The Barlow Cup is the Huddersfield League knockout for teams in Division One and Two and it would be expected the winners are more likely to come from Division One.
But the last two seasons, Holmfirth Town and Kirkheaton Rovers have both won while competing in Division Two
Could this be the third season in succession for a Division Two club?
Well, Meltham Athletic took another step towards it last week.
They are challenging for promotion and faced third from top of Division One in the shape of Shepley.
Shepley scored three times, with goals from Matthew Thorp, Sam Haigh and Scott Price, but that was not enough to stop an in-form Meltham who took the lead as early as the second minute when Tom Matthews spun his marker and scored.
The lead last only a minute, however, and Shepley were level. Meltham took the lead again in the 30th minute when Matthews crossed for Michael Dolan to head Meltham in front.
Early in the second half, the roles were reversed as good work by Dolan set up Matthews to tap home, and another tap-in by Nathan Addy made it 4-1.
Shepley narrowed at 4-2 but then Matthews completed his hat trick when he beat the offside trap.
The final goal came from Shepley, but it was too late to mount a serious challenge to Meltham.
Meltham have some history in this competition as they won the cup three times in succession between 2003 and 2005, and five of the 2005 team have come back to the club and are now part of the first team squad.
Brothers Tom and Adam Matthews, Sam Philpot, Jonathan Newiss and Dean Sykes were all members of the 2005 team.
But Meltham have won the Barlow Cup since then in 2009 and some members of the club believe it to be their best win because, at that time, their first team were in the County Amateur League and the side that won in 2009 were in fact Meltham Reserves.
There was an all Lancashire affair in another quarter-final tie and it went the way of Heyside.
There was only one goal in the first half. Heyside’s Mark Hopwood was tripped in the box and he converted the spot kick.
Ten minutes into the second half, Heyside went two up when Gary Molyneux crossed for James Leonard to head home and, although Diggle pulled one back through Nick Lishman, a header from a corner from the smallest man on the field, Reece Hursthouse, restored the two-goal advantage for Heyside and a place in the semi-finals.
Another side in the semis are Britannia Sports, who beat Skelmanthorpe by 2-1.
A deflected shot in the 30th minute from Jacob Hawke gave Skelmanthorpe the lead and that lasted until 15 minutes into the second half.
Daniel Walker then stroked home the equaliser for Britannia and 10 minutes later, Ryan Lach grabbed the winner.
The three winners, Meltham, Heyside and Britannia have now reached the semi-finals and will be joined by either Newsome or Hepworth United.
The semi-finals this season are being played on a Tuesday evening at Shelley FC ground at Storthes Hall with a 7.30pm kick off.
These facilities were unavailable on the traditional Easter Monday but by playing on a Tuesday evening, there will be no postponement of Saturday fixtures – which is a bonus considering the number of matches still to be played.
The first semi-final will take place this coming Tuesday, March 22, between Britannia Sports and Heyside with entry at £2 each.
The second has been arranged for the 29th and will be between Meltham Ath and Newsome or Hepworth.
The other League Cup competitions are not as far forward but one semi-final in the Groom Cup is known. Storthes Hall will face Colne Valley.
These two met in the Huddersfield FA Challenge Cup with Colne Valley winning 3-2 but hanging on at the end.
To get to the semis, Storthes Hall beat Brook Motors by 1-0. This was an end-to-end game but chances were few.
The winner for Storthes Hall came from an unusual source – left back Aiden Harvey-Franklin. He went to the right wing area to take a long throw and when the ball was cleared he picked it up and played a cross-cum-shot into the far corner.
Colne Valley had a 5-2 win over Almondbury WMC with the dangerous front pair scoring four of the goals.
It was Liam Gibbon who led the way with three but was supported by his striking partner John Conheeney, who scored once. The other came from Iain Purdie.
In an earlier round of the Groom Cup, Lepton beat Scissett by a solitary goal from Antonio Ianzito. This levels the situation between the teams, who have now met three times with a win apiece and a draw.
The draw for the semi-finals is Storthes Hall v Colne Valley and Lepton or Almondbury Woolpack v Black Horse or Slaithwaite or Lindley Saddle.
