Aycliffe and Shildon Fox meet in final
Sunday 15th April 2007
Division Three Cup semi-final
Aycliffe Village 3
Sproates 2, Griffiths
Fox and Hounds 1
Hart
DIVISION THREE rivals Shildon Fox and Hounds and Aycliffe Village will meet in the final of the divisional cup after they won their respective semi-finals.
The two sides have been neck-and-neck at the top of Division Three all season – their final league game at Oak Leaf Sports Complex next Tuesday (April 24) night will decide the league title.
And they will meet again in the Division Three Cup Final at Coxhoe on Friday April 27 (6.30pm kick-off) after Aycliffe beat Merrington Fox and Hounds 3-1.
Darren Griffiths put Aycliffe 1-0 before Shaun Sproates scored on either side of half-time to make it 3-0.
Jonathan Hart scored a long-range effort for Fox before they put Aycliffe under some pressure, but it was too little, too late.
Aycliffe manager Steve Moran said: “I think we were value for the win and deserve to go to the final. It’s been a great season for us up to now, but now two games in a week will decide whether we win anything!
“It would be a bonus if we could get something, but that aside the competition in the division has been excellent all season and I’d compliment all teams for the standard of football, especially by the likes of Merrington Fox and Castle.”
In the other semi-final, Shildon Fox beat the Southerne Club 2-1 at home. After the Fox took a 2-0 half-time lead thanks to Ian Maddison and Stephen Hall, Nathan Wintour netted a second-half goal for the Southerne to put the firm favourites under some pressure.
Fox boss Dave Owens admitted: “It wasn’t one of our best performances, and it wasn’t the best game of football to watch, either! We’ve certainly played a lot better, but it’s a cup final so of course we’re delighted to reach one in our first season in the league.
“It’s been an excellent season for both sides but there’s a lot resting on these last two games!”
| 
