Yorkshire Amateur League: Town edge thriller to reach the semis

After the Teesside League side equalised three times, Morley skipper Marc Haley stepped up in the fourth minute of added time and fired in an unstoppable free-kick to seal the win.

Ryan Hartley gave them the lead in the 18th minute at Glen Road but Redcar pulled themselves back into the game through Kyran Clark and would do so again thanks to Michael Dowse and Craig Hodgson.

With Aidan Philip and Hartley having their strikes cancelled out it looked like the tie would be going to extra-time, only for Haley to take matters into his own hands from long range.

Morley club secretary Noel Bullock reckons that they have a good chance of going on to win the Shield with their semi-final tie against Farnley Sports a winnable one.

“It’s a competition that we always enter because we always think we’ve got a good chance of winning it,” said Bullock.

“Most seasons, we generally do better in the Shield than in the League Cup or District and County Cups.

“I don’t think Farnley are as strong as they were a few years ago, when they went unbeaten through the league season and won every game.

“They’re languishing in the Premier and we’re at the top of the Championship, so we’re quite happy with that draw.”

Farnley, their semi-final foes, also came through a topsy-turvy tie that saw them beat Grangefield Old Boys 4-3 after extra-time at Weetwood.

Grangefield scored first as Tom Needham turned in a rebound but the visitors were level within five minutes as Danny Purcell took advantage of some sloppy defending.

Nick Smith tapped in from two yards to regain the lead and it was 2-2 at half-time with Liam Copeland restoring parity from a tight angle.

Copeland and then Smith, from the spot, traded goals in the second half but the winner came for Farnley with 10 minutes of injury-time to play, red-hot striker Shane Gaunt on target. In a delayed second round fixture, Alwoodley made it through to the quarter-finals by beating an unusually flat Drighlington 2-0 on Adwalton Moor.

The late postponement of Alwoodley Reserves’ league game saw seven of their players hotfoot it across town and it paid off as Dino Mulavdic bagged a brace either side of half-time.

Division One side Dewsbury Rangers faced an uphill task at St Mary’s Yarm and they lost 4-0 on their trip to Teesside but can be proud of their cup run this year.

In the Premier Division, Farsley Celtic Juniors and Ealandians shared the spoils in a top-of-the-table clash that ended 1-1 at Bradford Academy.

The away side were the first to score, Colin Schofield converting an exquisite corner from Wayne Crossley.

Barry Thirk’s champions drew level in the 40th minute through Ben Wilson and although both teams had chances in the second half, Lee McGrath made some fine saves.

By virtue of Stanley United’s game at Wigton Moor being postponed, Leeds Medics stayed top of the table with a 3-0 defeat of a valiant Beeston Juniors.

Brad Chambers got his 14th of the season when he converted a loose ball and it was two when Alex Monk planted home a stunning 25-yard strike later in the first half.

Beeston battled away but James Chadwick’s third just after the interval, added to Rakaan Al-Huneidi’s superb goalkeeping, proved more than enough.

St Nicholas had a bad day at the office as they turned up to Hough Top without time to warm-up and went on to lose 4-1 to Stanningley Old Boys.

George Rutherford’s double and goals from Tom Stewart and Terrell Phillips capped an excellent first half display from the hosts.

With Farsley Celtic Juniors man Steve Wells back in their ranks, Calverley United are mounting a growing revival in the Championship and they beat Wortley 4-1.

Wells helped himself to a hat-trick and Jordan Williams was the other man on the scoresheet.

Elsewhere, Mount St Mary’s overcame a slow start to beat Collingham Juniors 3-0 and keep in touch with Morley at the top of the second tier.

Jordan Talbot’s double and Conor Parsons’ strike kept St Mary’s two points behind Town in second place.

In Division One, there were wins for Old Batelians and Gildersome Spurs amid a programme disrupted by bad weather.