Royston 2 West Herts 2 ROYSTON were disappointed not to have taken all three points on Saturday, after creating a number of chances to win the match. The hosts began well and went ahead with a strike from Dan Smith, after sustained pressure on the

Royston 2 West Herts 2

ROYSTON were disappointed not to have taken all three points on Saturday, after creating a number of chances to win the match.

The hosts began well and went ahead with a strike from Dan Smith, after sustained pressure on the West Herts defence.

However, it was not long before the visitors equalised when a ball driven into the D was well finished by a Herts striker.

Royston again managed to take the lead with an excellent short corner that was deflected in by Graham Mack, but the hosts' inability to stretch their advantage cost them dearly, as West Herts again found an equaliser from a short ­corner of their own.

Royston remain unbeaten, but if they are to ­continue their success, they will have to keep a cooler head in front of goal, as a number of chances went begging and eight short corners wasted.

Cheshunt II 0 Royston II 2

AFTER two league defeats, Royston needed a strong performance to get their season back on track - which they did and in some style.

Close marking and hard challenges gave Cheshunt no chance to settle, and Royston quickly imposed a fast tempo that the hosts never looked like matching.

Sam Polge making his debut, left the Cheshunt defence in tatters, as he constantly probed down the right, and it was only an outstanding series of saves that denied Chris Watson and Josh Jackson early goals.

But the breakthrough came 10 minutes before half-time, when Simon Campbell swept the ball to man-of-the-match Polge, who cruised past his marker and slipped the ball to Matt Allsopp who unleashed a great shot from the top of the D.

The second half saw Royston increase the pressure, with Watson being denied another attempt on goal by some superb last-gasp defending.

Jackson and Watson went close again midway through the half, before the dynamic Mike ­Welding had a goalbound shot stopped on the line.

However, Welding's persistence was to be rewarded moments later when he crashed the ball into the net after a well-worked ball down the right.

Royston V 4 Bishop's Stortford VI 2

ROYSTON secured a well-deserved win that pushed them to the top of the table.

After a tense opening 15 minutes, Royston took the lead against the run of play when Nigel Philips waltzed past the Stortford defence and smashed the ball into the corner of the goal.

This was followed by a powerful strike from John Sussex, which left the goalkeeper and a few defenders shaken.

Stortford however, were not prepared to give up and before half time, they had pulled it back to 2-1 after slamming home a short corner.

In the second half Stortford bombarded Chris Markham's goal with a series of attacks.

And it came as little surprise when they levelled shortly after the restart.

However, their equaliser sparked a swift response from Royston, with Steve Gourd, Nigel Philips, and Mike Papworth testing the Stortford keeper, and within minutes they were back in the lead.

Royston then made it four with five minutes remaining, with a well-worked short corner eventually finding John Sussex, who finished with a calm authority.