This was a somewhat experimental tournament for us, with Nick in goal and Oli up front playing their first games for HRFC.

We started slowly in this competition, losing 1-0 against Lower Earley Predators. A lot of possession was not turned into goals and we paid the same price against Bishops Waltham, losing by the same score. They scored in the 7th out of 8 minutes, proving you have to concentrate for the whole match, no matter how long.

Next up were Westwood Wanderers. Incredibly, we should have been 4-0 up in the first 3 minutes. It seemed the lads had something to prove as, little did they know, the club chairman had strolled accross to watch. They ended up with a 1-1 draw, Tom scoring an excellent individual goal. Against Ascot United, the best team in the group, it was backs to the wall. 8 minutes of solid defending was no mean feat as we frustrated Ascot with hard work and determination for a 0-0 draw.

We then progressed to the consolation knock out, where we moved pitch to play Ashridge Park. Loads of possession again but Jono scored from an excellent solo run through the middle to give us a 1-0 win and a place in the Semi-Final. We had already seen our opponents, Ascot United B, play their Quarter Final so we knew we had nothing to fear from this team.

They were not as good as the A team we faced in the group stages and it showed in our total domination of this match. Unfortunately, Ascot broke once and scored a complete fluke of a goal. We didn't deserve to lose but as they say, that's football.....