Harrogate Strays' over 70's cup final dreams on hold...

Harrogate Strays Over 70s travelled to the Dorothy Hyman Sports Centre in Cudworth, Barnsley to play the 3rd round games which were the regional semi-finals of the North Group of the Walking Football League Alliance Cup.

In warm sunshine, Harrogate Strays were to face Bolton Arena, Leggy Mambos and Manchester Corinthians, with only the top team guaranteed a place in the National Finals.

First up were Bolton, who HS had played previously in another National Cup. In another tight game against this side, which we felt HS had edged, we couldn’t break the deadlock and the game ended goalless. The Leggy Mambos v Manchester Corinthians games was also a goalless draw.

Goals were clearly going to be hard to come by and the second game, against a strong Mambos side also ended 0-0, despite Mambos losing a player for 5 minutes following a blue card offence (sin bin)

HS knew they needed to win their third game, against Manchester Corinthians, as Corinthians had beaten Bolton Arena in their second game, so the pressure was on!

HS took the lead on 8 minutes when captain Mike Pyle’s strong shot went under the Corinthians keeper. It stayed 1-0 up to half time, but three minutes into the 2nd half, Mike Pyle was blue carded for a last-ditch tackle, and the task was made even harder. Despite hitting the post twice, HS couldn’t extend their lead, but two minutes after Mike Pyle completed his 5 minute suspension, Derek Rowe increased the lead with a long range thunderbolt and a 2-0 victory was well-earned.

Unfortunately for HS, Mambos took a 3-0 victory against Bolton, meaning they pipped HS by one goal and qualified, but all is not lost. As runners up, HS now need to wait for the results of the Midlands North Group two games on July 23. If they have bettered the results of the runners-up in this group, HS will be off to the finals in Redditch in September.

Congratulations to everyone in the squad, all of whom played a part in HS success.

The squad was: Steve Simpson (GK), Steven Fort, Charlie Florance, Dave Byrne, Mike Pyle (captain), Paddy Keightley, Colin Stringfellow and Derek Rowe (player manager).

If you fancy a go at Walking Football, Harrogate Strays are recruiting! Whether you want to play competitively, or just enjoy a social game, we can accommodate you. Men over 50, women over 40. All abilities welcome! We run two sessions a week, Mondays at the Army Foundation College on a 3g surface (5.15pm to 6.15pm) and on a Wednesday at Rossett Sports Centre on 3g midi pitches (5pm to 6pm)Get in touch via strayswalkingfootball.com/latest-news or [email protected]