Penalty shootouts decide cup ties across Spartan South Midlands League

The week in the Spartan South Midlands League was settled from the penalty spot more than once. Ampthill Town won a shootout 4-2 to reach the next round, with goalkeeper Mitch Howe making two saves. Rothwell Corinthians drew 2-2 with Eynesbury and then won their shootout 4-1; the club said they scored every penalty, with a save from Jordan and an opposition effort over the bar.

The longest shootout was at Buckingham, where the Saturday A team met Marsh Gibbon in the Buckingham Charity Cup quarter-final under the lights on Tuesday night. It finished 2-2 after normal time and Buckingham went through 7-6 on penalties, into the semi-final. The club praised both sides and called it a brilliant shootout. The Saturday A team are back in cup action this Saturday, hosting Deanshanger Athletic in the Intermediate Division Cup at Lace Hill.

The first team had a harder weekend before that. In the Gladwish Challenge Trophy, New Bradwell St Peter beat them 3-0, with debut goals for Beckett Mountford-Hill and Wesley Iroegbu, and Luke Burrows also named among the scorers. Buckingham said they were not at the races and did not register a single shot on target. Their Saturday A side won 4-1 against Stewkley Devs that day, and the Devs won 4-2 at the Smith Recycling Stadium. Next up for the first team is a league game at home to Royston Town Reserves.

New Bradwell were beaten in the league on Tuesday, losing 2-1 to Leighton after Matty Cullis had given them a first-half lead. They travel to Rothwell Corinthians on Saturday 26 September.

In the same competition, Huntingdon Town lost 1-0 at home to Step 5 Potton United, settled by a second-half goal. The club said they more than held their own, and goalkeeper Peter Robertson was named man of the match for a commanding display. His verdict: "It was a strong team performance in which the game could have gone either way. I believe with the grit and determination we showed as a group, this is the early stages of something really positive."

At Cranfield United, a 4-2 victory over Sarratt on Saturday—having been locked at 2-2 at the break—secured progress to the next round, before a late goal condemned them to a 1-0 defeat at Burton Park on Tuesday. Letchworth Garden City Eagles won 1-0 at MK College through a Jan penalty, and now face Bishop's Stortford Swifts in the County Cup, seeking a second successive cup win, while Irchester United take an unbeaten league run to Langford.