Scarva bow out of Foster Cup at hands of BBOB

Scarva Rangers bowed out of the Foster Cup on Saturday, a trip to Portadown BBOB ending in a decisive 5-1 defeat.

Opponents Portadown BBOB had triumphed when the two sides met in the league at Scarva Park two weeks earlier and repeated the feat on their home turf to book their place in the last four of the cup competition.

The visitors carved out some early chances, including an Alex Hammond header which flashed over the crossbar from a corner, but it was the hosts who broke the deadlock.

Rangers equalised from a corner. A Gregory Douglas free kick picked out his brother Rod at the back post and his dangerous effort was headed off the goal line at the expense of a corner.

Gregory Douglas took the resulting set piece and this time there was no denying Rod Douglas as he found the net with an unstoppable header to put his side back on level terms.

Having just scored Rodney Douglas was soon making an equally decisive intervention at the other end of the pitch, heading off his own goal line to prevent the hosts retaking the lead.

It was a temporary reprieve as Portadown BBOB found the net for a second time prior to the half-time whistle.

A brave block by Dawson Jones ensured they led by just that single goal when the first half ended.

Good defensive work by Derek Patton and Rod Douglas early in the second half kept the visitors’ cup ambitions alive.

The home side scored three more times after that, however, to crush Scarva’s hopes of advancing any further in the competition and leave themselves a step away from the final.

Best for Scarva Rangers – Gregory Douglas, Rod Douglas and Dawson Jones.