A bad-tempered game at the Chicken Shack left St Ives licking their wounds after defeat to Long Buckby.

It ended 18-5 after tempers frayed in the second half and both teams ended with one man failing to see out the contest.

It was a far cry from the start of the day where the mood was a happy one and saw Ives parade their new kit for the first time.

The Hunts Post: Josh Dear finds no way through for St Ives against Long Buckby.Josh Dear finds no way through for St Ives against Long Buckby. (Image: Paul Cox)

The visitors were in no mood to let the hosts carry on enjoying themselves though and they dominated territory and possession for the majority of the first period.

It wasn't until the final moments of the half when they finally breached the Ives defence though, the hosts only have rare forays forward and failing to take their best opportunity with a misplaced pass.

The Hunts Post: Mike Brennan dislodges the ball with a thumping tackle.Mike Brennan dislodges the ball with a thumping tackle. (Image: Paul Cox)

They still felt positive for the second half with just a seven-point gap to overcome but that 's when the game took a swift turn in the opposite direction.

Duncan Williams was the man seeing red for Ives, with Long Buckby's Tim McRae also going off in the same incident, and Bradley Robinson and Mitch Newman both saw yellow during the course of the 40 minutes, meaning Ives played a man short for the majority of the half.

The Hunts Post: Alex Henly makes a break for St Ives supported by Ollie Bartlett and Mitch Newman.Alex Henly makes a break for St Ives supported by Ollie Bartlett and Mitch Newman. (Image: Paul Cox)

They conceded another try, and then two penalties, and it wasn't until the final 10 minutes of the half that any semblance of phase play brought about the hosts only score, Ollie Bartlett diving over in the corner.

St Ives are potential opposition for Huntingdon & District after the Stags booked their place in the Hunts & Peterborough Cup semi-final.

They advanced with a 52-19 win at the Racecourse over Peterborough and will now play either St Ives or St Neots.

Head coach Reggie Reid decided to shuffle the pack for the clash with eight changes, six of those in the forwards.

The first half was very competitive and Huntingdon were only five points clear at he break, two tries from Tango Morgan and one from Will Hirons giving them a 19-14 lead.

The second half though saw the pace of the Stags backs begin to tell and they went on to add a further five tries.

Morgan completed his hat-trick while Hirons added a second to his tally. Sam Hirons, Jack Skidmore and an eye-catching individual effort from Matt Murphy, his first for the first-team, finished off their afternoon before Peterborough a well-deserved third.