1st team bow out of Challenge Cup

The first ever meeting between the two teams saw the Lilywhites comfortably progress into the third round with four second half goals brought about due to quick passing and movement on a soft surface.

However, the match had started well for United as Ruben Limbu and Ryan Szram both tested home keeper Nathan Fagg in the opening five minutes. This acted as a wakeup call for the hosts as they got a toe hold in the game but it needed misfortune on the part of Woodley’s Pete Davies that allowed Sam Blackie to open the scoring on sixteen minutes.

United attempted to get the ball forward via wide men Szram and Matt Leigh and were denied an equaliser when Zack Pearce’s pass found Omar Cofie whose shot beat the advancing Fagg to hit the upright and come back into play for Limbu to fire over the cross bar on twenty five minutes.

Dave Woodfield extended the lead ten minutes later while Davies saved well three minutes later with the final action of the half seeing Limbu drive a free kick straight at Fagg four minutes from the break.

The second half got off to the worse possible start for the visitors as two goals in as many minutes settled the tie. Simon Clarke fired across Davies with the ball hitting the upright and being gathered by the keeper only for the assistant referee to flag the ball had crossed the goal line and then a minute later Blackie scored a second.

Although Woodley stuck to their task with Szram firing wide on a heavy surface the Premier Division hosts superior fitness told as they started to out run the visitors with Blackie completing his hat trick with twenty minutes remaining and Ashley Caldwell ending the day’s scoring three minutes later mainly due to the performance of Davies and Chris Burt and Conor Creegan in the centre of defence.

Davies, High, Pearce (Green), Creegan. Burt, Hemmings (Mowat), Szram, Ingram, Cofie, Limbu, Davies