SHORTWOOD suffered their third bone injury of the season as their threadbare squad suffered a 3-0 fourth-round floodlit cup defeat at Tuffley Rovers, writes Jim Cunneen.

Club captain Joe Tryner dislocated his elbow just 24 minutes in from his comeback game after suffering a long-standing back niggle, which has seen him feature just 10 times for the Nailsworth club this season.

Tryner was taken to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital where an X-ray revealed no break, but a badly dislocated elbow.

"It was a fifty-fifty challenge and momentum carried me over and fell on my elbow," revealed Tryner, who is in his final year studying Sport and Exercise Science at Gloucestershire University.

Tryner, who is also a sports scientist intern at Forest Green Rovers, added: "I'm going to struggle for the first few weeks as not allowed to drive. I was having a good game as well, cleared one off the line and made a few good blocks early on."

With so many players missing it was no surprise that Tuffley were on top from the start and Clark was called into action after only 2 minutes saving at point-blank range from Kent. Kent found himself through after 12 minutes and knocked the ball past the advancing Clark, but Tryner somehow managed to knock the ball off the line.

The game turned on a 12 minutes spell at the start of the second half when Wood conceded all three goals. After 50 minutes a cross in from the left was met by a thumping header from the unmarked Ebanks. Virtually straight from the kick off Clark mistimed a challenge on Ebanks as he raced through and Mann scored from the inevitable penalty. When Rhodes headed home a corner after 63 minutes the tie was over but Shortwood have nothing if not spirit.

Time-after-time Wood pushed and probed for a goal, but Tuffley’s defence generally held firm. Beadle shot narrowly over and just before the end Rovers keeper Merchant made a superb flying save to deny Soule, and Shortwood, the goal they richly deserved for their battling performance.

Shortwood: Clark, Kalnins, Waddington, Halliday (Blythe 67), Snook, Tryner (Soule 24), Hudson, Byrnes, Philp, Beadle, Mills (Aaron Lowe 56)

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