Enfield Ignatians will face defending champions Hammersmith & Fulham in the Middlesex Cup semi-final next month after overcoming HAC 22-18 at Chiswick on Saturday.

The visitors twice fell behind in the first period but managed to level the scores 10-10 at the break following tries from fullback Jack Wilson and centre Alex Andreoli.

The Wilson try was particularly well taken and resulted in a pre-rehearsed move being executed to perfection, whereas the Andreoli try had its origins in some excellent work from the pack which stole one against the head after shunting the HAC tight eight into reverse on their own scrum feed.

Ignatians could have been marginally in front at the interval only for Jordan Wilson to scuff a relatively straightforward penalty late in the half.

A poor third quarter saw Ignatians slip 18-10 behind on the scoreboard as Nick Moore added to the HAC ledger following successful first-half tries from Harry Iles and Alex Crouch.

A successful penalty further discomforted the visitors as HAC built an eight point cushion.

However, any notion that the Blue and Golds were dead and buried was given short shrift as scores from Christo Kasabi and man-of-the-match Dave Gear, who ran a lovely line, allied to Jordan Wilson's conversion, sealed the win.

The Kasabi score was born out of a five metre scrum which went awry. However, Ignatians regrouped and a secondary surge resulted in the Cypriot international forcing his way over.

The conversion was missed but Ignatians were very much on target after winning a lineout in a good attacking position. The ball was touched three times by the visitors before Gear, restored to his rightful role of flanker after starting out on the wing, came hurtling through.

The momentum caught HAC on the hop as Gear ran his way in from 30 metres. The extras put Ignatians in the driving seat and after successfully weathering a tense last five minutes, the Blue and Golds deservedly progressed to the last four of the competition.

Head coach Emile Hertz said: "What we wanted was for the players to come off the field smiling and it was great to see so many happy faces. It's amazing what a difference a week makes and we've earned ourselves a home semi-final.

"We had to make a few enforced changes, particularly at nine and ten, and it showed at times in our game management. However, we got through it and defended really well in the last five minutes when HAC threw everything at us.

"The main thing is that we kept going, even when the chips were down, and we showed the necessary heart and desire to win the game when it mattered most.”

Ignatians entertain Holt in London Two North-East on Saturday.