Slyne lose out in seven-goal thriller as Garstang reach semi-final

Having been 3-1 down at one stage the Bottomdale Road men battled back in Cumbria only to be denied late on.

Kevin Holliday gave the hosts the lead 13 minutes in only for Mark Murphy to hit back almost immediately to level the scores.

Whitehaven took command of the game either side of half-time, Nick Holden and Josh Green handing them a two-goal advantage.

Slyne weren’t done however and a six-minute brace from Will Fraser-Gray levelled things up at 3-3 20 minutes from time.

There was to be one final twist though as the hosts took the points, Green adding his second with a header on 78 minutes.

It all leaves Slyne 11th in the 17-team West Lancashire Premier Division ahead of hosting Southport Hesketh on Saturday.

Elsewhere, local rivals Garstang made it through to the semi-finals of the Richardson Cup with a 2-0 win at Vickerstown.

A goalless first half was a drab and cagey affair with little in the way of chances for either side as the Riversiders made the trip to Walney Island for the last eight clash.

The visitors came out of the traps quicker in the second half and were in front 50 minutes in.

Rick Coar’s shot from 15 yards came back off the far post, bouncing up nicely for brother Alan to turn in the rebound from close range.

From there Garstang didn’t look back, the second goal coming on 69 minutes as Alan Coar turned provider, breaking in behind and drawing the goalkeeper before squaring the ball for Rick to score.

Vickerstown had chances to make it an interesting finale but Garstang stood firm and looked a threat on the break late on.

Lee Baker’s side, eighth in the table with as many as seven games in hand on the teams around them, return to league action at Whitehaven on Saturday.