucas, Antony Butler and Kevin Harris had scored from the spot.

Colerne were delighted with the win, but they know that they will have to play a lot better if they are to have any chance of retaining their trophy. Colerne's youngster Scott Lees, aged 16, in his first season in adult football, was awarded Man of the Match by FC Colerne Coach Eric Randle.

Biddestone Arms who caused a shock by sending Colerne out of the Knockout Cup back in September became victims of a cup upset themselves when third division Blue Circle (Sunday) dispatched them from the competition which they were hoping to do well in. Biddestone paid the price for underestimating their opponents whose greater determination to win the contest saw them claim a 2-1 success from a match that they were expected to lose.

Russell Dyer's left footed half volley from 18 yards put the cement boys in front. Paul Dixon restored parity for Biddestone Arms early in the second half before Martin Hemmens tapped home what was Blue Circle's winner midway through the half.

Christian Malford failed yet again to get past the first round of a cup competition as they went down 3-0 away to AFC Calne.

Malford are still without a goalkeeper and centre half Grant Christie deputised very creditably this week. Calne had the better chances in the first half with Christie making some good saves particularly from Dean Fry.

The majority of play however remained in midfield with both defences on top. In the second half Calne took good advantage of the slope and began to pressure the Malford defence, Christie having to make an excellent triple save to keep Calne out.

With Simon Vowden and Richard Sheffield starting to dominate in midfield, Calne eventually took the lead after 65 minutes when Paul Green fired home from inside the area after a good move on the left. Malford nearly equalised minutes later when James Pope's well taken free kick was pushed over the bar by Calne keeper Aaron Ward.

With Malford tiring, Calne went further ahead after 75 minutes when Ryan Kelleher volleyed home after the Malford defence failed to clear a long ball. Three minutes later Richard Sheffield's fierce volley from outside the area gave Calne a 3-0 lead that they held comfortably until the final whistle.

Potterne FC took their impressive league form into their cup match against near neighbours The Crown, Devizes.

The first division leaders were again in irresistible form as their brushed their second division rivals aside to claim a 6-0 victory and book their place in the final 16.

Potterne showed their form early on when Wayne House side stepped his man to chip the ball over Crown's Steve Warner to put in Potterne one-up after four minutes.

The Crown's went close to levelling matters but Kevin Bush fired into the side netting on 11 minutes. The Crowns keeper Steve Warner made some fine stops to keep his side in the game but on 40 minutes Potterne doubled their lead when Nick Holmes made a well timed run down the left wing, picked up the ball and cut back inside and crossed to an unmarked Myles Hickton, who side footed it into the corner of the net to make it 2-0.

The second half saw Potterne move up a gear, as Neil Marsh's shot from 20 yards rifled into the top corner on 51 minutes to give the village boys a three goal advantage.

Less than two minutes later Potterne extended their lead further when they won a corner, which Joe Unsworth sent to the back post where Steven House jumped and directed his downward header over line. Next came the goal of the match when on 65 minutes Potterne's joint manager Peter Huntley came on for Steven House and seconds later his first touch of the ball was to loft a shot into the net from 28 yards to give his side a five goal lead.

Potterne's sixth came from another Unsworth corner in the 67th minutes when his cross was parried into the net by the Crowns keeper Steve Warner.

Third Division leaders Biddestone White Horse suffered their first loss of the season as they tried in vaion to come back from 3-0 and lost 3-2 against Second Division Bremhill View Social Club.

Bremhill took an early lead when a move started by Andy Law saw him flicked the ball to Graeme Neale who in turn fed Mark Smith who tucked away the opener on 10 minutes.

Bremhill were two goals to the good on 15 minutes when Dale Smith's shot deflected in off the unfortunate Pete Edmondson. Three minutes before the break Bremhill added number three, Graeme Neale headed onto Mark Smith who rounded to White Horse keeper before finishing well.

The Second half was a completely different game with Biddestone White horse attacking their guest from the off and they dragged themselves back into the tie as firstly Ben Morris and then Tamlyn Goodrich netted to reduce the arrears to the odd goal.

Bremhill came under constant pressure as their hosts look to snatch a third and take the game to extra time but the visitors back four held out as they gained a deserved 3-2 victory.

Trowbridge-based Coyote were making their first ever foray in the competition and although they gave up home advantage to play Old Road Tavern on Tavern's home patch at Sutton Benger, Chris Carr's first division outfit proved too strong for their fourth division opponents who slumped to a 5-0 defeat.

Stuart Greener fired Coyote ahead and Dave Sykes made it two-nil before he limped of injured. Tavern then assisted in their own downfall when Rob Jefferies put through his own goal to give Coyote a three-goal advantage at the break.

Further goals from Mark Gerrish and Ali Jaffari whose shot deflected in of Sam Miles wrapped the win up for manager Carr who had to play himself at left back for the whole 90 minutes and although the manager might be bias he claimed his performance was worthy of the man of the match award.

Karl Sharratt now with First Division Chippenham Sports & Social Club returned to Priestly Grove, Calne to haunt his former team-mates at North Star B with one of the two goals for the Sports that sank their Fourth Division hosts.

After a goalless first half Sharratt opened the scoring before Mark Clarke scored a second.

The all Melksham affair at Awdry Avenue, between fierce rivals second division Pig & Whistle United and Division One's Foresters Arms went the way of Dave Robinson's Foresters side who came from two goals down to gain a thrilling 3-2 victory in an entertaining match which could have gone either way.

Foresters were two down after just 15 minutes after goals from Leigh Stevenson and Nathan Mantle had put United in charge. Chris Turk halved the deficit prior to the interval and immediately from the restart Foresters were back on level terms thanks to a stunning goal from Steve Pegler who beat United's goalkeeper Tom Drewitt from the half line.

