On the day that Kings Langley village turned on the Christmas lights, Kings dazzled Biggleswade with a first half display that lit up Gaywood Park as they raced into a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes before eventually bagging a 4-1 win.

Both in-form strikers – Jack Boyd for United and Mitchell Weiss for Langley – went close early on, before wing-back Danny Hutchins went on a run down the flank to set the ball rolling for Kings.

With everyone anticipating the cross, Hutchins blasted an unstoppable shot into the far corner to open the scoring.

Soon afterwards, Alex Campana’s run into a similar position did end in a cross which was perfectly placed to the feet of Weiss to beat keeper Rui Goncalves to the ball and double the Langley lead.

A similar cross from Campana saw Ollie Cox’s shot tipped round the post by Goncalves, before Hutchins ran across the defence and played in Campana (pictured), who twisted and turned for an opening before beating the keeper and two defenders on the line from 10 yards.

With the hosts already 3-0 up, skipper Luke Ladyman had a header disallowed as Kings’ flowing football threatened to over-run United, who somehow reached the break without further damage.

The visitors knew they were better than the scoreline and their first half display suggested, and they set out to show that in the second half.

Callum Adebiyi grazed the bar with a screamer, but United worked hard and Will Wright allowed Charlie Crowley to save when well placed, before Reynaldo Carbon emphasised United’s resurgence to reduce the deficit with an angled shot.

For a 10 minute period they looked set for an unlikely comeback, but Kings shuffled the pack and finished in style.

Weiss had a shot cleared off the line, and then a raking cross from the industrious Jack Pattison enabled Campana to force the ball home off the keeper and lift Kings back to second in the SSML Premier Division table; three points behind the leaders with four games in hand.

Premier League club Crystal Palace are sending an U21 squad to Vauxhall Road tonight for a friendly game against the Tudors.

The game is being used as a way for Hemel to re-introduce striker Dennis Oli into the squad after a lengthy time on the sidelines.

Tudors boss Dean Brennan said: “Our schedule is manic this week – tonight we face Crystal Palace U21s, and tomorrow we are at home again to St Margaretsbury in the County Cup.

“The Palace game is mainly for Dennis Oli, who tonight will play the majority of the game after three months out injured.

“It will be great to have Dennis back in the camp, his experience will be vital to us over the coming winter months.”

Tonight’s game kicks-off at 7pm, with entrance fees being £5 for adults, £3 for concessions and £1 for U18s.

Tring Athletic secured a terrific 2-0 victory against Wembley as they produced one of their best performances this season against a strong side who could still have a say in the title race.

Wembley, whose captain Ian Bates was making his 950th appearance for the club, enjoyed a lot of possession during the first half but failed to dent the solid Athletic defence – with 18-year-old Jack Hopwood making his debut in goal.

The home side were presented with an opportunity when they won a free-kick in a promising position, but leading scorer Yassine Fehmi-Gil merely found Hopwood’s midriff.

There was a lot of good play and movement from the home side, but Athletic defended well as a unit and began to create chances of their own.

Taylor Collins, Kevin McManus and Paul Jeffrey all had chances for Tring as the half progressed, before the latter whipped a ball into the area for Chris Salmon to give the visitors a precious lead which they held onto until the break.

Wembley showed their intent by bringing on second top scorer Joe Wright at the start of the second half, and he was presented with his side’s best chance of the match when a sass from Bates sent him into the area but he shot past the post.

Despite some sustained pressure from Wembley, it was Athletic who wrapped up the win in the 64th minute when McManus won the ball and fed Chris Vardy, who in turn found Collins.

The youngster had too much pace for the defender and he ran through and calmly tucked the ball away to give Athletic a crucial second goal.

On Saturday, Tring have a huge game at home to Norwich United in the FA Vase.

They have the opportunity to create a bit of history by going through to the last-32 of this prestigious national competition – something they have never achieved before.

Two quick-fire second half goals sent Leverstock Green to a 2-0 defeat at Hoddesdon Town on Saturday.

In truth there wasn’t much to choose between the sides, but two goals in a minute were enough for Town to clinch the points.

The first half saw few chances for either side. Hoddesdon broke in the 13th minute when a ball over the top from Ike Nzuruba released Marvin Malebiosu, but he ran on to shoot wide.

The start of the second half saw Leverstock’s best spell of the game as they pressed the home side into their own half and got some good balls into the box, but still couldn’t force a save out of keeper Richard Robins.

Green’s best move of the match came in the 62nd minute when they broke from a Hoddesdon corner, but Sledge Mubama’s cross was headed off target by Nathan Jellow.

Leverstock defended well for the most part, but two quick-fire goals saw their hard work go to waste. In the 64th minute a cross from the left was met by Kambo Smith, whose glancing header went in off the far post.

