FOOTBALL: Fulbeck United reach Amateur Cup final for second successive season

Two sides were in contention looking for a place in the final of this year’s Amateur Cup, while four other clubs were in action in round two of the Challenge Cup.

In the Amateur Cup, Fulbeck United were seeking to reach the final for a second season in a row, having been losing finalists to the Blues Club last season.

Their opponents were Cherry Willingham who were unbeaten in their last eight games and had lost just once this season.

On the day, Fulbeck showed they are a bit of a cup side as they recorded a 4-0 win to reach yet another final.

Will Allen bagged himself a hat-trick, his third of the season and 15th goal in total. Also on target was Paul Crampton with his seventh goal of the season.

Beating their opponents 4-0 meant Cherry had failed to score for the first occasion this season in 14 games.

In the final, Fulbeck will meet Birchwood United on a date yet to be decided. The two sides played out a goalless draw in a league game back in November.

Title contenders Horncastle Town Reserves and Birchwood United locked horns in the Challenge Cup.

Birchwood had won their last four games and lost just one all season. In this winning run, they had beaten Horncastle Town Reserves 2-1 in the semi-final of the Amateur Cup just two weeks ago. This defeat for Horncastle was their first reverse in their last six games.

In a typical cup tie, both sides battled to the end but Birchwood eventually took the match by the odd goal in seven.

Horncastle’s scorers were Ash Bullivant, George Swift and Dave Maplethorpe. For Birchwood, Jay Tinker netted twice (eighth of the season), with Paul Nicholson (11th) and Danny Kent (fourth) bagging the others.

Horncastle are in cup action again on Saturday when they visit AFC Crown and Arrows in the second round of the David Cooper Cup competition.

Meanwhile, in the second Challenge Cup tie, AFC Crown and Arrows visited Retford Town, looking for back to back wins for the first occasion since the opening two weeks of the season.

Retford, on the other hand, were after a first win in five games, and first home win since December.

Hitting four goals for the second successive match, the Lincoln side won 4-2. For Crown and Arrows, Danny Bee netted two to take him to 13 for the season, along with one each from Pete Bee and Liam Bentley, while Dan Law got both Retford’s goals, taking him to eight for the season.

Fixtures: David Cooper Cup, second round (1.30pm) – AFC Crown & Arrows v Horncastle Town Reserves, Birchwood United v Ruston Sports, Cherry Willingham v Retford Town. League (2pm) – Railway Inn v Saxilby Athletic.