JUNIOR FOOTBALL JOHN ABLETT CUP SEMI-FINAL DIVISION 4B side Burwell Swifts beat the weather and local rivals Ely Crusaders to reach the final of the competition after extra-time. For more than two hours the players had to contend with sun, strong win

JUNIOR FOOTBALL

JOHN ABLETT CUP SEMI-FINAL

DIVISION 4B side Burwell Swifts beat the weather and local rivals Ely Crusaders to reach the final of the competition after extra-time.

For more than two hours the players had to contend with sun, strong winds, hail, sleet and snow, and it was Burwell who faced the elements in their favour in the opening 45 minutes of the tie.

They laboured to string passes together, however, and Ely seemed to master the conditions rather better.

Chances still fell to the home side, with Alan Nash and Carl Saxby both springing the offside trap.

Nash was denied by the goalkeeper, and Saxby saw his effort rebound off the post as the first half remained goalless.

Swifts improved marginally after the break, but still lacked quality with their final ball and it remained 0-0 at the 90-minute mark.

Burwell continued to face the wind when extra-time got underway, and they managed to get a goal early on.

Breaking down the left, Danny Jones placed a crossfield pass into the path of Alan Nash who got to the ball just before a Crusaders defender.

As the goalkeeper came out to narrow the angle, Nash slipped the ball into the bottom corner from 12 yards for what proved to be the only goal of the tie.

Swifts held on in the closing stages to earn themselves an appearance in the final at Histon FC on Thursday May 8 (kick-off 7.30 pm).

PREMIER DIVISION

IN-form Fordham suffered their heaviest league defeat of the season on Saturday, losing 5-0 at home to hitherto out-of-sorts Needingworth United.

Fordham found themselves 2-0 down after only 10 minutes, and although they stuck to their task Needingworth added a third goal on the hour and then scored twice more as the hosts chased the game towards the finish.

"We just didn't turn up," said Fordham secretary John Pryke afterwards. "We've made so much progress recently, but on Saturday everything seemed to go out of the window."

SENIOR DIVISION B

HADDENHAM Rovers are up to eighth spot - their highest position of the season - after an emphatic win against struggling Swavesey Institute.

Geoff Buck opened the scoring with a lob from 20 yards, and Kenny Holmes doubled Haddenham's advantage as they made the most of having the slope in their favour.

Tom Moden then made it 3-0, and Holmes added number four before the visitors responded with two goals of their own.

Simon Rudnicki put Haddenham back in the driving seat when he made it 5-2 however, and Holmes completed his hat-trick just before the interval.

The second half was sedate by comparison, with Swavesey pulling another goal back with 15 minutes remaining before Holmes and Buck made the final score 8-3 to wrap up a great all-round performance by Andy Markwell's side.

DIVISION 2B

SUTTON United's lead at the top of the table has been reduced to goal difference alone as Witchford '96's Richard Martin came back to haunt his own club by scoring the only goal of the game in Saturday's derby encounter.

Martin found the net with a well-taken goal midway through the first half when Witchford had the elements in their favour, and although Sutton dominated the second period they failed to support their strikers from midfield and it finished 1-0.

In midweek Isleham United had faced a very strong Godmanchester Rovers Reserves side, drawing a game they desperately needed to win to move out of the bottom two.

Mark Reynolds received his marching orders for Isleham after scoring their opener, and with goalkeeper Danny Stackhouse having departed just before half-time with a dislocated shoulder, Godmanchester held a 2-1 lead and all the aces.

Neil Parr grabbed an equaliser for the visitors against the odds however, and 2-2 was how it finished.

DIVISION 3B

STRUGGLING Fordham Reserves produced what manager Bob O'Connor described as "an astonishing performance" to take three points at high-flying Wisbech St Mary A.

Clive Boucheron helped himself to a first-half hat-trick as Fordham led 4-0 at the interval, and he was on target again in the second half as the visitors eventually ran out 5-1 winners.

Mark Hacking was the other player on target for Fordham.