THE Huddersfield FA Minor team failed to reach the West Riding County Cup final when they lost 2-0 to Harrogate in the semis.

Their opponents were dominant in the first half with a display of constructive passing football.

As early as the fifth minute they looked dangerous, but a good covering tackle by Declan James prevented a shot at goal.

Harrogate took the lead in the 16th minute with a well-taken goal by Macfarlane, but he looked to be at least three yards offside.

The same player made it 2-0 in the 34th minute and the lead at the break didn’t flatter Harrogate.

Huddersfield manager Chris Haigh must have had a hard word with his team at half-time because they immediately seized the bulk of possession in the second period.

The nearest they came to pulling one back was when Craig Burns beat three men before sliding the ball to Morgan Little, but his shot was just wide of the target.

Any hopes of a comeback were dashed in the 80th minute when defender Michael Wilkins brought down a Harrogate forward.

He was deemed to be the last defender and the referee had no hesitation in showing him a straight red card.

It was a fair result on the balance of play but it could have been different had Huddersfield produced their second-half form in the first.

The team were, before the match, presented with new Examiner-sponsored blue and white shirts by Huddersfield FA representative John Kingdon.