Seamer stun Edgehill to book semi-final spot

In a game switched from a frozen Staxton pitch to Seamer, it was Paddy Parke’s side, who are third-from-bottom in the first division, who got off to a flyer against title-chasers Edgehill.

Seamer dominated the opening 45 minutes, Gaz Lawton’s shot hitting the stanchion and then the Edgehill keeper before flying inches wide of the post.

Ben Mason also had a good effort saved, while the impressive Joe Gallagher also went close with a header.

Super-sub Ali Caw claimed the crucial goal on the 25-minute mark, having come on after only 15 minutes due to an injury to Chris Stubbings forcing the former Ayton man off the field.

Caw latched onto a ball over the top and finished adeptly to put Seamer in front.

Edgehill’s only clear chance of the half - and the game - fell to Danny Glendinning, who managed to miss from close range.

The second half saw Edgehill, run by Alec Coulson in Steven Clegg’s absence, switch to a back three and this seemed to pay off as they took charge of the second half, claiming the lion’s share of the possession without creating many clear-cut chances.

Sub Danny Collins hit two late chances over the bar, and the villagers’ dogged defence led superbly by Adie Blake repelled all chances thanks to a combination of goalline clearances and fine saves from Adam Morris, as Seamer claimed the deserved win along with a spot in the final four.

Parke said: “That was a brilliant performance by all the lads, it was unfair to single out just one of them.

“This is a great start to the new year and hopefully we can push on from here.”

Coulson added: “Seamer played excellently in the first half and could have had more goals and we came back well in the second half, but they defended well and deserved to win.

“Joe Gallagher was outstanding in central midfield for them and Adie Blake also shone in defence, especially in the second half when we had some spells of sustained pressure. For us Kurtis Henderson at centre-back was probably the pick of the team.”

West Pier hammered second division hosts Scalby 12-0 to secure their place in the last four alongside Edgehill.

Billy Logan showed no signs of rustiness after the extended break for local football due to the festive season and the wet weather, smashing in five goals.

Man of the match Martin Cooper scored a hat-trick, while Will Jenkinson weighed in with a brace and Sam Garnett and Neil Thomas also notched in a straightforward win for the Division One title-chasers.

Filey Town Reserves earned a cracking 5-3 home win against Division Two rivals Duchess in the Coastal Shellfish League Cup.

Two early strikes from Martyn Jenkinson got Town off to the ideal start and further efforts from Billy Coyne and Tom Haxby put Filey in full control, although a James Hughes strike on the stroke of half-time gave Duchess a glimmer of hope.

Hughes hit another goal after the break to give Duchess, who had a depleted squad, a fighting chance.

Stand-in Duchess keeper Gaz Maw then pulled off a fine save from a penalty, denying Jenkinson his hat-trick.

But from the resulting corner the ball was cleared out to Haxby who fired in a fearsome long-range volley which gave Maw no chance.

A fierce strike from seasoned campaigner Chris Ryan pulled it back to 5-3, but the damage had been done by Filey in the first half.

Midfield duo Adam North and Chris Watson impressed for the visitors.

Sherburn returned to winning ways with a 3-1 home win against Fishburn Park Reserves in Division Three.

The villagers started strongly but were hit by a sucker-punch as Park took the lead against the run of play through a great goal by Alex Wiggins.

Four minutes before half-time LIam Scott levelled, following up after a Paul Mills shot had been saved by Kieran Noble.

Both sides pushed on in the second half but just as the game seemed to be heading for a draw, two late efforts sealed the points for Andy Adamson’s troops.

In the 80th minute, Matty Whitehall’s free-kick from inside the centre-circle found Scott and he sent a looping header over the Park keeper who had been the visitors’ star man.

Almost straight from the restart Sherburn doubled their lead, a spectacular solo goal from Sam Rackham, who took the ball past three Park players on a mazy run then fired a shot into the bottom corner.

Central midfield duo Harry Walmsley and Rich Malthouse shared the man-of-the-match award for the home side.

Park chief Carl Oliver singled out central midfielder Richard Fletcher as Park’s man of the match.