Hotspur to face Bangor in final
Reserves in Challenge Cup battle
HOLYHEAD Hotspur Reserves secured a meeting with their Bangor City equivalents in the Lock Stock Fireworks Challenge Cup final after a late Mel McGinness winner sealed a 2-1 victory over Caernarfon Town Reserves in last Saturday’s semi at the New Stadium.
Josh Batson handed the hosts a half-time lead, but Caernarfon levelled through Aaron Griffiths before first-team top-scorer McGinness snatched the decider in the closing stages.
Hotspur manager Andy Batsford said: “We created a lot of chances in the first half, hitting the post on a couple of occasions, and the Caernarfon goalkeeper (Alex Crofts) was outstanding.
“We hoped to use the strong wind to our advantage but only managed one goal in the first half, so knew we would be up against it in the second when conditions favoured them.
“Credit to my players, when Caernarfon got an early equaliser we could have rolled over and put our heads down, but instead we rolled our sleeves up, stayed calm, and never went chasing the game as we knew we would create chances.
“We came under a lot of pressure at times without being in too much danger and soaked up most of it.
“There were three or four great chances for us, but the keeper again kept Caernarfon in the tie.
“We were just warming some substitutes up in readiness for extra time when Mel broke away in the last minute and snatched the winner.
“I think on the day we did enough to win, but much praise is due to Caernarfon and their manager Mike Doutch (former Hotspur goalkeeper), who is a total credit to his club.”
Jason Owen hit the post with an early header for Holyhead before some quick one-touch football led to McGinness’s clever pass putting Batson through for the opener.
Ant Parry also saw his deflected shot hit the woodwork before the break and Batson had a goal ruled out for offside.
The final will take place on a date and at a venue to be decided.
McGinness’s late strike was his 19th goal of the season.
It was only the second fixture for Hotspur in 2017, so considering the rustiness which must have been present, to win a hard-fought cup tie and keep going right until the end in such difficult conditions is a tribute to the side’s stamina.