The second goal was another header as Kevin Makayabo came in at the near post unchallenged to head home a free-kick and wrap up the points.

Hemel Storm comprehensively sank their opponents from East London as they beat Newham Neptunes 109-82 at Sportspace in a fast-paced National league Division One encounter.

There was little sign of the comfortable win to come in the first quarter as only three-pointers from Michael Darlow and Walid Mumuni kept Storm in touch with the Neptunes, who led 11-10 early on.

A second three by Darlow with three minutes left put Storm in front for good, and yet another bomb inside the last minute of the period – this time by skipper Simon Kearney – gave them a 27-22 lead at the first break.

Halfway through the second quarter, there was just a single point in it as Newham fought back to trail 39-38, before another Kearney three gave his side some breathing space with less than four minutes to go in the half.

Storm now started to really pile on the points and a three by Mumuni, followed by a tip-in right on the buzzer, gave them a 58-47 lead at the interval.

Storm kept up the pace early in the third, with Tom Adorian scoring 10 early points himself, including a huge slam dunk to bring the crowd to their feet.

Yet another Darlow three gave his side a 20-point lead at 73-53 halfway through the third period, and some solid defence by the home side meant they went in at the end of the quarter 85-64 ahead.

Storm were not finished yet, though, as tenacious defence early in the final quarter almost held their visitors scoreless.

Adorian moved to a game-high 26 points with a huge slam dunk before controversially fouling out with seven minutes left.

It didn’t stop his side, however, as a fourth three-pointer of the night for Darlow put them over the 100-point barrier and once again brought rapturous applause from the appreciative fans.

Storm used the last few minutes to give the younger members of their squad some court time, including Nick Allin and Jack Burnell, as they ran out winners by 109 points to 82.

After the game, Storm head coach Steve Darlow paid tribute to his players, saying it was a great performance and a fantastic comeback following a very disappointing loss at league leaders Derby the previous evening.

Adorian notched another 27 points in that game for a huge combined weekend total of 53.

Steve Darlow added how pleased he was with Michael Darlow, who he said had produced “the best performance of his young career.”

Storm’s next home game is at Sportspace on Saturday, December 20 at 7pm against Manchester Magic in a National League Division One game.

Tickets and more information can be found on the club website at www.stormbasketball.net

Hemel Rovers cruised through to next round of the West Herts Senior Cup after whitewashing Glenn Sports 10-0.

Rovers went in front afafter 15 minutes with a well taken goal by Neal Perrin when he chased a ball down the middle, beating three defenders before expertly chipping the outcoming keeper.

Although the visitors battled hard for the full 90 minutes, they hardly raised a shot on the Rovers goal.

Before the break, further goals from Mylie Cash (2), Conor Deadman and Kevin Price made it a 5-0 half-time scoreline.

Glenn kept Rovers at bay in the second half until the 70th minute when Sam Flood found the net.

This signalled a collapse, with Deadman adding two further goals, and Alex McCarthy and Callum Jones completing the scoring.

Elsewhere, the Rovers third team grabbed a 0-0 draw at London Colney Blues to get the point they needed to move through to the next phase of the West Herts Junior cup.

Rovers’ reserve match was abandoned after 27 minutes as a seriously gashed leg to keeper Andy McFarlane meant that he could not be moved from the pitch until an ambulance arrived. Rovers were leading 2-1 at the time.

Horrible bosses are a blight on any working environment – but if the first Horrible Bosses film showed us anything, it’s that killing them isn’t necessarily the best course of action.

At least for average Joes like Nick (Jason Bateman), Dale (Charlie Day) and Kurt (Jason Sudeikis).

But the inept and dissatisfied workers are back – and now decide to become their own bosses by launching their own business ‘NicKurDale’ (not a name to say out loud).

But the unlucky trio soon get shafted by big business guru Bert Hanson (Christoph Waltz) and with no legal recourse, the three would-be entrepreneurs hatch a misguided plan to kidnap his son (Chris Pine) and ransom him to regain control of their company. What could possibly go wrong?

Naïve and well-meaning, the boys are completely out of their depth (again) and to make matters worse the nymphomaniac dentist Julia (Jennifer Aniston) from the first film is back on their trial and liable to nuke their plans.

Also back is Jamie Foxx as the clueless hitman who goes by a name so expletive-ridden I can’t even quote it here!

Horrible Bosses 2 could well have been a poorly conceived cash-in, but against the odds director Sean Anders manages to deliver a sequel that is just as funny as the original. Sure, a lot of that is down to the likeable cast who riff off each other and who genuinely seem to be loving working together. Be sure to stay for the outtakes in the end credits which are hilarious.

