Athletic reach 3rd Round of County Cup

Buckingham Athletic’s Development side took a step closer to silverware as they beat Rivets Sports 4-2 in the county cup. Favourites for the game, Athletic were not at their best, however they managed to secure a place in the last 32 from when they travelled to Rivets on Saturday.

Buckingham may not have been at full potential in this game, however they never went behind, but did look nervous on occasions. The small pitch did not help them, but countless misplaced passes and a lack of intense tackling led the hosts to produce some clear cut chances. The heroics of Richard Tiller saved them on a couple of occasions.

The first blow came from Athletic as, for the second game in a row they scored from a cross, this time as Luke McAndrew came forward from left back to curl a cross in the box, but it ended up dropping in at the far post. The lead was quickly cancelled out, when Buckingham failed to clear a Rivets attack, and therefore conceded a corner which was converted from a free header.

The lead was reinstated, when Tom Kennard scored for successive games as he doubled his seasons tally with a stretching finish from close range. They stayed 2-1 up going into half time, knowing they needed to perform better to confirm the win. It was Buckingham again who scored the next goal when I corner failed to be cleared and it fell to Jordan Tavener, whose left footed strike found the corner.

Straight down the other end, Rivets failed to give up and scored within a minute of the restart, and the same player collected a brace. This time with a deflected shot giving Tiller no chance as it looped over him and into the far corner. Buckingham wrapped up the win though, when substitute Luke Tavener got the better of his man down the left and was subsequently taken down in the box. He converted the spot kick himself.

Buckingham now face Wing Village on the 10th of December is the next round of the cup, as they look to make it to the last 16.

Luke Tavener's goal rounded off the game