Fred Hewings Cup

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Dartmouth made the short journey to East Allington looking to continue their recent winning run but came unstuck thanks largely to a poor first-half performance.

The home side dominated the early possession and went in front with 13 minutes on the clock when a misplaced clearance landed at the feet of a midfielder, who lobbed the ball into an empty net.

Dartmouth’s only chance to score came from a long-range effort from striker Nick Rushe, whose shot rebounded back off the crossbar.

The hosts extended their lead five minutes before the interval when a long ball down the left wing was controlled well and fired home for 2-0.

It wasn’t quite the ‘hairdryer’ treatment from the Darts managers in the away dressing room at the break, but a few home truths got the desired effect as the away side returned a completely different outfit in the first 20 minutes of the second half.

Two goals in as many minutes brought the tie level and the momentum was now with the visitors.

First a good run down the left side from Teddy Armitage allow­ed Joe Kirby to burst into the box before smashing his shot high into the top corner.

This was followed by a brilliant run and cross by Robbie Chalk down the right wing to set up Will Kenny, who stooped superbly to head home for 2-2. Scott McRoy then had a shot from distance palmed away by the Ally ‘keeper before squaring a wonderful cross for Armitage, who was inches away from sliding the ball home.

Midway through the second half, and against the run of play, the home side regained the lead when a deep free-kick was headed home at the far post to really knock the stuffing out of Dartmouth.

With 10 minutes remaining the killer fourth goal arrived when the referee awarded a penalty for a foul inside the box.

The spot-kick was dispatched to end all hopes of another mini-revival from the Darts, meaning victory for East Allington, who progress to the quarter-final stages.

Dartmouth travel to Meadowbrook Athletic on Saturday in the next round of the Devon Intermediate Cup, looking to bounce back to winning ways in a 2pm kick-off.