SILKY SHOW STEEL TO REACH TROPHY FINAL
Silksworth CW coach Michael Curtis hailed his side after they progressed into the final of the Durham Trophy with an impressive win against Hebburn Town Reserves.
A goal in each half from Harry Munday and Brandon Alderson was enough to help Silksworth to a 2-0 win as they became only the second side to beat the Hornets in any competition this season.
“It was a good performance,” explained Curtis.
“The first 15 minutes were very open, and I thought they pressed us very well in that period.
“After that we looked good and it was the same in the second half as they put us under pressure for the first 10 minutes, but then we came into the game once again.
“We created four or five chances against a very good side, and we had to work hard for it.”
The other semi-final tie between Horden CW and Sunderland West End was abandoned after 15 minutes after a match official took ill.
That means Silksworth will have to wait until next weekend to find out which side they will face in the cup final.
Curtis has spoken of his desire to see his side progress into a cup final this season and admitted that they had achieved one of their main targets for the season.
He said: “It’s reward for all the hard work that the management team and the players have put in this season.
“This was one of our targets and we want to push on and take confidence from the performance.”
Only three Wearside League fixtures escaped the wet conditions on Saturday.
Harton and Westoe CW eased to a 7-1 win at struggling Coxhoe Athletic and moved themselves within three points of a top-three place.
David Crumbie’s side fell behind as Dagan Taylor gave the hosts a surprise lead with just 13 minutes on the clock.
The game was turned on its head before half-time as Adam Bell and Grant Pressling found the net to put the visitors ahead at the interval.
Bell would go on to complete his hat-trick in the second half and further goals from Jermaine Francois and Paul Burrell, along with Pressling’s second of the day, helped their side ease to all three points.
Crumbie was delighted with his side’s performance and he praised their comeback after falling behind to Taylor’s early goal.
The Harton boss said: “It was disappointing to go a goal down because we made three mistakes in the build-up to the goal.
“But we should have been four or five goals ahead at half-time after missing a load of chances.
“I have to say that the lads listened to what we said at half-time and carried it out perfectly.
“It was great to see Adam Bell getting a hat-trick and Grant Pressling deserved his two goals for his impressive all-round display.
“We had a couple of new signings in the team today and Jermaine Francois getting on the scoresheet was nice and Steven Graham added some extra quality to our game.
“It was an excellent performance from the lads.”