Ten-man Oxhey Jets slipped to third-from-bottom in the Spartan South Midlands League Premier Division after title-chasing Welwyn Garden City ran out 4-1 victors at the Boundary Stadium on Tuesday.

The hosts were well in the game at the break as Jon Clements’ 22nd-minute opener was cancelled out when Chris Blunden set up Jahobi Maher for the equaliser shortly before the interval.

The hosts continued to frustrate their high-flying opponents after the restart, but the game was to turn in Welwyn’s favour when Patru Marius-Cosmin was sent off following a clash.

The visitors soon made their numerical advantage count when Dan Bond put them back in front in the 67th minute, and Clements was to go on and complete a hat-trick with goals after 77 and 87 minutes.

Jets do have games in hand on all but one of the teams above them in the lower half of the table and will look to improve their position at home to Colney Heath tomorrow.

The only team above Oxhey to have played a fewer number of matches at the wrong end of the Premier Division table are Tring Athletic, who suffered a 5-1 drubbing at Edgware Town on Tuesday.

The visitors started brightly but the wheels to well and truly come off for the visitors in a disastrous 34-minute spell that saw them concede five times before half-time.

Omololu Onabolu was the main beneficiary as he scored a hat-trick, and further goals from Luke Durnin and Steven Benavides added to the visitors’ misery.

With the game gone, injury-ravaged Athletic showed plenty of spirit after the break, but their sole reward was to come when Chris Vardy side-footed home a Jack Read cross with five minutes remaining.

Like Oxhey and Tring, Leverstock Green also saw their game on Saturday fall victim to the freezing conditions and, like their Hertfordshire neighbours, they were also beaten when conditions improved in midweek.

Green had travelled to Colney Heath off the back of a three-match winning run and they were to fall behind in the 19th minute when Jack Woods cut inside and lashed a shot past goalkeeper Mackenzie Taylor.

Levvy’s best chance of equalising before the break came in injury-time when Reece Cameron hit a shot narrowly wide.

Colney’s second goal came six minutes after the restart in straightforward fashion when an unchallenged Jimmy Hill headed home a corner.

The visitors did have chances to get back in the contest, but Brima Johnson hit the side netting and Chris Gosling and Cameron fired over in the closing stages.

Premier Division leaders Berkhamsted had a night away from league action as they eased through to the semi-finals of the St Marys Cup with a 7-1 victory over Markyate PSV.

The bulk of the damage was done by the strike pairing of Ashton Campbell and Sean Coughlan, who scored six goals between them against the West Herts League outfit.

Coughlan hit the post and Campbell fired home the rebound to open the scoring before Coughlan also netted to give Berko a 2-0 lead after just 10 minutes.

Campbell scored again when he reacted well to an error by Andy Findlay in the Markyate goal and he was to complete a first-half hat-trick with a header from a Dan Jones corner.

Alex Campana made the next two goals for Jack Stevens and Coughlan’s second. Campbell and substitute Adiel Mannion also hit the post for the rampant home side.

A controversial decision to let play continue when a forward wrestled his way past the last Berkhamsted man led to a consolation goal with a fine lob over Carl Tasker.

Within a minute though, Campbell had restored the six-goal advantage with an impressive volley into the bottom corner of the net.

Berko’s reward is a home semi-final against the winners of next week’s tie between Tring and Chipperfield Corinthians.