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Challenge Cup win so easy for Reform

10/ 4/2008

HEYWOOD Reform booked their place in the last four of the Challenge Cup with an all-too-easy victory over Elton Vale.

The tie was expected to be a close encounter with both clubs well placed in the same division.

However, the visitors arrived at Heywood Sports Centre with a depleted squad and it was only down to the patience of referee John Molloy that the game went ahead, for Elton were able to field just nine players when the game got under way at 11.05am, 35 minutes late!

A Weatherilt header, from Hardy’s neat cross, put Reform ahead within two minutes of the belated kick off before Tinker’s surging run and deflected drive doubled Reform’s lead.

A Weatherilt penalty, awarded for a foul on the mercurial Winter, put Reform into a 3-0 lead, all inside 20 minutes.

Disappointingly, as a contest, the cup tie was all over and as hard as the understrength visitors tried, they were never going to overcome a three-goal deficit.

The addition of a 10th player for the second half added little to the visitors’ cause as Reform revelled in the opportunity to attack in numbers, ripping Elton Vale to pieces and creating countless chances.

The second half brought Reform goals at regular intervals. A fine finish by Rhys Reid, followed by clinical strikes from Ryan Carden and Simon Carney, put Reform 6-0 up before Matt Hogarth’s unfortunate deflection wrong-footed Grogan in the Reform goal to offer Elton Vale some consolation.

A superb goal from John Tatton and a blinding 30-yarder from Hogarth stretched Reform’s lead to 8-1 before Carden rammed home the ninth to record a convincing, if somewhat hollow, passage into the semi-final of the Challenge Cup.

Reform now find themselves in the semi-finals of both the Bury and District SFL’s internal cup competitions.

In the semi-final of the Millennium Cup, Reform meet Crumpsall Town. The game takes place on Sunday at the ground of Prestwich Heys, kick off 10.30am.

The semi-final opposition in the Challenge Cup will be Cheers Bar and that match will be played on Thursday evening, 17 April, at Heywood Sports Centre, kick off 6.15pm.

If Reform were to reach the final of the competitions, they would meet fellow Heywood club Duke of Wellington, who booked their second cup final place with a thrilling 4-3 victory over Prestwich CC on Sunday.

Reform were grateful to Hooley Bridge Celtic for use of their pitch.