There's no Rest for Travellers as they maintain superb cup form

TRAVELLERS Rest continued their impressive cup form with a statement victory over Premier Division side Royal Furlong in the Staffs FA Challenge Cup second round.

- Chris Travers

Despite facing higher-tier opposition, Travellers looked the sharper side throughout and fully deserved their place in the next round.

Josh Bowden and Mitch Marcisz both found the net twice as Rest sealed an emphatic win.

FC Newcastle Borough produced a commanding performance against Stoke Town Shamblers, comfortably booking their spot in round three.

Boro controlled proceedings from start to finish, showing their attacking quality and depth with goals spread throughout the team.

Lewis Cotton, Matt Scott, Joe Kay and Dan Gripton all played their part, alongside an unfortunate own goal that summed up a difficult morning for Shamblers.

Royal Oak also progressed after overcoming Division One rivals Coach & Horses in a lively encounter.

Oak's attacking intent proved too much to handle as they hit top gear in the last 10 minutes of the match to score three times to secure their passage to the next round.

Mitch Lowe led by example with a standout display, supported by strong performances from Joel Dale, Jake Edwards and Morgan Bratt in what was an excellent all-round team effort.

In the League Cup second round, Barley Mow edged past AFC Eccleshall in a dramatic, hard-fought encounter.

Both sides traded blows throughout, with Brandon Rafferty and Kieran Ball on target for Mow, while Daniel Byatt and Barry Fox replied for Eccleshall to set up a tense finale.

Just as the tie looked destined for penalties, Tom Tudor struck deep into injury time to snatch victory and spark jubilant celebrations for Mow.

Norton Grange also secured progression after an impressive performance against Queensberry Stoke.

Cian Macintosh stole the show with a superb hat-trick, proving too hot to handle for the visitors.

Danny Hughes added further gloss to the scoreline with a long-range strike that caught the Queensberry goalkeeper off guard.