Knaresnaresborough Town Academy reach Hulme Cup final

A brace from Knaresborough Town starlet Danny Powell sent the academy side through to the final of the Hulme Cup on Saturday.
NAKP 1412272AM2 K'boro Town Res. V Brighouse Old Boys. (1412272AM2)NAKP 1412272AM2 K'boro Town Res. V Brighouse Old Boys. (1412272AM2)
NAKP 1412272AM2 K'boro Town Res. V Brighouse Old Boys. (1412272AM2)

The academy overcame last year’s finalists Boroughbridge Reserves after taking a commanding two goal lead thanks to Powell, before Paul Scaife pulled a goal back for the visitors.

Knaresborough Town manager Brian Davey watched on as the youngsters impressed after the first team’s match against Worsbrough was called off.

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Davey said he was pleased with Powell’s performance, as well as the rest of the team, and is hopeful of testing the youngster at a ‘much higher standard’.

He said: “Powell could have had three or four so overall we were the better team. We played really well and Boroughbridge just couldn’t cope.

“He was very good but there are a lot of good young players in that side. He’s a 17-year-old lad but he’s more than capable of playing in the reserves.

“To be fair, I have signed him up for the first team as well. Hopefully we can give him a taste of playing in a much higher standard so it’s all there for him if he wants it.

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“The idea of the academy is that we can’t afford to bring players in but they’ve given us a bit of a problem because they’ve come through much quicker than expected.”

Davey said he was ‘disappointed’ that the first team’s match against Worsbrough was abandoned on Saturday due to the weather.

Knaresborough will now face second from bottom side Dronfield Town on Saturday, but Davey is unsure whether that game will go ahead.

He said: “We’re playing well at the moment, we’ve got a strong squad and we went in with the same tactics as the last match, the same starting eleven and we were expecting the same scoreline.

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“Dronfield ‘seem to be struggling this season. They don’t have the best of pitches and I don’t think the game will be on because of the weather.

“It’s disappointing but there’s nothing you can do, we just have to get on with it. If our game is off then we will have a training session early on.

“The reserves are at home to Ripon so it will be a good chance to have a look at them. When you are playing every week you don’t get the chance to see you other teams as much as you’d like.”

The last time the two sides met at the end of August, Dronfield Town looked as if they were going to snatch an unlikely victory away at Manse Lane.

However, a late Graham Whitehead strike secured a point and spared Town’s blushes.