STURMINSTER NEWTON 1

CHICKERELL UNITED 0

THE Chickens exited the Dorset Senior Trophy following a shock defeat in their third round tie at Sturminster Newton United.

The Dorset Senior League leaders went into the clash, 16 points ahead of the third-bottom Cher-ries, but with key players missing they slumped to a 1-0 defeat, much to the frustration of Steve Coward.

The Chickerell boss told Echo-sport: “The better team won at the end of the day, so take nothing away from Stur because they deserved their victory.

“This cup competition is the only thing left for them to play for and they came out all guns blazing just like I thought they would.

“You could see they really wanted it and unfortunately we just didn’t show.

“I was disappointed with some of my players’ performances and, in the end, Stur just wanted it that little bit more.”

Coward also feels the result should serve as a warning to his team in regards to their title ambitions.

He added: “It shows that if you are not on it in this league you can easily get punished.

“Anyone can beat anyone in this division on their day and hopefully the lads have now taken that on board.”

The winning goal came on the hour from a header from a free-kick but, apart from that, it was a game of few chances.

Coward said: “It was an ugly game of football. The wind was horrendous and we never really got going.

“We had a good 10-minute spell after the break but it was one of those where we never really looked like we were going to score. Dan Welch and Warren White were both unavailable for us, which was a blow as they are two key players, but the side we had out should have performed a lot better.”

The Chickens return to league action this Saturday when they travel to basement boys Okeford United (2pm).

Chickens: Boore, Miles, Willett, Coles, Curran, Protheroe, Ferguson (Campbell-Bell 75), S Welch, Stone, J Rawlings (S Lambert 75), Why. Subs not used: Arliss, Heath.