The Don Rogers Semi-Final games kick off this weekend and all 4 teams involved will fancy their chances of securing a spot in the final on the 30th April.
Spectrum -v- Bassett Bulldogs
Our first semi-final game in the Don Rogers Plate has two sides from Division 1 lining up against each other, as Spectrum welcome Bassett Bulldogs to Nalgo Sports Club.
Spectrum finished their league campaign in 7th place with 14 points thanks to 4 wins and 2 draws. Bassett Bulldogs finished one place higher in 6th with 19 points after recording 5 wins and 4 draws.
The two league encounters between these sides have been very tight but entertaining affairs. Bassett were unable to win at home giving Spectrum a 3-2 win thanks to a Ricky Hewitson hattrick.
In the reverse fixture, Spectrum were without their leading goal scorer, as well as the division top goal scorer, Hewitson, and the sides played out a very entertaining 4-4 draw to share the points.
Bassett made their way in to the semi-final with a dominating 3-0 victory over Ramsbury thanks to two goals from Tomas Warren and one from Reece Holloway.
Spectrum on the other hand had a much tougher job to get past Intel. Spectrum found themselves 3-2 down with minutes left of normal time.
Spectrum dug deep and thanks to two late goals, including a last minute penalty deep into injury time, they find their cup journey continues.
These sides have had some great battles so far this season and its really difficult to call a winner.
Head over to our twitter feed to pass your vote on who you think will make it through to the final.
KO Plastering -v- Shield & Dagger
The second semi-final game has Division 2 runners up, Shield & Dagger, visiting Hooper’s Field in Wanborough where they will face fellow Division 2 side, KO Plastering.
KO Plastering were only 2 places behind their opponents in the league table but there was a huge 13 points separating the two sides so Dagger will certainly feel like they are favourites in this tie.
Dagger will also take confidence from the league result from this fixture early on in the campaign, as they overwhelmed the home side with a dominant 5-0 victory.
With a full squad of 16 available that day, they took an early lead after 11 minutes courtesy of a Tyron Leigh finish and never looked back.
They maintained control of the game and came away with a 5-0 win thanks to a brace from Ryan Stanners and one each for Joshua Morse and Oliver Clark.
The reverse league fixture was a Home Walkover for Dagger on the 18th December when KO Plastering struggled with player availability over the Christmas period.
KO Plastering have had a change in fortunes since the previous visit of Dagger, and put in an impressive 5 game winning streak to end their league season.
They followed that up by winning both their plate group games as well as a quarter final win against Lower Stratton. That puts them on an 8 game winning streak so they are sure to be full of confidence.
