Ascot United Men v Hungerford Town

Report

YELLAMEN EXIT COUNTY CUP

 

Hungerford romp to victory after Ascot go 2-0 up

 

Ascot United suffered a heavy home defeat against Hungerford Town in the Berks and Bucks Senior Cup third round on Tuesday evening. Despite going 2-0 up early-on, the visitors levelled before half-time before running away with it in the second half.

 

Repeat of last season’s showdown

This was one of seven ties at the last-fifteen stage; Reading with a bye to the quarter finals and with Bracknell Town the only other team to have progressed to that stage so far with their win over Didcot Town 24 hours earlier.

 

Ascot had avoided MK Dons, Wycombe Wanderers, Maidenhead United and Slough Town in the draw, although in Hungerford they once again faced the step-three side who had twice come from behind to win 3-2 at the same stage of the competition last season.

 

Much had been made online of the arrival of former Premier league striker Charlie Austin fully seventeen years after he last played for The Crusaders, and he was named in their starting line-up – as was defender and captain George Lock for the hosts following his return from injury.

 

Four goals shared in entertaining first half

Incredibly, there were flashbacks to January as Ascot scored twice, but were pegged back.

 

This time, they were two-nil up early-on as Lucias Vine’s 20 yard effort found the top corner inside three minutes, before he added another in the sixth when Jaheim Kamara’s 360 degree spin and through ball paved the way for him to confidently slot into the bottom corner.

 

But Kie Plumley’s smart, low save kept out Max Gryncewicz’s effort in the 11^th minute as Hungerford sought a quick response, before they got one from Ty Duffus’s towering – if unmarked – header from Louis McGrory’s 16^th minute corner.

 

Babs Dehghani’s left-footed effort sailed just high-and-wide of the top left for Ascot and Gryncewicz missed a glaring header for the visitors in an end-to-end affair, but The Crusaders levelled it four minutes before the break through McGrory’s spot kick, which he smashed down the middle.

 

Vine might have had a hat-trick and restored his side’s lead in the 44^th minute when his lob -over Jenson Kilroy both curled and bounced from going-in to not-going-in; the inside of a post coming to Hungerford’s rescue even if the referee’s assistant – for what looked like offside – didn’t.

 

Two-all the break, time for breath and a quick dry-off after the miserable rain.

 

Second half – as miserable for the hosts as the weather

Credit to the travelling Hungerford fans – they braved the increasingly heavy rain standing behind the goal at The Racecourse track end.

 

And, they were duly rewarded as McGrory smashed home from a tight angle in the 62^nd minute from Curtis Angell’s cross; Cam Squires with the earlier through ball to ultimately turn the tie on its head.

 

Squires them made it four-nil with a neat finish off the right-hand post – McDonagh with the assist in the 72^nd minute – before McDonagh got in on the act three minutes later to make it 5-2 with a deflected effort that Plumley could do nothing about.

 

It was all looking good in yellow for one-fifteenth of the game, but the visitors ran out deserved winners.

 

Ascot United: Plumley, Sankoh, Murray, Lock, Lamb, Dehghani, Deru, Le-Paih, Vine, Osbourne, Kamara. Subs (rolling, all used): Williams, Brandao, Simmo, Rollinson

 

Venue: The Racecourse, Ascot

Attendance: TBC

Weather: 14c, rain

Reporter’s star man (AUFC): Lucias Vine (Ascot United)

Entertainment: 3

Away fans estimate: 30

One-word summary: Soggy