ORLETON Colts paid the price for a seven week lay-off as they were knocked out of the Herefordshire Football League Senior Cup following a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Tenbury United.

And player-manager Kristian Morgan praised their Premier Division rivals who booked their place in the semi-finals thanks to a goal in each half.

The Colts were last in action on December 5 when they were edged out by league leaders Wellington Reserves. And although regular training sessions have kept the players fit, Morgan says it took a while for them to find their feet against a good Tenbury side.

“I’ve no complaints, Tenbury deserved it,” Morgan admitted. “But we hadn’t played since the start of December and it took us a while to get going.

“It was 1-0 at half-time and although we played better in the second half, they scored again with about 20 minutes to go and that killed the game a little bit.

“They’re decent and very strong at the back. They just didn’t give us any chances.”

Mike Foster’s goal steered Tenbury into a half-time lead with Chris Patton doubling the lead after the interval, pouncing after the Orleton defence had failed to clear.

They will now play either Hinton or Ewyas Harold in the semi-finals after their match was postponed.

With Colts heading for a mid-table finish, the only chance of silverware this season is now in the Newcastle Cup and Presteigne Otway Cup.

“We always enter these competitions because it gives us some extra games,” Morgan added.

“It has been a frustrating season. We played five games in the first two weeks but since then we’ve not been able to get a run of games in because of the weather and because there are so few teams.”

And while Orleton are without a game this weekend, this is one Saturday that the players knew would be blank.

Morgan explained: “We always have a free day on the last Saturday of January because we go as a team to Cheltenham races. We’ve been doing it for four or five years and it’s good for team-building.”

There was disappointment for Orleton Colts Reserves who lost their Division One match at Bromyard Town 5-2 to leave them at the foot of the table.