As the kidnap plan unfolds – and unravels – the clueless crims find out that going to prison or losing their company might be the least of their worries. The plot includes a stylish ‘how the ransom money will be dropped off’ showcase run through which is like something out of Oceans 11. Of course the reality is far more humiliating than any of them could imagine.

Not all the gags work but they come so thick and fast that there are enough hits to keep you laughing along.

Berkhamsted manager Mick Vipond has written off his side’s 3-1 defeat to bottom of the table Ampthill Town as a ‘reallly, really bad day.’

Ampthill went into Saturday’s clash with only one win in the league all season, but they got the better of a severely depleted Comrades team to add a much needed three points to their tally.

“We got exactly what we deserved,” said Vipond. “I never really make a fuss about having players missing or injured but we had seven players unavailable on Saturday.

“Having said that, we still had enough of a squad to give them more of a game than we did. On the day they just had more about them than we did.

“It was a real mishmash of a day and when you lose to the team who are at the bottom of the table, it does hurt.

“We can just write it off as a really, really bad day.”

Vipond was forced to make five changes to his starting line-up, giving first starts of the season to reserve team players Alfie Osborne and Jay Caines.

There were no goals in a keenly contested first half as Berko‘s rejigged line up settled down to the task at hand.

The late arriving Ryan Laville came on for Berko at the interval, and the game sprang to life after the break, with Danny Butler scoring two good goals for Ampthill.

Josh Chamberlain pulled one back for Berko with a 20-yard strike after Courtney Massay switched play from right to left and Chamberlain controlled well.

However, Ashley Mead rubbed salt in the Berko wounds with a late third goal, capitalising on a poor throw-in to seal the win for his side.

SSML Premier Division leaders Sun Sports also lost, but Kings Langley took the opportunity to win and move up above Berko into second spot in the table.

At the time the Gazette went to press, the Comrades were preparing to face fellow Premier Division team Hoddesdon Town in the second round of the Herts Senior Cup.

Jordon Frederick was set to return from suspension to bolster the Berko squad.

On Saturday, Vipond’s side have a real top of the table six-pointer when they are at home to Sun Sports.

Elsewhere, Berkhamsted Reserves beat Kimpton Rovers 3-2 on Saturday in a thrilling Herts Intermediate Cup tie at Broadwater.

After dominating the first half, but not finishing their moves off, Pierce Kelly finally put Berko in front, but a defensive lapse at a corner allowed a headed equaliser.

A defensive mix up-saw Kimpton take the lead in the second half , however Berko went on to level and then win the tie with two late goals.

A free-kick from Tom Shaw made it 2-2, before Kiefer Shuttleworth latched onto a loose ball to slot home the winner for Berkhamsted.

Berkhamsted put together an impressive set of results to see out November and go into December in great shape – scoring 25 goals and conceding only seven in the process.

The ladies’ seconds continue their record-breaking season with yet another win; this time beating Chiltern 3-0 to top of their league table. Player of the match was Becca Bowman who scored a brace.

The men’s firsts continued their promotion challenge with an excellent 1-0 win away at Bishop’s Stortford, while the seconds also had a tight battle – winning 2-1 against Royston.

Nick Burles rolled back the years to score the winner midway through the second half.

Elsewhere, the ladies’ first team continued their difficult season with yet another tight game - losing 3-2 against Letchworth.

The result of the day came from the men’s third XI who smashed St Albans 9-0.

There was a brace of hat-tricks in this extraordinary performance – Will Goodwyn bagged one of them and man of the match Amish Adodra scored the other. Also on target were Mark Robinson, Tom Kemplen and Will Hanwell.

It was not such good news for the men’s fifth team, however, as they lost 3-0 away at Stevenage.

On Sunday, the club had U8, U10, U12 and U14 teams representing them in various tournaments, including one that they hosted on the Tring School astro. Oliver Jeffs and Jamie Morton were joint players of the match for the U10s.

Tudors boss Dean Brennan was relieved to see his side edge past Truro in what he described as a ‘sloppy’ performance from his team.

“In the cup it’s all about the result, and thankfully for us we progressed into the next round,” he said.

“I felt our performance was average at best if I’m honest; we were very sloppy in possession which gave Truro the opportunity to throw balls in our box to make us defend quite a lot.

“The positive performances from the game were definitely Ed (Asafu-Adjaye) and Moussa (Diarra) at centre-back together; they were right on top of their game.”

Both teams finished the game with 10 men, but Brennan was bemused by some of the decisions in what he felt was a good natured match.

“Both sendings off were a bit harsh to say the least,” said the Hemel boss. “The boy from Truro should only have got a yellow card and for me neither of Arthur Lee’s challenges were even fouls.

