Berko reach cup final after beating Watford

With David Saunders cup tied, Cameron Groom came back in goal and kept a clean sheet again.

An early Ryan Neufville goal was disallowed as the large home crowd tried to keep warm on a cold night at The Glencar Community Stadium. Watford came under pressure and a purple patch from The Comrades brought three goals in a quarter-of-an-hour spell.

Centre-back Ryan Kinnane headed down from a Berko corner and Watford were unable to clear their lines with Brad Wadkins pouncing to hook the ball into the net and open the scoring midway through the first-half.

Soon after, Lynton Goss was too fast for the Watford defence and he sped down the right wing and crossed for Jonathan Lacey to score with a header past Watford keeper Jonathan Macauley.

Skipper Kinnane then hit the post when he got his head to a Ben Walster corner and Neufville reacted to head home his first goal of the season. The burst of goals at the Railway End decided the match.

Proof it was not Watford’s night came in the second-half when Adian Manning blasted a penalty over the cross bar after Walster had tripped Ryan Andrews.

Berko used three substitutes and two of them combined with Luke Andrews setting up Josh Chamberlain who shot across goal in the closing stages.

Top-of-the-table Berko have a blank Saturday but hope to return to league action at home to Welwyn Garden City on Tuesday. They will be without the suspended duo of Adam Watkins and Tobi Coker.

Berko’s under 18s won 1-0 with a Joel Belton goal away to Luton Town Cedars on Monday night.