Hampsthwaite 2

Yew Tree 7

After last week's seven goal haul against lowly Pool Reserves, Yew Tree faced a resurgent Hampsthwaite side that had comfortably won their previous three games against much superior opposition.

However, Yew Tree were obviously in scoring mood again led by Ben Kelly who notched four.

Manager Simon Malpass was forced to ring the changes after Robbie Field and Richard Danskin withdrew at the 11th hour due to work commitments and the absence of John Wilby was clearly noticed.

Shooting down the slope Yew Tree were slow out of the blocks as usual and a surging run from Adam Parker resulted in his speculative drive squirming under the huge frame of Tony Kirk. Captain Nigel Smithson's frustration and disgust was evident as tempers began to fray and Yew Tree's panic was further demonstrated when Hampsthwaite's Rushton fed Thewlis whose shot evaded the grasp of an extremely frustrated Kirk.

Yew Tree face this uphill struggle quite regularly but no man could have predicted what was to follow. Having clearly been the underdogs in the first 15 minutes, Yew Tree turned on the quality and class and a beautiful chip by Ben Kelly rebounded off the bar and fell to Richmond who made no mistake.

Five minutes later Kelly made his own luck and netted his 30th of the season after good work by Simon Malpass. Having levelled Yew Tree went back to basics and let the football do the talking.

A score of 2-2 at half-time would have been a true reflection but Yew Tree sneaked a peach of a goal when a monstrous throw in by Richard Field was powered in on the run by Thomas Armitage to give Yew Tree an undeserved half-time lead.

Malpass's half time lambasting is becoming a regular feature of Yew Tree's game plan and this was exacerbated by Nigel Smithson who remained on the pitch raring for the second-half to commence.

And commence it did. Richmond was the first to make Hampsthwaite feel the wrath of Yew Tree's half-time talk, latching on to a Graham Pollard pass to shoot high into the net. Hampsthwaite's misery was compounded further when Kelly's alertness saw him finish in style to give Yew Tree an unassailable 5-2 lead.

With Nigel Smithson and Alan Wrigglesworth providing extra men on the break, gaps began to appear and with Graham Pollard and Stuart Thompson cancelling out the mostly feeble efforts on Kirk's goal, the game was effectively dead and buried.

Kelly had the last word and a sublime piece of ball juggling followed by a pin-point volley could quite well go down as goal of the season. There was still time for Kelly to add another after he re-directed Oliver Sutcliffe's goalbound shot into the corner to crown a superb individual display. Man-of-the-Match was awarded to Nigel Smithson.

The central defensive partnership of Smithson and Pollard is arguably the safest in the area at the moment and Yew Tree can count themselves lucky if they are blessed with their services next season after much interest from other clubs. The 42-year-old Tony Kirk's performance between the sticks is also extraordinary.

l On Saturday Yew Tree travel to Burley Trojans in the league.

Rawdon unlucky

to go out

Park Rangers 2

Rawdon AFC 2

(Rangers won 4-3 on penalties)

PARK Rangers moved into their second cup final after a pulsating match against their old rivals Rawdon. After landing the spoils last week Rawdon were out for revenge against a very strong Park Rangers team.

Within the first 20 minutes Rawdon took the lead when a right-wing cross was headed in by Kevin Gilks. Then on the stroke of half-time a Darren Auton free-kick somehow went through a crowded penalty area and in off the post to level.

The second-half was a ding-dong battle and both sides had countless chances to take the lead. Kevin Gilks set off on a superb run, going past three Rangers players before unleashing an unstoppable shot.

With time running out and a change in goal through an injury to Craig Perkis, the number one jersey was given to Phil Robinson, who was to be the hero of the game.

A superb ball was sent over the top to put Tim Brierley in the clear but a controversial linesman's decision sent the tie in to extra-time with only a minute left on the clock. As Brierley rounded the 'keeper Paul Dabill ran on to the ball and ran it into the net. Definite off-side but no flag was raised much to the dismay of Rawdon and Rangers had got out of jail.

The tie went to penalties and 40 year-old Robinson made two brilliant saves to send Rangers into the final. Rawdon will feel very hard done by as they were the much better side over 90 minutes. Man-of-the-Match was Craig Auton at the heart of the Rangers' defence, who showed real class and a never-say-die attitude.