Two goals by player-manager Frazer Triggs helped a weakened Knebworth put Ickleford to the sword in the HSCL Aubrey Cup.

Leading by example he latched onto a Sam Harte knock down and withstood a tough tackle before slotting the ball calmly past a despairing keeper.

It was a fairy tale start for Triggs, forced to don shirt, shorts and boots because five regular Knebworth players were either injured or unavailable.

His first goal was the comfort Knebworth needed to settle down after what had been a nervous start in the face of a constant Ickleford onslaught.

Playing at a lightning pace, with no quarter given, Ickleford had caused problems by delivering good balls down the wings to create chances in front of goal.

Only a display of dynamic goalkeeping from Adam Burnett kept the visitors at bay, winning Knebworth valuable time to organise their defence.

In a game of attack and counter-attack, a spectacular solo effort after 74 minutes saw Harte run the entire length of the pitch beating off all challengers to hammer the ball past Adam Mardell in goal.

And then Triggs was in action again, speedily firing home a squared ball after Raja Tandoori man of the match Alex Close had skilfully broken through Ickleford’s back line, to make it three nil.

Ickleford, growing in frustration, began to lose their fluidity but they weren’t finished yet.

Just minutes before full time, Ricky Young cut across the edge of the box before rifling a low hard shot into the Knebworth net to make the final score 3-1.

After the game, Triggs said: “It was a great performance all round and especially in the circumstances where we had five lads missing we really had to roll our sleeves up and work hard for our win.

“We were that short that I even had to kit up and start the match and was delighted to chip in with a couple of goals to help the team get the win.

“We really needed this win as it will give the lads the confidence to push on.

“There’s always room for improvement so we will work hard in training again and look to get another win next week against Sarrat.”

Meanwhile Knebworth Reserves suffered a last minute defeat at Wormley after a Liam Kenna brace had hauled them back to 3-3.