Ely II 19 Newmarket II 5 ELY set up a cup final double with this superb win. A determined Seconds side turned in a strong Greene King Premiere Cup semi-final performance against Newmarket. And with the Thirds already in their final, both will be going fo

Ely II 19 Newmarket II 5

ELY set up a cup final double with this superb win.

A determined Seconds side turned in a strong Greene King Premiere Cup semi-final performance against Newmarket. And with the Thirds already in their final, both will be going for glory on Saturday.

Ely kicked off and from the first moment stamped their authority on the game by turning over the Newmarket ball, with some great counter rucking, and drove Newmarket back in to their 22 yard line. Unable to respond, Newmarket were pinned in their own half for the next 15 minutes until a penalty gave Ely their first points of the game, courtesy of the boot of Ed Fahy, 3-0 to Ely.

The restart gave Newmarket the opportunity to counter attack but, with a place in the finals at stake, Ely were not to be denied and took every chance offered to make ground back in to the Newmarket half. This pressure forced a further two penalties, both successfully converted, the first by Ed Fahy and the second by Mark Egerton. Ely went in at half time nine points ahead with Newmarket yet to score.

The second half saw Newmarket restart with renewed determination, pressuring the Ely defence time and again until a break through the middle gave them their first points. This gave Ely the motivation that they needed to go back and attack Newmarket and it wasn't long before this pressure provided a scrum 10 yards from the Newmarket line. The forwards held steady and Sean Kennet broke from the back and crashed over for a try, taking the score to 14-5 to Ely.

With 20 minutes to go Ely were now focused on a place in the finals and attacked Newmarket with even more aggression, providing Sean Kennett with his second try of the game, following another well worked scrum and some slick hands from the Ely backs. This was the final score of the game, giving Ely a 19-5 win.

Ely captain Matt Eldridge said after the game: "This is what we can do when we work together and put in 100 per cent for a full 80 minutes. Despite a couple of unfortunate injuries we kept going to the very end and got the result we deserved".

* Ely II will play Old Cantabridgians (Cantabs) in the final of the Greene King Premier Cup at Biggleswade on Saturday. Kick-off 2.45pm

* Ely III will play Upper Clapton in their final on the same day and venue, kick-off 2.30pm

<1049Exrugby> A Newmarket player (black/green) comes up against the Ely defence in Saturday's game.

<1054Exrugby> Ely dominated the ball and the play in their 19-5 victory against Newmarket which led them to this weekend's cup final.

Photo: HELEN DRAKE