4:20pm Monday 4th May 2009
By Trevor Adams
Ventus Sports at last got their hands on a trophy when they stopped league champions Buttershaw White Star from completing the league and cup double for the second year in succession.
Ventus edged a seven-goal thriller at Plumpton Park on Sunday in one of the best Bradford Senior Cup finals ever seen.
Sports started to pressurise the champions’ goal from the outset and went in front after ten minutes, Jamie Buchanan scoring from close range after a goalmouth scramble.
Things went from bad to worse for for the champions five minutes later when Brett Nissin was dismissed by referee Adam Bowen for retaliating after being fouled.
Neil Murray doubled Sports’ lead with a well-taken goal after half an hour but a minute before the break a terrible blunder by Sports keeper Stuart Wilkinson allowed ten-man Buttershaw back into the game, when he dropped Marc Price’s speculative shot over the line.
Excellent goalkeeping by Mark Bower in the White Star goal kept them in the game, and they went on to equalise through Jordan Missin.
Four minutes later, Missin struck again to put White Star in front for the first time.
Play swung from end to end and both teams had chances to score but in the 77th minute a handball by a Buttershaw player on the goal-line led to Andrew Philp equalising from the spot.
Ventus regained possession on the resumption and Ian Horrocks beat Bower with a shot to clinch a well-earned victory.
Thornton will be playing Premier Division football next season when they rounded off their league programme with a resounding 4-1 victory over White Eagles.
The Division One champions produced a Premier performance and strikes by Jerome White, Kyle Shah and Mathew Hartley were eclipsed by a wonderful effort from Sean Durkin, who rounded three players before beating the opposing keeper.
Goal-machine Micky Hanan hit five and, together with a hat-trick from Danny Steele, ensured that Baildon Trinity Athletic got the point they needed to go up with Thornton as they thrashed Great Northern 11-1.
Even keeper Mathew Havyard got on the scoresheet with a clearance out of his area.
Lee Harris hit a hat-trick for Westwood Park in their 7-2 win over Dudley Hill Rangers but they failed by one point to gain automatic promotion.
In Division 1B, Ventus United, who have timed their run-in to perfection, ended as champions with a 5-3 victory over Dudley Hill Reserves.
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