Cup cheers as St Mary’s reach semi-final

RICHARDSON CUP QUARTER FINAL HAS ST MARY’S .............. 3 BURSCOUGH RICH ......... 1 STEVE BAYES TWO wins on the bounce for the new management team of Anthony Halstead, Danny O’Reilly and Kevin Jelly saw St Mary’s progress to their fourth consecutive League Cup Semi Final with a fine second half performance that brought a 3-1 Richardson Cup Quarter Final win over Burscough Richmond.

Playing against a fierce wind in the first half St Mary’s started well without causing any problems, and at the other end Burscough passed the ball well but were kept at bay with some confident defending from the St Mary’s defence. With the half hour approaching St Mary’s got a foothold in the game with three good efforts a great three man move between Scott Wylie and Tom Hulme ended with Hume’s cross being slid just wide of the post by captain Mickey Saunders. A minute later a Wylie header was easily saved by the Burscough Keeper, and the third chance came when a fierce Lewis Hanley shot that crashed against the angle of bar and post and away to safety.

As it appeared that St Mary’s would open the scoring Burscough’s first shot on target in the match brought the opening goal on 32 minutes when the left sided player found space 8 yards out and fired high into the net to give Burscough the lead. A lead which they held until the break.

St Mary’s started strong in the second period with some slick passing football, and on 52 minutes a deserved equaliser when the impressive Hanley picked the ball up thirty yards from goal and hit a brilliant shot over the keeper into the roof of the net. St Mary’s continued to fire shots at the Burscough goal and on 65 minutes a superb defence splitting pass from Jordan Hilton found Saunders one on one with the