BPA JUNIORS 1

BRADFORD UNITED 2

UNDER 18 CUP FINAL

Bradford United’s colourful change strip of red, yellow and black clearly brought them luck as they lifted the RCD League’s Under 18 Cup with victory over Bradford Park Avenue Juniors.

United started the brighter, with BPA’s back line of James Metcalfe, Ricky Coughlan, Ben Jagger and James Hudson struggling to contain the lively Ashley Brown.

He went close to scoring on a couple of occasions before finally succeeding by taking the ball around keeper Sam Bamford and brushing aside a tackle from Coughlan before slotting the ball into an unguarded net.

At this point BPA looked overwhelmed as United continued to threaten, but Park Avenue gradually began to get a grip and even had the ball in the United net but referee John Gray deemed that, by taking three players including the keeper into the back of the net, Danny Illingworth’s challenge was not a fair one and the effort was disallowed.

The second half gave Park Avenue a new lease of life and when Lloyd Webster levelled the scores 20 minutes in, BPA were enjoying their best spell of the game.

But their dominance was shortlived as United, once again, took control with Iwan Hanley-Heeley and Ben Binns trying hard to force a winner.

With the final whistle just 10 minutes away, BPA were fighting hard to stay in the game and they looked as though they might force a winner when Josh Shields blazed a golden opportunity over the bar.

United, however, finally got the decisive strike when the otherwise excellent Sam Bamford made his only mistake of the game by dropping a corner and Jordan Broadbent stabbed the ball into the back of the net.

Park Avenue were given one last chance to salvage the game when Webster was sent through in an identical move which produced their first goal but, this time, keeper Billy Keenan was equal to the challenge and pushed Webster’s shot around a post.

In the league, Westend Tigers Under 13s are on a roll.

After picking up their first win of the season only last week, Westend’s taste for victory continued when they lifted themselves from the bottom of Division 4A with a fine win at Netherton.

The Tigers took an early lead with a fine effort from Cameron Pope, and the Salendine Nook side soon doubled their tally through Joshua Newburn.

Jake Barrett pulled one back for Netherton, who were unlucky not to get an equaliser just before half time.

Westend were back in control early in the second half, though, when Louis O’Connell restored their two-goal advantage.

A deflected Jack Keen shot found the back of the Netherton net to leave the home side with an uphill task.

Barrett reduced Netherton’s deficit with a second strike but it was purely a consolation goal.

There are three more RCD finals at Syngenta on Sunday.

Under 11: Dewsbury Rangers v Golcar United (2.30, referee Paul MacDonald).

Under 15: Dalton Dynamoes v Gildersome (3.00, referee Umar Ahmed).

Under 13: Gomersal v Netherton (4.00, referee Christian Firth).