SINGH Sabha made progress in the High Wycombe Challenge Junior Cup after an impressive 4-1 win at Old Windsor on Saturday.
Mubarak Bashir was the star on show as his stunning first-half hat-trick sealed victory over the unbeaten leaders of the East Berkshire League Premier Division.
Sabha went into the second round tie on a poor run of results including being knocked out of the Berks & Bucks Intermediate Cup and knew they must bounce back.
Their makeshift defence was rarely troubled but a moment of lapse saw the home side get in and take the lead with a goal from Harry Farnam. The hosts reacted quickly to a corner kick and a player could turn in the box before crossing to give Farnam a simple tap-in.
The visitors reacted and were level moments later as a fine run from Pritpal Raju saw him slip in Bashir to shoot past the keeper in a flash.
Singh Sabha then got their noses in front when a long throw from Jameel Ahmed evaded everyone and the ball fell invitingly for Bashir to slash home on his left foot.
Sabha looked confident now and started to dominate the tie, and with minutes remaining until the break, Bashir grabbed his hat-trick goal.
PHOTO: Numaan Khan (far right) put in a man-of-the-match performance for Singh Sabha in the High Wycombe Junior Cup.
Man-of-the-match Numaan Khan won back possession and found a nice pass through to Bashir to break through and finish past the keeper.
Old Windsor threw everything at Singh Sabha in the second half but some fine goalkeeping from Hassan Hussain ensured the defence was not to be beaten. His efforts included a stunning double save.
Sabha then made some substitutions to maintain their levels of intensity and two replacements combined for the fourth goal. Nadeer Shafi made a fine run but was brought down outside the box. The referee played advantage as the ball ran loose to Umar Riaz, who slotted in Raju to secure the win with a simple finish.
Old Windsor suffered a blow late on when a player was sent off and Singh Sabha progress to the quarter-final.
The two sides will meet for the third time in six weeks when Windsor make the trip to Sabha in the league this Saturday (2pm).
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