A young Colney Heath side gave a fine account of themselves as they exited the Herts Senior Cup with a 2-1 defeat at Hemel Hempstead Town.

And such was the battling performance of the young Magpies that the Vanarama National League South side were hanging on at the end.

The Tudors had raced into a 2-0 lead before the half-hour mark, Magloine Muyembe firing home from a Sydney Ible cross for the first and Matteo Mendy pouncing for number two.

But the youngsters rallied and a surge forward from Joe Newton allowed Harry Shepherd to blast the ball home and give Colney hope.

The second half saw Danny Fitzgerald crash a shot into the side netting, the second time he had done that in the game, and then a Will Bisney header flew across goal and wide.

Their final chance saw a long throw from Harvey Scott flicked on by Andy Sears-Black but then put over the bar by Sam Doolan.

They are back in SSML action on Saturday when they go to high-flying Tring Athletic.