Richardson magic puts Ryedale in final (From Gazette & Herald)

Richardson magic puts Ryedale in final

Scarborough and District League Round-up

Ryedale Sports Club have reached the final of the Scarborough and District League Cup for the first time in their history. Last Saturday, they beat Cayton Corinthians 2-1 after extra-time in a thrilling semi-final. Their reward is a place in the final at the McCain Stadium, Seamer Road, Scarborough on Friday, May 9, kick-off 7.30pm.

Cayton dominated the early exchanges and took a deserved lead when Steve McAleese, the former Pickering Town favourite, scored with an unstoppable 20-yard shot after 15 minutes. Two minutes later, Cayton hit the post, the ball rolling across the goal line before being cleared by Dave Hoyle.

Ryedale equalised on the half-hour mark. After Mike Todd was fouled, Paul Lakin's free-kick found the head of the prolific Marc Dobson, who notched his 51st goal of the season.

The second half was a more cagey affair, with both teams being limited to long-range efforts which didn't trouble either keeper. After an equally-cagey first period of extra time, Ryedale's Paul Lakin shot over from 12 yards with just the keeper to beat in the second period. With just five minutes remaining, Dobson headed the ball onto young Ben Richardson, who took everyone by surprise with a sublime first-time lob over three defenders and the keeper from 20 yards for the winning goal.

The drama didn't end there, though. In the last two minutes, Steve Roberts - usually Cayton's Mr Reliable - shot wide from a penalty and then another Cayton effort was cleared off the line by Matty Allan.

Ryedale followed up the win by earning three points on Monday night with a 4-1 triumph at West Pier. The home side, which included Pickering Town's Joe Connor, took a 20th minute lead but Ben Richardson carried on from where he left off on Saturday to level the scores before half-time. Second-half goals followed from Jason Hodgson, John Peel and Marc Dobson. Man of the match was Ben Richardson.

McCain's reached the final of the League Trophy by beating Wards reserves 3-0 with a goal apiece for Craig England, Andy Cox and Clive Moment, all in the second half.

In the first division, Edgehill thrashed Hunmanby United 11-0 including goals from Gary Heppels (5), Wayne Aziz (2) and Paul Nock (2). Filey Town remain second after a 4-1 win at Eastfield, while West Pier thrashed FC Aberdeen 10-1, which included a hat-trick for Mark Baldwin.

The second division saw Ayton win 4-0 at Snainton with goals from Andy Habberley, Andy Holden, Alex Hamilton and Ryan Jackson. Edgehill reserves beat Tennyson 8-2, with Mick Bayes and Sean Chapman grabbing two each. Cayton Corinthians reserves won 4-0 at Forge Hotel, thanks to goals from Ronnie Lamb, Lee Barber and Steve Cobb (2). Scalby had a great 2-1 win at Filey Town reserves as Jon Curtis and Neil Fryirs found the target.

In the third division, Burniston drew 3-3 at home to Seamer. Tony Hunter, Paul Brady and Ben Greaves scored for Burniston, with Mark Hodges, Marc Tyson and Anthony Jenkinson replying for the visitors.

On Sunday, West Pier beat Newlands 2-0 to win the Sunday FA Cup, with a goal in each half, Steve Sheader scoring in the first half and Mike Douglas scoring in the second half.

Updated: 14:23 Wednesday, April 16, 2003