SHRIVENHAM’S poor run of form continued on Saturday as they were dumped out of the Hellenic League Challenge Cup by Brimscombe & Thrupp.

A goal with ten minutes to go in the tie was enough to send the visitors to Barrington Park through to the next round with a 1-0 victory and pile more misery on Shrivvy.

Manager Sam Collier saw the cup as an opportunity to experiment and try to find a solution to what has been going wrong for them in the league but despite a strong defensive performance, the home side were lacking in front of goal.

The withdrawal of Josh Fowler in the first half was also a big blow, as the striker was proving to be a thorn in the opposition’s side.

Collier knows his side have not been getting much luck recently but believes Shrivvy capable of turning things around, despite many other Hellenic League teams eyeing up some of his prize assets.

“We made a few changes for the game. We are on a poor run of form so we rested a few players and rested the captain, but it was not the result we were looking for,” said Collier.

“Josh Fowler went off after 24 minutes and that affected us - he was getting in behind the defence and looked like scoring.

“We did a few new things. It was a cup game, so I made a few changes and tried something different, but the league is our main bread and butter and what we need to be focused on.

“I was pleased with the performance and felt that we should have gone 2-0 up but we didn’t take our chances.

“It was the opposite of how we have been playing recently. We have been poor at the back but good going forward.

“Other than a great save from Adam Moody, they didn’t really look like troubling us, so defensively there were lots of positives to take.

“There is no hiding from the fact that we are struggling, especially when you open the paper and see that we have lost again, but that doesn’t tell the whole story.

“The chairman has reassured me that he is happy with what I am doing and that my job is certainly safe but we need to start turning things around.”

Elsewhere, Highworth Town filled their boots in their first round Challenge Cup tie as they hammered Division Two East outfit Stokenchurch 8-0.

Top-scorer TJ Bohane starred as he found the net four times in Buckinghamshire, with his second coming from the penalty spot as the striker took his tally for the season to 11 goals in 12 games.

Nathan Blackford got in on the act as he netted a brace whilst defender Shaun Carter was also on target twice to round off the rout.