East End Park 0

Baildon Trinity 4

ON a snow-covered pitch which was in surprisingly good condition, Baildon Trinity Athletic turned in one of their best performances of the season in the West Yorkshire League Cup.

From the moment they took the lead midway through the first-half, Baildon were generally in control.

The goal came when striker Nick James harried the Park defence and the ball ran loose in the six-yard box for Danny Steele to force home.

For half-an-hour, Baildon made it look easy but in the period just before the interval, the midfield sat back and allowed Park to exert pressure.

During this time Baildon centre- back Andy Sutcliffe suffered a bad head cut in making a vital headed clearance. He was immediately taken to hospital by manager Karl Zanft.

Sutcliffe was replaced by Andy Haran and Baildon remained in the lead until half-time when the Park manager was sent off the field in an odd incident.

He had protested vehemently to the referee that no injury time had been played in spite of the fact that there had been lengthy treatment to Sutcliffe. The referee threatened to abandon the game unless he left the pitch, which he eventually did.

During the interval, Baildon assistant manager Ian Cooper issued a 'wake-up call' and his side resumed with much more purpose and drive, playing the ball on the ground with early passes and a lot more movement.

Danny Jowett, Simon Dawson and Darren Lamiot took control of the midfield while Paul Clarke continually stretched the home defence with his pace.

It was no surprise when Baildon increased their lead. James received the ball just outside the penalty area, moved smartly across to the left and struck home a good left-foot shot.

It was generally all Baildon after this. Jowett burst through on the left, sent two defenders the wrong way by cutting inside and unleashed a shot which beat the home 'keeper and made the game safe.

The most spectacular goal was yet to come. Dawson cut through midfield and suddenly hammered an unstoppable 25-yarder into the top corner of the net.

In the second-half, Baildon played some excellent football, bringing the ball out of defence in neat passing movements through the midfield. They could - and should - have had more goals.

Outstanding at the back for Baildon was Richard Walker with strong support from left- back Mark Spillsbury.