Harrogate Town coasted into the final of the West Riding County Cup with a comprehensive victory over a game, but outclassed, Silsden F C.
The game was over as a contest inside the first half hour,as the visitors failed to deal with Town’s power and intensity.
On seven minutes, Jack Emmett opened the scoring,when he broke down the left and keeper, Daniel Thorpe could only parry his powerful shot into the net.
A Harry Coates header soon made it two,and then,two goals inside a minute, put Town out of sight.
Firstly, Andy Gascoigne rifled a shot into the top corner and seconds later, Tom Platt turned in Louis Swain’s low cross.
At the break, a cricket score looked on the cards,but the North West Counties side had other ideas.
The rangy, Joshua Metcalfe was brought on at half time and soon Jack Powis had to make a good tackle to dispossess him.
Town were slow to get into their stride and Silsden took full advantage when Fred Midgeley outstripped the home defence to lash in an unstoppable shot past Tom Stewart.
Josh McNulty, then drove a free kick at Stewart and the visitors began to pass the ball around well but could make little impression on the Town defence.
Jordan Thewlis soon extinguished any hope of a Silsden fight back,when he rattled the crossbar from the edge of the area, before shortly afterwards beating Thorpe with a tremendous cross shot from a Dom Knowles pass.
Silsden, keeper and captain, Thorpe,saved brilliantly from Lewis Riley with his legs and then brought the 151 crowd to its feet with two stupendous saves within a minute from Riley and Knowles, earning himself the Harrogate Town Supporter’s Club, Man of the Match award.
Dom Knowles eventually got himself onto the scoresheet with a shot on the turn into the far corner,before completing the scoring with a well struck free kick into the far corner, after Emmett had been fouled twenty yards out.
This means Town now have a West Rding Cup Final date with Bradford Park Avenue, at Valley Parade, home of Bradford City, on Tuesday, the 19th of April, KO 7-30pm.
Town
1 Stewart, 2 Powis, 3 Swain (Day 59), 4 Worrall (Colbeck 67), 5 Foster (Riley 59), 6 Coates, 7 Platt, 8 Gascoigne, 9 Knowles, 10 Emmett, 11 Thewlis.
Unused subs,12 Thirlwell,17 Higgins. Bookings nil
Scorers, Emmett 7,Coates 19,Gascoigne 27,Platt 28,Thewlis 66,Knowles 83,87. Att.151
By John Harrison
