Comrades cup dreams cruelly crushed by club's bogey side
The Comrades' cup dreams are dead.
They went out of their third knock-out competition in the space of a month at home to Padbury, who seem to be a bogey side for the Broadwater club.
They beat the Division Two league-leaders for the second time this season in a bad-tempered Anagram Record Trophy quarter final on Saturday.
It was a result which left manager Micky Vipond fuming.
"The big moment came and once again we failed to come up to scratch," said Vipond, who last week slammed his side's inability to play to their potential in the big games.
"It was our last cup competition so it's promotion or nothing now.
"It was our own doing really. Now all our eggs are in one basket."
Vipond's hopes of not conceding were dashed when just three minutes in Padbury's skipper Nick Hughes capitalised on a poor clearance.
With James Armstrong struggling to find his shooting boots, it was down to Lawrence Bunker to level the scores.
He dispatched his 40th minute penalty with aplomb.
But again Padbury went into the lead shortly after the restart - the Comrades failed to clear their lines and Dominic Lawless pounced for 2-1.
Shortly afterwards keeper Graeme Milner brought down Lawless and the resulting penalty was converted by the fouled front man.
To make matters worse, skipper Antony Beamish saw red for his second bookable offence on a day that saw a total of five visiting players also enter the ref's notebook.
Despite ending the cup dream at the club, Vipond could see the positive in his side's exit.
"We are at the top of the league, 13 games unbeaten and now we have got to feed off that and do our best," he added.
"We are in a great position - we have all the teams around us to play so we have got to put the defeat behind us and push on."
They are at MK Wanderers this weekend, with striker Tony Burnett still a doubt with a groin strain. The reserves, who go to Buckingham Athletic on Saturday, lost 1-0 to Hatfield in MSSML Reserve Division Two.
Micky Vipond's side 'failed to come up to scratch'.
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Weather for Tring
Thursday 09 February 2012
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