Ron Eaglen Challenge Cup Semi Finals
The first domestic Cup final of the current campaign was decided when New Swan FC and Rustons United defeated their Semi Final opponents to book their place in the showdown at Sincil Bank in May. The trophy is currently held by Ruston Sports so the boys from Rustons United would dearly love to see the trophy slip across to their side of the trophy cabinet down at the Ruston Marconi Social Club.
Rustons United made the final after a hard fought 2-1 success against local rivals Lincoln Moorlands/Railway. Jonny Drabble and Josh Raby got the goals in the first half of the game as the home side raced into a 2 goal lead before George Aspin pulled a goal back for the Moors before the break. Despite a close second half the home side held out to book the first of what they will hope may be two prestigious Cup finals as they have also reached the Semi Final of the Lincolnshire County Football Association County Sunday Cup.
New Swan FC have had their share of struggles this Season after a near faultless campaign last time around but today Josh Schofield showed just how good he is with all 4 goals in his team’s 4-2 win over Hykeham Town TRFC at the Birchwood. Ash Stephenson opened the scoring for the visitors before Schofield opened his account for the day to see the game all square at the break. Grant Foster restored the lead for Town only to find that Scofield’s second would level everything up to send the game into extra time. 2 further goals from Scofield put the game beyond the visitors to put a smile on the Swan players as they look forward to the final at the end of the Season.
Premier Division
The Cup Semi Finals caused the postponements of 2 scheduled games in this Division which resulted in just 2 League games being played. Current leaders Anglers FC extended their lead over Rustons United when they produced a narrow 2-1 home win over neighbours Saxilby Athletic to earn the bragging rights in their local pub. If League positions are anything to go by it may have been quite a shock when the visitors were leading 1-0 at the break on a heavy and difficult pitch however a second half brace from Liam Uzzell turned things around and extended the Division’s newest team’s lead to 7 points.
At the other end of the table Newton United have been marooned on the bottom but their 2-1 home victory against Hykeham Memorial saw them rise a couple of places to dump their opponents on the day into the bottom spot. Newton had Paul Leedle to thank for giving them a half-time lead, and they doubled that lead in the second half with a goal from player Manager Joe Newton before Memorial pulled a goal back from the penalty spot.
Division One
Leaders AFC Golden Eagle made it 11 League wins out of 12 games courtesy of a solid 4-0 away win against FVA Jerusalem. Davis bagged a brace and individual goals from Greaves and Higginson completed the scoring for the Eagle. Welton Sports AFC maintained their challenge behind the leaders when they defeated bottom side AFC Lincoln Green 4-1 at Fen Lane. All the goals in this game came in the first half with Joel Sharp hitting 2 goals and Olly Furness and Sam Gordon hitting one a piece. Jamie Leeming recorded a consolation goal for the hosts. Wishing Well Cherry FC are showing impressive consistency and this was underlined with a 4-1 home win against mid-table Trent Valley FC. John Pinnington, Lee Lynch, Tom Hewitt, and Craig Barlow got the goals for the home side whilst Nigel Wallace scored a consolation for the Trent boys. This result secures 4th place in the table for Wishing Well who look well placed to kick on over the games that remain this Season. Bassingham Bugle Horn FC came unstuck when they entertained Railway Inn AFC as they went down 0-1 to a solitary goal from Brad Shields. Despite this reverse Bassingham still sit comfortably in third place in the League. The final game in this Division between Wragby FC and Welton FC fell victim to a waterlogged pitch at Wragby.
Division Two
This was the Division for goals with the surprise leading scorers on the day being Dunston FC. Prior to their game they had scored the fewest goals in the Division bar one team so their 11-1 home win against Lincoln High Street FC changed that statistic once and for all. Somewhat amazingly it was the visitors who took the lead before the Dunston goalscoring machine went to work. Paul Masters equalised for the home side before a first half brace from Dale Firth put them in control. A fourth followed from Shinny Williamson to give them a 4-1 half time lead. After the break Firth added three more goals, Masters added a goal to his first half strike, Williamson completed his hat-trick and Jack Halls completed the rout with a goal of his own. This result propelled the Dunston boys up to 8th place to lift their spirits and give them a real boost with such an impressive result. Coningsby FC missed the chance to regain top spot when they travelled to Shakespeare Athletic but a 3-6 reverse did not see them get the result that they were looking for. The home side boasted 2 hat-trick heroes with both Marshall and Crampton each grabbing a hat-trick apiece. Dan Nixon, Charlie Stapleton, and Dean Morgan all hit the target for Coningsby FC which proved little more than reducing the areas for the visitors on the day. Plough Sturton hit 9 away at Waddington United with hat-tricks recorded by both Tom Everington and James Patching. Alex Cawkwell hit two with their scoring being completed by Stephen Pell. Waddington’s goal was scored by Will Brothwell. This result sees Plough sitting in fourth position with Waddington now occupying 7th spot. AFC Harpars climb to 5th position after a 3-1 away win at Heighington FC, their goals coming from Burn, Roberts, and Cunningham, with Stevie Smith hitting the target for the hosts. The final game in the Division saw the points shared in a 2-2 draw between North Lindum Hawks and Cherry Willingham FC. Jordan Taylor put the visitors ahead inside 2 minutes and the same player equalised for Cherry in the last 2 minutes. Details of the North Lindum scorers have not been submitted.
Division Three
Leaders Birchwood United enjoyed the day with a comprehensive 5-0 win away at Lincoln RNA. They lead 1-0 at the break but 4 further second half goals put the gloss on their day. Goals from Chris Reid, Nathan Reid, Karl Horry, and 2 from Laurie Ley did the trick for United. Queen in the West lost to Queen Athletic 1-2 up at Yarborough after Chris Moulds and Paul Marklew scored the goals for the visitors with Tim Oliver hitting the goal for Queen in the West, who remain second in the table. Nettleham FC remain in a great position to challenge and their 3-2 home win over Mareham United keeps them well placed for that challenge. James Kerrigan, Tom Parker, and an injury time winner from Bryan Skayman did the trick for the Nettles after Mareham thought they had secured a point. Nettleham are fourth in the table but have 4 games in hand and are showing the sort of consistency that will have all of the teams around them keeping an eye on their results for sure. Broadley FC hit 5 goals in a 5-1 home win against Railway Inn United, with Stevie Stallard, Jay Smyth, Oli Bentley, Ash Paulson, and Jamie Warman all on target for the home side. The remaining game between Newtoft Terriers and The Sports Bar was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch at Newtoft.
Division Four
Morning Star FC extended their lead at the top of the table without needing to take to the field as their opposition of the day, Branston Homeguard, were unable to raise a side and the points were awarded to Morning Star as per Rule. Shakespeare Imps FC now occupy third place after their 5-1 away win at the Blue Lion FC. Unfortunately there are no details known as to who scored the goals for either side. FVA Jerusalem won a 5 goal thriller at Green Dragon by 3-2 and AFC West End enjoyed a 4-2 home win against HBW United. Aaron Gorman and James Dewhurst each bagged a brace for the home side as Leigh Oldham and Kevin Wint were on target for the visitors.
Ian Stephenson