They may have exited the cup earlier than they hoped, but for Witchford 96, there are plenty of reasons to hold their heads high.

Adam Richards’ side fought valiantly but were denied a semi-final spot after a 4-3 defeat at West Wratting in the Cambridgeshire County League’s Senior Cup on Saturday.

Despite going down to 10 men, the visitors conceded a stoppage time goal to send them out of the competition against what their manager believes was the toughest opponent possible.

“On paper, we felt like we got the toughest draw we could have possibly got away at West Wratting, but in this cup, the so-called easier games have been hard,” Richards said.

“We’d rather have a great game against them and feel like if we succeed, we earn it rather than getting through by not having to test ourselves.

“I think we rise to the occasion in those games and the result could have easily gone our way, so it shows we’re mixing with those sides now, which is great.”

Witchford had drawn and lost their opening two group games, but responded with three straight wins to propel them into the knockout phase.

It is this response that Richards hopes can lead his men to another impressive season at step seven, even if he is still looking behind his shoulder.

“We’ve been credited for our hunger to win, plus we’ve got some very good players so when we work hard, the quality shines through,” he said.

“I think we can start looking upwards rather than downwards, and a realistic aim is the top six.

“I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves just because we’ve had one good half-season. We know we’ve got to work hard and to stay in the division again is the main aim.”

Cottenham United made it into the last four with a 3-2 win at Cherry Hinton on May 15 to earn them a semi-final at Newmarket Town Reserves.

In the Intermediate Cup, Stretham were beaten 4-0 at Division 1B side AFC Walpole in the last eight.

The semi-finals will take place on Saturday, May 22 at 3pm.

Senior Cup

Newmarket Town Reserves vs Cottenham United

West Wratting vs Eaton Socon

Intermediate Cup

Exning United vs AFC Walpole

Cambridge University Press Reserves vs Buckden

Junior Cup

Orwell Reserves vs Needingworth United

Brampton Reserves vs Clare Town Reserves