Intermediate Cup holders Colden Common crashed out of the competition in spectacular style on Saturday against Sporting BTC - and Common old boy Dave Gray was among the scorers.

Unbeaten in all competitions since September, Wessex 3 side Common were hot favourites to beat Hampshire League 2004 side Sporting. But the underdogs ripped up the form book to record a memorable victory.

The result hastened the departure of Common boss Dave Riddell, who had already announced his intention to step down at the end of the season. Assistant Nigel Light has stepped into the breach, and will be in charge - probably until the end of the season - as from Saturday 12th, when Common entertain AFC Portchester.

Sporting took just four minutes to go ahead. Their 4-5-1 formation gave them numerical superiority in midfield, but Mark Wilson bypassed that area with a ball through the inside right channel to Kev Harris, who touched it past Dave Nicol for a fine goal.

BTC extended their lead midway through the first half when Ryan New's pass sent Paul Williams sprinting through the middle, and with the Common defence appealing in vain for offside he beat Nicol with ease - his last act before leaving the fray with a groin injury.

Common's normally fluent attack looked disjointed, and with visiting keeper Nathan Parker looking confident and saving well from Matt Rackham, the feeling grew that an upset might be on the cards.

The half-time break made little difference to the balance of play, and although Common had their fair share of the play they rarely looked like scoring.

Their plight was summed up by one passage of play featuring sub Lee Smith, who came on to pep up their midfield in the second half. Smith had two shots blocked, one after the other, and when the rebound fell to him again Parker made a breathtaking save to turn it to safety.

From the resulting corner, the ball fell to Smith for a fourth time, and this time he managed to beat Parker but could only clip the crossbar.

The match was sealed six minutes from the end when speedy wide player Gray, who had a spell with Common four years ago, seized on Sean Lahey's weak backpass and beat Nicol with a simple finish.

"We came as underdogs, and maybe Common underestimated what we could do," beamed proud Sporting manager Brian Edwards after the final whistle.

"I told the players not to be nervous and take the game to them. It was a great performance right through the team, and everyone stood up to be counted."