Sports extend historic Vase run

Having never reached the first round before in their history, Sports now have a second round clash at home to Coventry Sphinx to look forward to after beating United Counties League Premier Division outfit Rugby on Saturday.

David Meese and Mathew Vaughan were the scorers as Dudley Sports made it through to the next stage with a 2-1 victory Rugby FC.

After falling behind in the first minute, Sports hit back to level through David Meese before half-time and then clinched the win through skipper Mathew Vaughan after the break, much to the delight of boss Tony Gore.

“That was our best performance of the season,” said Gore. “They play a level above us and they brought a few fans with them and I think they were pretty confident. “We didn’t make the best of starts and were a goal behind after about 30 seconds. But I think that got rid of some of the nerves and from then on we played really well.

“They put us under pressure late on and had an effort cleared off the line but we defended well and deserved the win.

“We could have won by a bigger margin and I am really pleased with the performance. The lads were superb and it was nice to have another good crowd there.

“We have been playing well lately and there is still more to come, it’s just disappointing that we are not going to be playing now for a few weeks due to the lockdown.”

Midland League outfit Lye Town failed to get themselves into the hat for the next round after falling to defeat on penalties to Aylestone Park.

The teams played out a thrilling 3-3 draw in 90 minutes, but Lye lost the shootout 4-3.