“The crazy thing is, neither team made a bad challenge all game and both teams were trying to play a passing, attacking style of football, yet two players were sent off.”

After negotiating the tricky tie, Brennan is now hoping to progress in the tournament. He said: “The FA Trophy is a brilliant competition and one that I won as a player.

“It’s always nice to get a run in any cup competition, but we can only look at one game a time.

“I’d like to thank the brave few that travelled to Truro to support the team; the players, staff and myself appreciate your positive support. Keep up the good work, Tudor Army.”

Bedmond Ladies recorded a hard-fought 4-2 victory over Kings Langley Ladies on Sunday.

Bedmond welcomed debuts from keeper Sasha Tucker and striker Molly Peters for what was always going to be a difficult and physical game against their old rivals.

Langley went ahead in the eighth minute, but Bedmond stepped up a gear and took command of the game when a well taken goal from Molly Peters levelled the scores.

Two further goals from captain Abbie Harrison and Sarah Gunn meant the team went in at the break 3-1 up.

An injury to Dawn Kingsley during the first half meant a change of positions and tactics, but Bedmond continued to push and Peters claimed her second of the match.

Langley reduced the deficit with 15 minutes to play, but Bedmond stayed strong to claim the win.

Bovingdon Bowls Club were presented with the Dacorum Shield at their presentation evening last month.

The Dacorum Shield is a competition that is played throughout the summer, with teams across the borough taking part.

Bovingdon pipped Tring Bowls Club to the prestigious title, only losing one match throughout the entire tournament.

The trophy and cheque for £500 was presented by tournament organiser John Bates to Bovingdon president Ted Luck.

Mr Bates’ company, SWR Garage Doors, generously contributed to the prize money which in turn was donated by the club to the Hospice of St Francis.

There have been a number of managerial changes at Herts Baseball Club as they begin their preparations for the 2015 campaign.

At the club’s AGM, Herts announced that Carlos Casal will be stepping down as manager of the Herts Eagles, with co-managers Arnie Longboy and Jake Caress taking over in his place.

Longboy is a long-standing member of the club who has managed the Herts Raptors in the Single-A League, the Herts Hawks in the Double-A League and now he makes the step up to the Triple-A League with the Eagles.

Caress is a product of the Herts youth programme. He has grown through the ranks playing for the club’s U14, U17, Single-A, Double-A and Triple-A teams.

His progress has not gone unnoticed and this summer he was a member of the Great Britain U19 national team which had a successful qualifying campaign in Croatia – winning promotion to Pool A for the European Championships next year.

In the past two seasons, Caress was the manager of the Herts Cardinals in the BBF U14 league. He led the Cardinals to a bronze medal finish in this year’s U14 National Baseball Championships.

Meanwhile, Greg Bochan and Andrew Slater have been revealed as the new co-managers of the Herts Hawks.

Bochan has been a manager of the Hawks for many years so the camaraderie and continuity of the team will be preserved, while Slater gave Double-A opponents a weekly dose of crafty pitching and clutch hitting this year and in 2015 he will look to add his managerial nous to that.

Elsewhere, the 2014 Most Valuable Player awards for the Herts adult and youth teams were presented on Sunday.

Abel Salas was voted Herts Falcons 2014 MVP – this came as no surprise given that a few weeks ago he scooped all three MVP awards in the whole of the National Baseball League.

He also won the 2014 NBL Home Run title which he shared with Essex Arrows’ Maikel Azcuy who will be wearing the Herts Falcons uniform in 2015.

In other news at the club, Herts have announced the appointment of Jeff Witter as a board member, heading the U14 baseball department, while James Dwyer has been named as communications director and board member.

There were personal bests galore from swimmers at Berkhamsted, Hemel Hempstead and Tring this week.

> Hemel Hempstead SC

There were some excellent performances over the last 10 days of competition in the 2014 Hemel Hempstead Swimming Club Championships.

More than 180 swimmers took part, entering 1,400 swims and producing over 750 personal bests times.

Almost 200 more were first time swims, yet 38 club records were smashed, two swimmers obtained their first ever regional qualifying times and 16 swimmers qualified for the County Championships.

Of the 38 new club records set over the course of the championships, 16-year-old Aimee Abrey set an astonishing nine.

Congratulations also go to the club’s other new record holders: Rachel Barber (4), Alice Fender, Tony Gaines, Emily Jelfs (5), James McFarlane (2), Lois Moore (2), Georgia Purkis, Charlie Rayner (6), Grace Rayner (2), Tilly Stratford, Max Jelfs and Freddie Woodcock (3).

Eleanor Bevan and Lauren Windsor achieved their first ever Regional Championship qualifying times, and the number of events in which Hemel swimmers have qualified to swim at regionals next year more than doubled during the course of the Club Championships.

