Tamworth go into the deciding leg of the semi-finals with a one-goal cushion.

Local lad Scott Rickards scored in the 43rd minute in front of a crowd of more than 2,100 to give The Lambs a 1-0 advantage ahead of the second leg at Havant & Waterlooville this Saturday.

Tamworth have already beaten their Dr Martens League Premier Division rivals at Westleigh Park this season, winning 3-0 in the opening league game of the season.

Manager Darron Gee said: ‘We always knew the first leg would be a tight affair and that no-one was going to get away with scoring three or four goals.

‘We were highly delighted with our performance. They are a dogged side and came to frustrate us and for their part it worked.

‘We go down there this Saturday full of confidence. I said to the players after the game that we are not going to defend it, we are going to win it.

‘We expect them to come at us and we will have to match them. I feel we are more than capable of doing that because we have a strong squad and everyone is fit again.’

Mick Jenkins, joint manager of Havant & Waterlooville, was particularly pleased with his young side’s defensive performance.

He said: ‘I felt they did very well against an experienced side who are a lot physically stronger than us. I thought that defensively we worked extremely hard.

‘We are not too displeased with the result and hopefully there will be more to come form us at home as an attacking side.’

Ryman League Premier Division Aylesbury United were held at home to a 1-1 draw by UniBond Premier outfit Burscough in front of a crowd of more than 1,500 in the first leg.

Player-assistant manager Craig Maskell, whose career has taken him to Southampton, Huddersfield, Reading, Swindon and Brighton, opened the scoring for The Ducks.

Manager Steve Cordrey said, “They probably went away feeling they should have gone a couple of goals in front.

“We were disappointed with the way we performed, but it’s all still to play for. They will be favourites, but strange things can happen in the cup and we will treat it like a one-off tie.’

Gary Martindale, who was transferred from Burscough a decade ago to Bolton Wanderers before moving on to Peterborough United, Notts County, Rotherham United and Telford United, equalised for The Linnets.

Manager Shaun Teale said Martindale was pleased to have got on the score-sheet, having gone three games without a goal.

He said: “If someone had said before the game that we would have got a draw, we would have taken it but having said that we had two glorious chances in the first half to have buried them.

‘It’s up to us now. It’s all to play for with 90 minutes to go.’

There is prize money of £6,000 to be awarded to each of the winning clubs. The final will be played at Aston Villa’s Villa Park for the third consecutive season on Sunday, May 18, and will be shown live on Sky Sports. The winners will receive £12,000 in prize money.

SEMI-FINALS SECOND LEG, SATURDAY, APRIL 12

Burscough v Aylesbury United
Kick-off 3pm

Havant & Waterlooville v Tamworth
Kick-off 2pm