WRCAFL Premier Division League Cup Semi-final: Steeton 2 Campion 1

A PULSATING encounter saw Steeton reach the final after beating Manningham outfit Campion at Silsden's Keighley Road ground.

Work commitments meant that Michael Rhodes was unavailable for selection and an eye injury prevented leading scorer Lee Reilly from being named in the squad. Steve Pearson took the number two jersey and Graham Holmes joined Andy Briggs up front.

In a cagey first half Steeton attacked well down both flanks, with Alistair Morgan constantly overlapping on the left and Declan Consoli putting in good crosses from the right.

After 26 minutes the Chevrons felt they should have had a penalty after a hefty challenge on Briggs but the officials claimed the ball had been won fairly.

Just before the interval Campion had two opportunities to open the scoring but both efforts were smartly dealt with by keeper Wayne Mahomet.

Alistair Morgan almost opened the scoring for Steeton after only four minutes of the second half, following a smart interchange of passes with Andy Holden, but his shot went just over the bar.

The close attention of centre back Kyle Fox meant Campion's first opportunity of the second half went wide of the mark. However, just one minute later Steeton were again indebted to Mahomet, who bravely dived at the feet of an oncoming striker to prevent an opening goal.

At the other end Holmes perfectly controlled a high ball out of defence before swivelling to make an excellent shot which narrowly missed the target.

The opening goal came after 63 minutes when Holden pounced on a defensive error and, despite being pushed out wide, his shot found the net from the narrowest of angles.

The lead lasted just ten minutes when, after a swift passing move down the left, the ball was pushed inside centre backs Fox and Sam Rooke and Campion striker Jordan Missin poked the ball home, despite the best efforts of Mahomet.

Campion almost took the lead ten minutes later but a free-kick was superbly parried by Mahomet.

The goalkeeper was by now carrying a leg injury which prevented him from kicking the ball more than just a few feet. Fox had to come to his rescue to clear his own short-range back pass.

With only five minutes left, Briggs' hard work was rewarded when he latched onto a long ball out of defence and drove it past Willis to notch his fourth goal of the season.

A mazy run by Holden almost brought his second before Campion almost scored a last-gasp equaliser but were thwarted by the save of the night when Mahomet pushed a blistering drive high and wide of the target.

In the final Steeton will meet Huddersfield YMCA or Golcar United, who play their semi-final at Emley on April 6.

Steeton: Mahomet, Pearson, Morgan, Fox, Rooke, Hird, Holden, Thompson, Briggs, Holmes, Consoli.