A further 16 swimmers qualified for the 2015 County Championships, taking the total qualified to participate to more than 70 in 450 events; congratulations to Fynn Archibald, Freya Beresford, Neil Brevern, Holly Carter, Sonny Carter, Joe Coldwell, Chris Cox, Elinor Ferguson, Lois Goad, Libby Grant, Helen Jennings, Harrison Mills, Megi Prince, Chloe Purkis, Holly Robinson and Amber Stratford.

> Tring SC

Tring Swimming Club were back in action at Milton Keynes Swimming Club’s Bletchley pool as their countdown to the County Championships continued.

This is one of the last meets before counties entries are submitted and it attracted a high level of competition from 15 clubs – providing a great opportunity to refine techniques and race strategy.

With a total of 20 medals, including 10 golds, Tring head coach John Bradley said: “I’m delighted with the efforts from all swimmers – 30 PBs in 75 races including five each for Marcia Billingham, Chloe Woodruff and Molly Bradley, four for Clem Waterhouse and three for Tilly Beckwith.

“In particular, well done to Marcia for a first county time this year in the 50m breaststroke.”

In an outstanding show of stamina, Chloe Woodruff swam the gruelling 200m butterfly and 400m freestyle events consecutively, reducing her PBs by a combined eight seconds.

“Well done Chloe, great results from all your hard work in training,” commented Bradley.

There were also some strong PB performances among the boys, including Max Gething and Ed Birch. A special mention also goes to Jonathan Watson, for an exceptional show of strength and determination to achieve a -21s PB in the 400m freestyle.

There was great Team Tring spirit poolside and the coaches are passionate about creating a force to be reckoned with.

Tring Swimming Club will be back in action for some Festive Fun at Club Champs Tring later in the month, with a final trip to the CMK Christmas Cracker Meet in December.

For further information about the club, please visit www.tringswimmingclub.co.uk or contact email tringswimclub@gmail.com

> Berkhamsted SC

Round Three of the Berkhamsted Swimming Club Championships took place at Stoke Mandeville on Saturday night.

In the three hours of competition, 98 swimmers competed in 260 races and set 130 PB times, as well as breaking 18 club records and swimming 53 county qualifying times together with eight regional qualifications.

The 400m freestyle saw 14 swimmers qualify for the distance at the County Championships next March.

Tamsin Moren, Yazii Brand, Tom Homes-Higgin, Mason Brand and Jordan Northwood all set club records for their age at the distance, to start the evening off on a high.

The biggest round of applause for the night was reserved early on for youngest swimmer Jasmine Collinge as she finished her race.

In the boys’ races, Mason Brand and James Chennells fought the whole 16 lengths tooth and nail, both setting PBs and separated at the finish by just over a second.

In the 100m butterfly, Moren set yet another club record – as did Holmes-Higgin – before possibly the race of the night between Jamie Hoyes and Jordan Northwood saw Northwood edge it in the final five metres.

Unfortunately for both of them, Tom Lyons had found and extraordinary five seconds plus in the previous heat and beat them both.

For the girls, Jess Potts and Ellen Northwood continued their personal rivalry, with Northwood coming out on top on this occasion by 0.6 seconds.

The standout swims in the 50m breaststroke came from Abbie and Ollie Hurst.

Abbie won her event by nearly six seconds, setting a new club record as well, while Ollie fought off Jordan Northwood’s challenge in the boys’ race. Brand also showed his class with a six-second win in his age group.

The final event was the 100 IM which saw even more PBs, county times and club records.

Those setting PBs on the evening were: Helena Martin, Evie Watson, Matilda Verney-Kershaw, Izzie Sansom, Lauren Collingwood, Caitlin Kelley, Amy Pemberton, Amy Stoker, Louise Holden, Jess Stace, Molly Baker, Harriet Horwood-Jones, Annabel Nangle, James Boylan, Sam Baker, Marcus Donald, Arthur Giles, Josh Phelps, George Thorne, Harry Thorne, Louis Armitage, Daniel Chennells, Dan Stace, Ish Rahim, Ben Holmes-Higgin, Owen Strakosch, Tom Strakosch, Ollie Martin, Cam McDonald, Ellie MacDonald, Chris Nel, Adam Hawkswood, Sam Newman, Izzy Painter, Hannah Davis, Oisin Florsheim, Marley Maidment, Tommy Maidment, Tom Weston, John Holden, Memphis Hancock, Elliss MacNab, Victoria Ayles, Maddie Kiernan, Charley Stevens, Miles Martin, Michael Joyce, James Nangle, Ben Jones, Hamish MacCaig, Emma Walker, Ollie Painter, Jacob D’Cunha, Alex Davis, Danny Hoyes, Conall Clarke and Keiran Mallory.

