Rockleaze and Cribbs through to League Cup final

WITH the team positions in all the Bristol Under-18 Combination divisions finalised, fixtures last weekend were concentrated on the League Cup and Plate.

The semi-finals in the League Cup were Olveston U17 versus Rockleaze Rangers and Lawrence Weston versus Cribbs, with Rockleaze and Cribbs coming out winners by 2-0 and 2-1, respectively. It is expected the final will take place on June 6.

The Plate saw five first and second-round games scheduled. However, two of these were not played due to teams not being able to raise a side due to players being committed to studies for examinations.

In the games played, Olveston U18 won 5-1 against Stoke Lane Colts, Saltford Stars overcame Mangotsfield 4-3 and Stoke Lane Lions had a 2-1 over St Nicholas Green.

With two more rounds to go before the final, the league is hopeful all the problems of a Bank Holiday, examinations and availability of pitches can be overcome and the competition completed by mid-June.

The league should be commended for all their efforts to complete the season in these difficult times when a number of other leagues have voided the season altogether.

As for next season, the league expects to go forward with an Under-21 division in addition to the Under-18 divisions and is working to give full coverage of all games by qualified referees.

They will be looking to improve the standard of refereeing by using senior referees to mentor more junior referees and also encourage some of the players to go down the path to refereeing.