Resilient Walnuts bow out of FA Cup

Following Saturday's 1-1 draw with Whitton, Rovers made four changes to the starting line up. Corey Bulley, Angelo Moscaritolo, Reece Martindale and Simeon Horne all made their first competitive starts for the club, replacing Jesse Sidhu, Folarin Awoleke, Rafal Wielblad and the injured Josh Davey.

The opening half hour was even, with both sides creating a number of half chances, Saturday's goalscorer Taylor Bakogeorge with Rovers' best chance after beating the offside trap, however his effort was well saved.

The hosts opened the scoring soon after, Rovers lost possession in the middle of the park, and a direct run from Ethan Clarke led to a powerful shot beating Carl Knox in the Rovers net.

Kempston changed to a flat back four in the second half, with Ayomide Akinbobola replacing Angelo Moscaritolo. Rovers came out the blocks well for the second 45, and equalised through sub Akinbobola. Harvey Laws picking the ball up and finding an inch-perfect ball through to Akinbobola who slotted past Spurling in the Whitton net.

Rovers had the opportunity to keep the momentum going, however Whitton re-took the lead 20 minutes later. A similar build up to the first, Josh Hubert gaining possession on the half way line, and firing into the top corner from 25 yards out, Knox with no chance in the Rovers goal.

Giovanni Moscaritolo was introduced up front, and had an effort excellently blocked late on which would have forced extra time. Ollie Dunlop was given a second yellow for the hosts with 5 minutes to go, but Rovers were unable to capitalise.

Rovers can be proud of their efforts over the last two fixtures, 14 players made their first team competitive debuts, with 8 of these having played for youth teams within Kempston Rovers, either currently or in the past. Reserve manager Roger Martindale will start his league campaign on Tuesday as they travel to Huntingdon Town, looking for more success in the UCL Reserve League.

Kempston Rovers would like to thank all management and players who have been a part of the last two games, over what has been a challenging few weeks for the club. The reserve management and players, as well as the first team players who have persisted with the club deserve the utmost respect from all involved at KRFC, and have conducted themselves excellently over the last two games.

New manager Scott Dash will take the reigns for the start of our Southern League campaign this Saturday, where we head to North Leigh. The next match at Hillgrounds is on Tuesday, where we host Welwyn Garden City in the league.