Howson hat-trick seals title triumph (From Craven Herald)

Howson hat-trick seals title triumph

10:55am Thursday 24th May 2012 in Football

Skipton LMS 5 Grindelton 2

Skipton LMS were celebrating after securing the victory that enabled them to retain the Craven League premier Division title.

The champions had most of the possession in the first-half but wasted many good chances to take the lead.

The first goal eventually came in the 35th minute when Leon Binney broke through the centre of the Grindleton defence and his pass allowed leading goalscorer Ian Craven to provide the finish.

Five minutes into the second-half the scores were level when Rob Bingham handled the ball in his own penalty area and received a red card. Nathan Ball gave goalie Mark Jolly no chance from the spot.

The home team restored their lead in the 63rd minute when Craven turned provider for his strike partner Luke Howson to score.

Ten minutes later Howson outpaced the Grindelton defence to score his second.

Grindelton weren’t finished and when the ball was cleared from a corner-kick Martin Dobson struck the ball from 30 yards through the crowded penalty area to score the best goal of the match.

Howson completed his hat-trick to make the victory safe and with the last kick of the game ace marksman Craven was on hand to add to his tally.