Hambleton Ales League Cup

Second Round

Black Bull 4 Rountons 3

DIVISION two promotion-chasers Black Bull pulled off a cup shock last Sunday with victory over division one strugglers Rountons in a thrilling and controversial tie at the Hambleton Leisure Centre.

The home side got off to a flying start, scoring twice in the opening six minutes. Lee Soper's brilliant run down the right in the fourth minute created the first for Carl Kelly, who finished well from ten yards.

Rountons hardly had time to recover from that when Bull scored again. Ben Connolly pulled the ball back from the right and Craig Chandler's shot was turned in from close range by Alan Brierley.

The visitors then had a great opportunity to get themselves right back in it from Shaun Harrison's eighth-minute corner, but Black Bull keeper Ricky Schofield made a brave save at the feet of Dave Porritt.

But that was a rare chance for Rountons at this stage as the home side were very much in control. The dangerous Brierley was causing the visitors' defence plenty of problems and, with Connolly dominating the midfield, it was all one-way traffic.

After 25 minutes Brierley broke clear down the left and cut inside, but his shot flew just wide of the far post. Six minutes later Soper's shot across the goal was scrambled clear by the Rountons defence.

It was very nearly 3-0 in the 34th minute when Andrew Duffy slid in Chandler on the left. His shot beat Ian Whitfield in the Rountons goal, but came back off the far post.

That seemed to wake the visitors up and they finally began to get into the match. In the 40th minute Tom Pilling headed over from close range following another corner from Harrison and they should have pulled one back two minutes later when Neil Hemmingbrough's rash challenge on George Gilchrist resulted in a penalty. But Harrison wasted the opportunity by blasting the spot kick over the bar.

But Rountons did not let the miss affect them and in the final minute of the first half Andy Hill's aerial power almost brought a goal. His first header was well saved by Schofield and from the resulting corner he headed over from close range.

Black Bull came out for the second half looking to kill the game off. Brierley burst through in the 46th minute, but shot straight at Whitfield, before a corner from Soper fell to Chandler, who could not quite turn the ball in from six yards.

Brierley then had a great chance to make it 3-0 when he capitalised on a mistake by Hill in the 53rd minute, but Whitfield was quickly out of his goal to deny him.

It looked like proving a vital save for Rountons as they pulled a goal back four minutes later. Oliver Watts chased what looked like a lost cause down the right, but he kept the ball in and pulled it back for Chris Martin to fire home from ten yards. Now we really had a cup tie as the action swung from end to end.

Hill almost headed an equaliser for Rountons on the hour, but Schofield produced a great save to deny him. Then Black Bull raced straight up the other end and this time it was Whitfield saving well from Brierley after he ran clear of the Rountons defence.

But the keeper could do nothing three minutes later when Brierley once again burst through from the halfway line. This time he lifted his shot over the advancing Rountons keeper and into the net for a fine solo goal which put the home side back in control.

It should have been all over with 20 minutes left when Duffy latched on to more defensive uncertainty from the visitors, but he shot over the bar from a good position.

To Rountons' credit they did not give up and they got themselves back in the match for a second time in the 74th minute. The ball came out to full back Neil Keetley on the right and, from a seemingly impossible angle, his powerful cross-shot flew straight into the far corner of the net.

Now the visitors really pushed on to try to keep alive their cup dreams. But every time an attack broke down the home side looked dangerous on the break. The pace of Brierley and Kelly always had Rountons stretched and both missed good chances to wrap up the win for Black Bull.

With ten minutes left it did seem all over for Rountons when Brierley was sent tumbling in the box under a challenge from Hill. Although the contact seemed minimal the referee pointed to the spot and, despite the furious protests of the visitors, Brierley kept his cool to smash in the spot kick and complete his hat-trick.

Rountons seemed to be fired up by their sense of injustice and they came storming back. In the 86th minute Hill hit a brilliant, rising 30-yard effort into the top corner of the Black Bull net to set up a grandstand finish.

They then threw everything at the home side and in the final minute they almost sent the tie into extra time when Harrison chipped a dangerous free kick into the Bull penalty area. But the home side somehow managed to scramble the ball clear to clinch their place in the next round.

Despite the controversial nature of their late penalty, Black Bull deserved their victory over the 90 minutes and their reward is a tie against another division one side, Topcliffe, in the third round.