RICHARDSON CUP: CMB exorcise ghosts of last season to seize cup prize

Matt Taylor’s side lost to Rossendale in the final of the same competition last April, but succeeded in going one better this time around thanks to goals from Anthony Hough, William Owen and Charlie Scholes.

Tom Booth then pulled one back for Tempest late on from the penalty spot.

It took only 10 minutes for the game’s opening goal to arrive, with Hough showing great tenacity to initially win the ball back, before eventually unleashing a lovely strike into the top corner.

And shortly after it was 2-0 as a scramble ensued following a corner, and William Owen ultimately turned home amid protests from several defenders, who believed the ball to have already gone out of play.

However, that potential slice of good fortune gave the Premier Division title challengers no less than they probably deserved, and their advantage could easily have extended beyond two goals before the break.

Despite a slightly more even second 45, that third goal would come, and in some style, as substitute Scholes bent a free-kick expertly out of the reach of ‘keeper Charlie Fletcher.

That three-goal cushion would prove short-lived though, as Booth confidently dispatched his spot-kick.

Getting on the scoresheet did seem to galvanise the Tempest group slightly, as they started to enjoy a greater share of the territory and chances as the game entered its closing minutes.

However, with two further goals needed and the clock rapidly draining, the true possibility of a comeback always seemed distant, and 3-1 it would remain as the final whistle sounded.

Ref: Chelsea Hodgson
Assts: Jack Lucas and Jack Hargreaves
Fourth offical: Neil Matthews

Att: 267