Lazio, who were coming into the game off a 6 week break having not played any fixtures in December, started the game well but got caught with a sucker punch 5 minutes in. A good through ball saw an Ampthill winger through on goal. Thomas saved the initial effort but Lazio didn’t manage to clear their lines and Ampthill’s centre forward ended up nodding the ball home to give Ampthill a 1-0 lead. Lazio quickly steadied themselves and importantly got back on level terms within 10 minutes. Josh Green swung a corner into the back post where both Chris and Tycho were queuing up to meet it. Chris got there first and nodded the ball down into the bottom left corner of the net to make it 1-1.

Lazio went on to dominate much of the play for the remainder of the half but without creating too many clear cut chances. The boys got into a lot of good positions in and around the Ampthill box but were guilty of overplaying, looking for one pass too many or just picking the wrong option. At the other end Ampthill were playing on the counter and playing more direct, making use of their pace up front. Lazio had a warning 5 minutes before halftime when Thomas did very well to push a well struck effort from Ampthill onto the post. However two minutes later Lazio’s luck ran out when Ampthill re-took the lead with a header from a corner.

2-1 to Ampthill the halftime score.

Lazio came out firing for the second half and enjoyed their best spell of the game. They were camped in Ampthill’s half for the first 15 or 20 minutes of the half and were rewarded with two goals within a few minutes of each other. Firstly Harry tapped into an empty net after the Ampthill keeper had pushed away Josh Green’s effort. Then Theo latched onto a through ball from Charlie and neatly slotted home. 3-2 to Lazio with about 25 minutes to go.

The remainder of the game was tight, both teams had openings. For Lazio, Charlie, Blake and Kingy all had decent long range efforts, while Josh Green was unlucky to see the Ampthill keeper make a good save after he’d gone through one on one. At the other end there were some dangerous balls played into the box and some last ditch defending was needed at times but the Lazio back four stood up to the task. With about 6 or 7 minutes to go the game was effectively settled when Lazio grabbed a fourth goal to give them a two goal cushion going into the remaining minutes. After the Ampthill keeper had misjudged a through ball Josh Green gratefully ran through and tapped the ball into an empty net. 4-2 Lazio.

There was still some work to be done in the last 5 minutes, with Ampthill piling forward with nothing to lose. Thomas was called into action with a good tip over the bar and he also did well in claiming a few corners to relieve the pressure. Otherwise the Lazio back four, along with the midfielders in front, continued to hold firm and were determined to see the game out - which is exactly what they did, 4-2 to Lazio the final score.

An outstanding performance all round from Lazio today and a great achievement from the boys to make it through to the County Cup semi-finals. The Gartec Player of the Match was a tough choice as always but Tycho got the nod for another rock solid display at the heart of the Lazio defence, well played Tycho.

Well played and thanks also to Tycho’s dad Tony who ran the line for us today - and the best news of all, as well as a referee we should get linesmen appointed for the semi-final, so all parents will get a week off from the dreaded flag that day.