Stafford Rangers 0 Kidsgrove Ath 2 - Grove reach Staffs Senior Cup Final
A goal in each half saw Kidsgrove overcome Stafford Rangers to reach the final of the Staffordshire Senior Cup. The clash with Stoke City in April will be Kidsgrove's fifth final appearance in the competition in the past eight seasons.
With goalkeeper Steve Hodsgon suspended, Steve Inithar returned to the side. Leading scorer Dave Walker was rested, as Liam Shotton partnered Matt Haddrell in attack, while Karl Charlton returned to the starting line up in place of Ricky Bridge.
Although facing opponents that, while struggling, are two leagues above Athletic, there was no sense that Kidsgrove were underdogs a they took the attack to Stafford in the early stages.
Grove managed to get themselves into a number of good positions in the opening quarter of an hour but were unable to find a finishing touch or final ball to cause Stafford too many problems. It was a similar story at the other end with the home side's best opportunity coming from a corner after Aiden Matranga completely miskicked a clearance.
The deadlock was broken on 18 minutes. Sam Hall flicked a ball across the area which found its way through a combination of Charlton and Matranga into the path of Tim Sanders who confidently slotted past Lee Evans into the far corner of the Stafford net.
Conceding the goal seemed to spur Stafford on, and they increasingly dominated possession, forcing a series of corners. From one of these, an almightly goalmouth scramble ensued but Kidsgrove were eventually able to hack the ball away to safety.
For all the presuure exerted by the hosts, it was Atheltic who almost extended their advantage with five minutes of the first half remaining. Shotton crossed the ball into Sanders in a virtually identical position from where he had earlier scored. This time, however, Evans was equal to his shot and managed to beat the ball away to safety.
The second 45 minutes started in uneventful fashion which clear-cut chances once more at a premium. Stafford continued to enjoy a reasonable amount of possession, but Kidsgrove looked sharper on the counter attack.
The game became even scrappier as the half passed by, play being punctuated by a series of fouls, with Shotton often bearing the brunt of Stafford's challenges.
Kidsgrove's passage to the final was secured on 78 minutes when Matranga underlined his growing reputation as one of the best finishers in the side. Having latched on to a through ball, he advanced to the edge of the area before launching an audacious chip over Evans which sailed into the net just inside the far post.
The rest of the match was played out comfortably by Grove who thoroughly deserved the victory and will now have the opportunity to bring the trophy to the Seddon Stadium for the fourth time.
Team: Intihar, Smith, Dove, Ward, Johnson, Hall, Matranga, Sanders, Shotton, Haddrell, Charlton.
Unused subs: Walker, Morris, Beasley, Schwarz, Bridge
Share Last updated: 24th March 2011, 23:15