West Riding County FA Challenge Cup fourth round: Littletown 1 Steeton 4

STEETON progressed to the quarter-finals after inflicting a rare defeat on their league rivals.

Littletown have only lost once in the Premier Division this season so the Chevrons knew they were in for a tough game.

The home side had a great chance to take the lead when leading scorer Joe Jagger pulled a shot narrowly wide after being put through.

Keeper Wayne Mahomet had to be alert on two occasions as he was out sharply to block an effort and then held onto a shot from the edge of the box.

Steeton took the lead from their first opportunity as Graham Holmes turned smartly and fired into the bottom corner.

The goal saw the balance of play swing towards the visitors. Andy Holden did well on the right-hand side, his cross being just too high for Alex Yates to get a good contact.

Steeton doubled their lead as Joe Mason fed Yates, whose trickery proved too much for the home side. He clipped the ball across goal and Ben Richardson headed home from underneath the bar.

The visitors suffered a blow when influential midfielder Tim Hird was forced off with an ankle injury and replaced by Jonson Butterfield, with Richardson moving into the middle of midfield.

Steeton were unlucky not to increase their lead when Olly Hunter's in-swinging corner caused havoc under the home side’s bar. They managed to scramble the ball free when Yates’ header was bundled away.

The second half saw Littletown put Steeton under pressure. However, with Stephen Pearson winning most of his aerial battles with Jagger and Alistair Morgan ably supporting him, the home side were reduced to long-range efforts until the 66th minute, when Jagger stabbed home a ball across the box to reduce the arrears.

With Yates tiring, Andy Briggs was introduced to give Steeton fresh legs up front. Holden had a shot blocked as the visitors went in search of a killer third goal but suffered a real scare at the other end when Mahomet finger-tipped a long-range effort onto the bar before Mason cleared.

With the clock ticking down, Briggs worked hard to win the ball on the right. He beat his man before cutting back for Michael Rhodes to calmly guide the ball into the top corner to give Steeton a 3-1 lead. Butterfield then had a shot saved as Littletown were left dead on their feet.

With the last kick of the game, Hunter broke through and slotted the ball into the bottom corner to seal an impressive win and send Steeton into the last eight.

Chevrons boss Roy Mason said: "It was a superb performance and I was really pleased with not only the workrate of the players but also their game management.

"We have been in 2-0 positions a few times this season and not seen the game out, but our fitness levels were stronger and our decision-making was spot on throughout."

Steeton return to league action on Saturday at home to Overthorpe (2pm).

Steeton: Mahomet, Mason, Hunter, Morgan, Pearson, Hird (Butterfield), Holden, Rhodes, Richardson, Yates (Briggs), Holmes.