Sildegapet had their next two games as very important cup ties. The first was against lrules in the Newcomers Cup. Before the match Britton declared that Irules was not an easy opponent and that they could not come to complacent. In a fiery first few minutes Sildegapet took the upper hand with a great chance to open the scorring in the ninth minute when a low racing shot from Dillon Wymers smashed the post. This good form continued and Irules could barely get out of their own half. Sior Barry was to become the match hero though saving countless efforts while his defence dozed in the afternnon sunlight at the Cottage. In the twelfth minute Egido ran free of the defence but Sior Barry was once again the hero, managing to thwart Egido on a one on one situation. Grimes, Egido, Granat all had their chances to score before the half hour mark but none found the back of the net. After the half hour things began to settle down. However, as if from nowhere, a corner from Reece Grimes set up Egido who finally hit the target. The scorring had been broken open at last and Sior Barry undone. However, Sildegapet also began to get complacent, which Britton later described as horrific. Sildegapet led for little over four minutes, Radko Keler making use of a half volley to score a screamer. After the restart nothing seemed to happen and Sildegapet’s dominance of the first half was all but gone. In the 59th minute, Irules lost their goal scorer to a poor, late challenge. Keler was immediately sent off without hesitation. Lewis could only say that he was annoyed with Keler’s decision. On a hot afternoon nerves were frayed but the game did not progress. No goals. Finally it came to penalties. First to step up was Pierce Cole who dispatched the penalty showing no nerves. Cole, whose mistake had let in the Irules’ goal performed magically as he tapped the penalty from Sior Barry around the corner. Francisco Egido then placed his penalty perfectly into the roof of the goal for a 2-0 advantage. Cole once again saved a half hearted attempt from Guido Heller to put Sildegapet almost in reach of the next round. Severin Høgnesen then put Sildegapet even closer with a low shot that found the post and then the back of the net. The controversy of the game came with the final kick of the ball. Eleazar Caetano hit the ball as if it was going into the corner of the goal. But Cole once again got a hand to it pushing it towards the post. It hit the post and rolled along the goal line where it stopped. The referee declared that it had not gone over the line so the game was won by a triumphant Sildegapet. However, Lewis had something to say at the end saying this was why VIFA needs to have goal line technology. However, he did admit that the better team went through.

Sildegapet’s next match was in the BetXpert Bronze tournament which Britton is hoping to get to the money rounds in. Esperato Huelva FC was there opponent and Britton was worried after their jitters that Sildegapet may go crashing out. It was a feisty performance from both teams but Sildegapet always seemed to have an edge. They soon proved this by opening the scoring with a perfectly placed lob of both the onrushing keeper and defender by Egido. Reece Grimes was the second to score creating a buoyant atmosphere inside the Cottage. The goal was from a long range effort but Lug Walbeoff was to blame for fumbling the shot. In the 39th minute Grimes was gifted in similar circumstance his second goal which created a party inside the stadium. It wasn’t until the 84th minute that Sildegapet added to their tally, a Felicien Valke shot deflected into the path of Egido who pounced upon his second goal. Reece Grimes then took his tally to three for the day in the 88th minute as a delicious through ball from Valke gave the opportunity to Egido to take his third goal, but he was always likely to miss with the goal-keeper and defender closing him down he managed to find Grimes who scored past the retreating Walbeof into the top right hand corner.

They then played Real Strikers who played their best team and managed to get a surprise 2-1 lead before Sildegapet managed to rescue a point in the dying moments of the game. This leaves Sildegapet third in the league, two points behind the current league leaders but with two games in hand. Sildegapet will want to take full advantage, creating a four point gap will be doable but tough. Second place is looking to be Pick of the Potters who are in a similar position to Sildegapet, same number of games played but just one point behind on 15 points. Britton still insists that he is searching Cup glory not league glory. They quickly thrashed their next opponents to go second in the table with two games in hand that should see them to the top. Their next match against De Dopede Dovendyr should be tough for the Bronze cup but they can win it. Salbreck FC is a better club and although they have performed admirably this season, I think that they will lose a close encounter. Britton does not mind if they go hard as he knows it would be almost impossible for him to win the Newcomers Cup and would like to focus on the Bronze Cup. The keeper for De Dopede Dovendyr, Hermogenes Simplicio, is a notable kepper so it should be very tough to score. My verdict is that they can win it though and progress to the 5th round. Who knows they could go all the way!