Cup Jinx Continues For Hardly

Last updated : 24 April 2011 By Dan Buxton

Hardly Athletic threw away a 4-2 lead, conceding three goal in a minute late on in the game with Division One side Inter.

A positive start had seen Hardly apply early pressure before taking the lead when a smart one touch move ended up at the feet of McEvoy, who turned and shot low to the keepers right.

Hardly were soon pegged back when a driven effort beat Dale but the lead was restored when Robins finished well from the edge of the box.

The second period started with more pressure from Hardly and Gordon added a third when he went on a superb solo run to beat three defenders before sidefooting low past the keeper from a tight angle for his first goal this season.

Another sweetly struck effort reduced the arrears before, following pressure applied by Buxton on the edge of the area, an Inter player stepped inside the area to clear the ball, giving away a penalty that was expertly put away by Robins for his second.

With five minutes to go the last substitutions were made and after that the game went sour for Hardly as two good finishes and a mix up between goalkeeper and the unfortunate McEvoy saw the game turned on its head and the points taken away by the highest ranked side by five goals to four.