Watched by 116 hardy supporters at Vauxhall Road on a cold Tuesday evening, Hemel Hempstead Town marched into round three of the Herts Senior Cup with a very professional 9-0 victory against a physical St Margaretsbury side.

The North Herts outfit must be sick of the sight of the Tudors as their last three meetings have seen them concede 22 goals, with 13 coming in two cup ties last season.

The home side opened the scoring after 16 minutes when Davy Edmee directed a James Potton effort into his own net for, what was to be the first of three own goals on the night.

Jamal Lowe made it two after 22 minutes, latching on to a good through ball from Potton, turning and slotting home past Simon Dent in the Saints goal.

A rare break by the visitors was thwarted by Moussa Diarra just after the half hour but this was to be their last real opportunity of the half.

As Hemel poured forward, Zack Reynolds almost made it three when he created some space in the box but saw his shot well saved by Dent.

Just before the break, skipper for the night Daniel Talbot crashed home a free-kick that left Dent rooted to the spot to give the home side a 3-0 half-time lead.

At the start of the second period, things got worse for St Margaretsbury when Charlie Edwards was given a red card for a terrible challenge on Kyle Connolly.

The resulting free-kick was driven into the box and was completely missed by Lowe but found Moussa Diarra’s thigh which directed the ball past the unfortunate keeper to make it four.

It was now a case of how many, with some desperate defending by the visitors, but it was all vain as Connor Scully completely miscued a clearance on the edge of the box, the ball flying high up into the night sky and back towards his own goal.

Dent tried to get a hand to it but the ball ended up in the back of the net for one of the most bizzare own goals ever seen at Vauxhall Road.

The Tudors were now rampant and Reynolds fed Lowe who fired home for his second of the night to make it 6-0.

Matt Saunders then drove down the right, before crossing to an unmarked Luke Allen who made it seven before a third own goal conceded by the unfortunate Ed Thorey made it 8-0; his back pass hitting a divot, which took it past Dent’s foot as he tried to clear and the keeper could only watch as it rolled agonisingly just inside the post.

The scoring was completed in the 83rd minute when the impressive Allen combined well with Dennis Oli to fire home from a tight angle.

Hemel’s joint manager praised his team for a thoroughly professional night’s work and was pleased with the work rate and effort shown by all the players.

Hemel Hempstead Town: 1: May 2: Asafu-Adjaye (12: King) 3: Connolly (14: Oli) 4: Reynolds 5: Johnson 6: Diarra 7: Talbot © (16: Allen) 8: Daly 9 : Lowe 10: Saunders 11: Potton. Subs not used 15: Hawkins 22: Walker

St Margaretsbury 1: Dent 2: Sharman © 3: Horey 4: Edwards (red) 5: Maybury 6: Wylie 7: Edmee( 17: Spicer) 8: Scully (14: Charles) 9: Summers 10: Mitchell 11: Roberts (15: Light). Subs not used 12: Bartlett 16: Lillis.

Man of the Match : Wes Daly

Attendance 116

A second half hat-trick from Josh Chamberlain put Berkhamsted through to the last-eight of the Herts Senior Cup on Tuesday night as they bounced back from defeat at Ampthill.

Mick Vipond was able to bring back four players and his team looked too strong for a young Hoddesdon side, most of whose better players have left for better teams since the sides last met.

In the first half Berko had most of the play but their crosses kept going across the goal with nobody applying the finishing touch.

However, Ike Nzurba opened the scoring against the run of play after about half an hour. He got in a shot when several defenders were in attendance in the middle of the penalty area, and it looked like Berko had the numbers to clear it.

Ed Canham had to come off with an injured leg in the move that led to the goal, and Alex Foster came on for his first game of the season and played well at left back.

Berko swapped goalkeepers and knew if they kept playing football the goals would surely come.

A deep cross from Courtney Massay was headed home by Josh Chamberlain who hung in the air to equalise.

Chamberlain then broke the netting with a shot to put Berko in front, while Town appealed in vain for offside.

Richi Robins saved another Chamberlain shot, but Jordon Frederick followed up and made it 3-1.

A defender was robbed to allow Chamberlain to score his hat-trick and put Berko in the quarter-final draw for the first time.

Berko: Barnes (Tasker), Massey, Baldry, Hawes, Canham(Foster), Rodrigoe, Mannion(Towell), Laville, Christie, Frederick, Chamberlain. Subs. Not used Kelly and Ward.

On Saturday Berko have a real six-pointer when they are at home to top of the table Sun Postal Sports in the SSML Premier Division.

