Leek are in cup action tonight...

THE Sentinel Football competitions are heading towards the business end as sides look to secure silverware success.

The prestigious Sentinel Cup sees its first semi-final take place tonight as Milton United Under-18s take on Leek Town at Wellbeing Park.

Milton United were last season known as Knypersley Vics Lions and reached the same stage of the competition before losing to Abbey Hulton United.

They have since joined the Milton United family and head coach Steven Michael will be aiming to go one better than the 2020/21 season.

Milton entered the competition at the preliminary round stage where they defeated Stone Dominoes 2-0.

They then required extratime to beat Newcastle

Town Under-17s 3-1, before edging past Castle’s under18s 2-1 in the last eight.

Leek Town have a squad of players who were recently running as Abbey Hulton, but have now moved to the Moorlands.

Under the leadership of Simon Bell, a UEFA B coach and ex-first team coach at Leek, they are actually under-17s, but play a year up.

Several players have already been involved in Neil Baker’s Blues first team.

They set their stall out early in the competition with a resounding 9-0 first-round victory over Nantwich Town.

And they had few concerns in reaching the last four as they beat FC Ramblers 3-0.

Sentinel Football general secretary Mark Casewell said: “It is fantastic to have all of our competitions back. The year before was the first time the Sentinel Cup wasn’t played because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“That is the only occasion as it was played for during both World Wars.

Kick-off tonight is 7pm, with entry priced at £3 for adults and £1 concessions.

The second semi-final takes place next Wednesday when Kidsgrove take on Newcastle.