Ambers knocked out of League Cup

The Ambers bowed out of the NCEL League Cup last night after a 2-1 reverse at Hemsworth MW. After a tough first half during which The Ambers conceded two goals to a slick and powerful Hemsworth side, The Ambers rallied well in the second half and after pulling a goal back at the death, it was the home side who were glad to hear the final whistle as the visitors piled on the pressure in search of the equaliser.
With a number of players cup tied or suspended, it was a chance for youngsters such as Sam Cooper to gain some valuable first team experience, later supplemented by Ellis Moore and Joe Fath from the bench, alongside the returning Tawanda Rupere, making his first Ambers appearance since March 2016.
It was end to end stuff for the first 25 minutes with Rikki Paylor playing in midfield to combat the danger of ex Amber Jason Yates, and the system was working well until skipper Lee Cooksey picked up an injury and was forced off. Rupere came on and a re-shuffle was necessary, Paylor reverting to centre back alongside Jed Phillips.
No sooner had the new pairing had time to settle in than The Ambers found themselves a goal down, the always dangerous Connolly racing through onto a long ball over the top and picking his spot well to steer Hemsworth into the lead, which was doubled ten minutes later when a good break down the right ended with Knight getting the final touch in the six yard box.
At half time, it looked all done and dusted, but Handsworth re-grouped and started to show a lot more intent after the break. Brad Nicholson was getting forward well throughout the game, whilst the front two of Waide Fairhurst and Leon Howarth never stopped running and gave the two Hemsworth centre backs a thorough test, which to be fair, they stood up well to.
As the game entered the last 15 minutes, Moore came on to allow Nicholson to move further forward into a more dangerous position, but another re-shuffle was soon required as Phillips had to leave the pitch after a clash of heads. Fath came on into midfield with Nicholson moving back to centre half.
As the clock was ticking down, The Ambers suddenly found themselves right back in it, Moore’s cross from the left evading home keeper Greaves and dropping into the far corner of the net. However, that was as good as it got, and despite some Ambers pressure, The Wells held on to deservedly move into the Semi Final after a good contest.