TWO local football players had an unexpected meeting on Saturday – at the Royal Gwent Hospital.

Sam Marmont and Daniel Williams were playing for the Mathern Wanderers A and B sides when they got into the wars.

The A side cruised into the semi-finals of the Benevolent Cup with a 5-0 home victory over Severn Tunnel NP A thanks to two goals each from Alex Bell and Wayne Duffield and one from Robert Wood.

But the win was bitter-sweet after the Wanderers' defender Sam Marmont emerged from a tackle with a broken right arm and was kept in overnight at the Royal Gwent hospital.

"The surgeon told me I need to have a plate inserted in the arm," Marmont said.

"I was supposed to have the operation today (Sunday) but it was put back because there was an emergency."

Writing on Mathern Wanderers' Facebook page, Marmont, 32, said he was "bored" but is hoping to be given the go-ahead to play for Mathern on Saturday when they entertain Caldicot Town in a league match.

The injury jinx also hit Mathern's B team during their 3-2 Benevolent Cup win at Tintern Abbey, Daniel Williams being taken to hospital after suffering a broken jaw in an aerial challenge for the ball.

"I just remember going up for the ball and the next thing I was on my knees on the ground with someone pouring water over me," he told his friends on Facebook.

"I was sitting in A and E and then Sam Marmont came in," he added.

The match, which appears to have been a fairly feisty affair, also saw Mathern's Billy Jeffery dismissed for violent conduct.

Underwood eased into the semi-finals with a 6-3 home victory over Thornwell Red & White.

Saturday's fixtures (KO 2.45pm): Division 1 - Mathern A v Caldicot Town; Underwood v Chepstow Town; Undy Athletic v Severn Tunnel A; Blackrock Rovers v Chepstow Athletic. Division 2 – Port and Sud v Severn Tunnel B; Tintern Abbey v Castle A; Castle B v Castle C; Sudbrook v Thornwell.