Striker Louis Bircham could make his debut after signing from Leverstock Green where he was top scorer, while Vipond is hopeful that Jamie Gavin and Ashley Morrissey may also be fit to boost the squad.

On Tuesday, Berko are away to Wembley in another important league match.

Meanwile, Berko’s reserve team hope to pull back a single goal deficit on Saturday at Uxbridge and win through to an away tie at Leverstock Green.

The Berko U18 side’s next game is at home to AFC Dunstable on Wednesday, December 10.

Kings Langley Ladies’ winless league streak continued at the weekend despite a strong start against Bedmond Ladies.

Amber Harris got her first goal for the club, latching onto Danielle McMullan’s pass to fire Langley into the lead after eight minutes.

However, Bedmond came back strongly and a 10-minute spell saw three goals conceded before half-time.

After the break, Bedmond went close on several occassions, being thwarted by Abbie Tarsey in Langley’s goal, and striking the upright.

On 57 minutes Amy Belcher’s goal-line clearance spared Langley’s blushes, but a fourth goal was conceded in the last 20 minutes.

Sophie Jackson reduced the arrears with a superb opportunist looping shot form the edge of the area after 83 minutes, but Bedmond held on for the win.

Kings Langley Ladies are without a game this Sunday, and are eagerly awaiting news on when then can play their second round County Cup tie.

The Dacorum & Tring AC Road Runners were out in force this weekend at the inaugural Hatfield 5 – a five-mile race hosted by ActiveTrainingWorld at the University of Hertfordshire.

More than 60 club members took part in the race, making up a fifth of the entire field of some 300 runners.

The club came away with scores of PBs on the flat and fast course as well as finishing second overall in both the men’s and ladies’ team events.

First man across the line for the club was Jamie Marlow, 10th overall in a time of 29.04.

He was followed by 16-year old Rhys Rowlands, in a new PB of 30.52, and Duncan Hamilton just behind in 31.27.

Next over the line were Matt Hamilton (32.05), Russell Morris (32.05), Chris Marriott (32.14), Douglas Hamilton (32.30), Steve Russell (32.51) and Chris Kitchener (33.09) – all scoring new PBs for the distance.

Ania Gabb was the first lady for the club and second senior lady overall, in a new PB of 32.44; hot on her heels was Samantha Fawcett, third senior lady, in a new PB of 33.24 and Kelly Du Buisson, also with a PB of 33.54.

Elizabeth Roberts was fourth lady for the club, finishing in 34.44, followed by 15-year old Grace Birdseye in 36.01.

The remaining finishers for the team were John Hopper - 34.08; Matthew Hallissey - 34.31; Richard Slack - 34.50; Richard East - 35.19; Paddy Ashton - 35.31; Michael Lamb - 35.32; Samantha Sullivan - 36.15; Wendy Pearson - 36.31; Ken Perry - 37.16; Martin Kerr - 37.52; Amy Perry - 38.04; Catherine Davies - 38.05; Karen Wishart - 38.06; Rob Deane - 38.24; Alex Dean - 38.41; Rachel Lewis - 40.01; Alison Richardson - 40.24; Louisa Hopper - 40.25; Debbie Kennard - 40.22; Jessica Tanner - 40.44; Carolyn Heeps - 41.38; John Slack - 41.42; Claire Copperwhite - 41.59; Victoria Thornley - 42.00; Pat Hayball - 42.46; Jason Hawkridge - 42.48; Caspar Du Buisson - 44.13; Esther Hamilton - 43.47; Kirsty Russell - 43.53; Brittany Salt - 42.52; Rob Salt - 43.53; Michelle Ashwell - 43.56; Gary Sturdy - 44.44; Samantha Hawkridge - 46.39; Carol McDonald - 47.39; Janice Briggs - 47.31; Jayne Birdseye - 47.49; Anya Higgins - 47.56; Robert Wright - 50.11 and Keeley Hawkridge.

Elsewhere, Dacorum & Tring AC’s young athletes came away with more superb results in the third leg of the North London League cross country series at Enfield’s Trent Park on a brutally muddy, wet and hilly course.

First off was 10-year old Olivia Edwards, who finished a fabulous fifth, only 20 seconds off first place in the U11 girls’ race over 1,500m.

Next to race were the U11 boys and U13 girls, who ran together over a 2,450m course.

Jamie Bailey was fourth overall for the boys, Thomas Ashton was 10th and Sam Burnell was 17th, with the three boys combining to finish as sixth team overall out of 52 boys from 12 teams, while Maddie Perry finished fifth overall for the U13 girls.

Kristian Imroth had another stellar performance, crossing the line in second place overall for the U13 boys, only 12 seconds off top spot, over the longer 3,000m course, with team-mate Freddie Truman-Williams in 11th and Max Benveniste in 33rd.

