Ashton Prime 1-4 Pembury Reserves

Prime were dealt a tricky home tie in the Chairman's Trophy - Pembury’s second string travelled to Bayham against lower league opposition.

Cup fever was in the air and it was a positive start by the home side, clearly up for an upset. Prime played the ball around with confidence linking well in midfield, as Pembury looked rattled and taken by surprise. It did not take long before this positive start turned into a positive scoreline, with Mellors grabbing an early goal - Leigh’s long punts were causing all sort of difficulties for the Pembury back line, bouncing over their heads as they defended high up the pitch. It finally paid off for the in-form Mellors, as he found himself clear to place the ball into the far corner of the net.

Prime continued to pile on the pressure, with Kneebone proving a dangerous outlet on the right, and Flamank on the left. Smith-Foreman was working hard up front, but his luck was not in when he took a knock to his knee, leaving him unable to continue. Carl Barker entered the fray after 15 minutes for the frustrated front-man.

It became a tough tackling encounter as the referee appeared to lose authority on the game. Kneebone was scythed down after breezing past a number of Pembury players - a free kick on the edge of the area. Mellors was close, dragging his shot just wide.

All of a sudden Pembury seemed to buzz into life, and they woke up after their midfielder scored a bullet header from a corner. Another goal followed to leave Prime feeling short changed at the break.

It was a tight contest but Pembury scored another on the break, leaving the scoreline to flatter them somewhat. Walsh was brought on for the disgruntled Gilbert, as Prime pushed for a comeback. Some good build up play ensued but Prime just lacked the killer instinct their opponents seemed to possess, as their attacks petered out.

It was not going to be Prime's year. Dreams of a trip to Longmead were well and truly dashed, as the otherwise outstanding full back, Tom Matthews, was to be undone by Pembury's jet-healed right winger. He beat his man and squared to an unmarked striker - goal number four.

Man of the Match: Leaver - An assured performance, strong in the tackle and distributed the ball well.