Both teams threw players forward looking for the victory and with 20 minutes remaining it was Foresters Marc Harewood who struck gold when he netted what proved to be the winner.

Kingfisher FC returned to action after an enforced break but after a promising start were on the wrong end of an 8-3 scoreline against their First Division stable mates Atworth United for whom is was some sort of revenge as Kingfisher beat Atworth 1-0 in the same competition last term.

Kingfisher were dealt a blow to their chances after they lost keeper Mark Bolton with a dislocated finger, but with replacement keeper Alan Farnish taking over the gloves they took the lead when Simon Brothwell latched on to a error by Glenn Young and fired home a stunning volley.

Atworth levelled after 20 minutes when Jack Adcock weaved his way past several defenders before tucking home a low shot.

Soon after Kingfisher retook the lead with Nick Still scoring to make it 2-1. Atworth hit bake once more and were back on level terms when Sean Fordham to rifled home a second equaliser. Kingfisher had the better of the first half and Atworth were reliant on a couple of fine saves from keeper Joe Menghini.

Ironically a rare Menghini error allowed Kingfisher to take a 3-2 lead into the second period thanks to a Steve Carwithen goal. At half time home manager Mark Jeffery brought on Paul Burns and Ross Menghini who had been rested with injuries and restored Brian Wiltshire to a central defender role and this inspired the home side to up their game whilst at the same time snuffing out the opposition forwards. 10 minutes into the half Atworth's Paul Burns nodded home a trademark Ian Jeffery corner and minutes later Sean Fordham drove home a 25 yard screamer into the corner of the net to turn the game around in Atworths' favour.

Handicapped by a lack of substitutes Kingfisher wilted and Sean Fordham completed his hat trick with a neat finish and went on to notch two further goals with some clinical finishing whilst Jack Adcock marked his welcome return to form with his second of the match late on.

Third Division Pack Horse Rangers defeated fourth division Kings Arms (Market Lavington) 2-0 to book their passage into the second round, The Kingers held Rangers to a goalless first 45 minutes but had Dan Jackson not missed a sitter when it looked easier to score then the route to the next round would have been a little easier. Rangers broke down their hosts when Phil Clark flicked the ball to Simon Reid whose great finish put them ahead. Rangers sealed their win thanks to the same combination of players, this time Reid flicked on a Chris Ferris throw to Phil Clark who rounded the Kings Arms keeper before slotted home number two.

For a second week running Trowbridge Town Supporters Club have showed a great improvement on their early season form, but like last week they suffered a 3-1 defeat. Fourth division Trowbridge hosted second division Audley FC who gave a debut to the returning Trevor Whichello who has taken over the goal keeping duties from the injuries Shane Mansfield. Trowbridge welcomed back Nick Buckle and gave a start to Mohammed Zekri and the two players combined for Zekri to score the Town's consolation after Chris Yeo, Kieren Smith and Dave Nolan who scored from an assist from keeper Whichello had scored to put the Audley in charge.

However had Trowbridge taken a few more of their chances they might have taken the game to extra time. The town's manager Kevin Williams was impressed with the way his team battled for everything and he was pleased with the performance of central defender Steve Russell who had a great game at the back.

The Horse & Groom will have to start leaning how they can hold onto a lead as for the second week in succession they surrendered a two goal lead which in turn led to them losing a match.

The Horse & Groom might be bottom of division two, but goals from Tom Moore and Dan Cox put them two up against first division Rowde, before Rowde hit back to win 7-3. The Horse might have led 2-0 but a hat trick from Jamie Mullings fired Rowde into a 3-2 lead before the interval.

Within a minute of the restart Andrew Carpenter had netted to bring the Horse level at 3-3, but that was as close as the Westbury based team got to causing an upset as a Rowde team who were missing seven players from their 7-1 triumph the previous week took the lead through Ray Clemence and once they got in front their was no looking back as further goals from Martin Robinson, Scott Burgess and another from Mullings which took his tally for the game to four coasted home to their 7-3 win.

Anyone watching the first half of the game between Wanderers and White Hart Combe would have thought that it was Wanderers who were the team from the second division as the fourth division outfit outplayed Combe and should have led going into the break but instead they were drawing one apiece.

Wanderers hit the woodwork twice and only had a Craig Harman goal to show for their toil, Harman surged forward, and he showed exquisite control at high speed before he lashed home a beauty from 18 yards out. Combe were fortunate to get back on level terms, but they were gifted an equaliser when Paul Hussey pounced onto an error by Stuart Parr to make it 1-1.

The second half saw Combe move up a couple of gears and the took control of matters to run out 7-3 winners. Craig Fullham put Combe ahead, and two goals from Chris Cox and a single from Ben Smith made it 5-1 before Neil Collett reduced the gap, after good work from both Ian Saunderson and Carl Mackness.

Stuart Parr atoned for his earlier error when he poked home a third for the Wanders but any hopes they might have had of staging a comeback were ended by Ben Smith who scored his second of the game to make it 6-2. Craig Fullham scored Combe's seventh from inside his own half, Wanderers keeper James Starr had pushed up for a corner, and was caught out of position, when the move broke down, but he was unlucky not to get back and deny Fullham, whose long range effort just made it over the line.

North Bradley put their poor league form behind them and they avoided a potential banana skin, by over coming their opponents Corsham United who went into the game as division four leaders, but they were unable to continue their league success against first division Bradley who won 8-2.

Dominic Reed scored both goals for Corsham but goals from Stuart Powell who hit a four timer, three from Gareth Colebrook and a single from Tim Benjamin allowed Bradley to coast through to the next round.