Grace Birdseye had her best finish of the season, finishing seventh in the U15 girls’ race, also over 3,000m, while Joshua van Heiningen was seventh in the U15 boys race, held over 4,200m.

Rhys Rowlands and Matt Renphrey ran strongly in the U17 men’s race, the longest race of the day at 5,600m, finishing 9th and 11th overall. The club’s middle distance coach, Mike Dunphy, noted that “all the athletes ran extremely well and continue to improve with every race.”

> Parkruns aplenty for the Harriers

Parkruns dominated the Gade Valley Harriers’ weekend running, with Harriers travelling to five different venues for the 5K races.

Four Gade Valley athletes took on the Tring parkrun, with Tom North first back for the Harriers in 12th place in a time of 22:11.

North was followed by Andy Norton in 22:56, Russ Bailey 24:49 and Martin Storrie, returning from knee surgery, in 27:54.

James Thomson and Jenny Barnett were representing the Harriers at St Albans parkrun, where Thomson finished in a new PB of 20:58 and Barnett came home in 30:25.

There was just one entry at Black Park this week, where Vince Ellerby completed in 12th place overall out of 348 runners, in a time of 19:43.

Matt Ashby was the lone Harrier at Canterbury parkrun, where he achieved fourth overall place out of 70 runners, in a time of 20:46.

Maxine Bateman took on the scenic Forest of Dean parkrun, where she finished in a very respectable 30:10.

> Pacemakers lead the way at Tring

Eight runners kindly offered to be pacemakers at this week’s Tring parkrun - resulting in a host of new PB times being set.

Aiming for times ranging from 22 minutes to 35 minutes, the pacemakers had a tough task ahead of them on the undulating course.

As the course is partially through woods, the running GPS devices don’t always get a constant signal and therefore timing can become trickier.

As a result most of the pacers beat their target times by a fair margin but this seemed to help with the PBs as other runners were tempted to follow them, This resulted in 40 per cent of the runners who had tackled the course before achieving personal bests this week.

There was a lower turnout of 110 runners, but eight age category records were still achieved.

Claire Hallissey beat the previous ladies’ record by just one second with a time of 20 minutes and 37 seconds. She was followed by Claire Shelley and Rosanna Iannone.

For the males, James Davis from Aylesbury was the fastest finisher, followed by Jonathan Peters and Nicholas Williams.

Conor Richardson was the fastest male junior and Isabella Bidlake Hull was again the fastest female junior.

Registration for Tring parkrun is free at www.parkrun.org.uk/tring

Chelmsford City are offering a ‘pay what you want’ deal for the visit of the Tudors in their Conference South fixture on Saturday.

In addition to this, there will be a parrot Santa with free gifts for kids, breakfast available from 11.30am to 1pm, a beer festival, a mince pies and mulled wine stall, and a tombola.

Newcastle versus Chelsea will also be shown on a big screen from 12.45pm, and the Tudors Supporters Club will be running a coach to and from Chelmsford for fans.

For further information, please visit www.hemelfc.com

The Tudors go into the game on the back of a 9-0 victory over St Margaretsbury in the Herts Senior Cup.

Hemel manager Dean Brennan said: “Chelmsford are very strong experienced team, with plenty of pace in wide positions.

“They are one of the biggest clubs in our league and have a fantastic supporter base.

“It’s another tough challenge for us but one we are really looking forward to. I expect it to be a very attack minded game as Chelmsford like to play free flowing football and play with two out and out wingers.

“We have had a excellent return from our November fixtures, let’s hope we can get December of to a similar positive start.”

Hemel Hempstead fighter Ed Arthur claimed the vacant Superior Challenge bantamweight title via unanimous decision as he defeated Martin Akhtar at Superior Challenge 11 in Sweden.

In the opening round, Arthur scored a quick takedown but Akhtar scrambled to his feet and proceeded to score with a nice takedown of his own.

After a few moments on the ground, Arthur secured his second takedown, before failing in an attempt at a guillotine in the closing moments of the round.

After some knees were exchanged against the fence in the opening seconds of round two, the fight again hit the deck with Arthur working his way to Akhtar’s back – looking to secure a rear-naked-choke.

The fight then returned to its feet and Malmo native Akhtar sent Arthur to the canvas with a nice hook.

However, the referee stood the fighters up and deducted a point from Akhtar for persistently elbowing Arthur to the back of the head while on the ground.

In the final round, the Englishman scored an early takedown and landed some punches while attempting to secure a choke.

Akhtar landed a knee to the forehead of Arthur, resulting in the Hemel Mixed Martial Ats trained fighter again taking the fight to the ground, where he eventually secured the judges verdict to take the title.