BURLEY TROJANS.......0

BOROUGHBRIDGE.......4

BURLEY Trojans made a spectacular exit from the Senior Cup at the hands of league rivals Boroughbridge. The second-half dismissals of Jonny Lofthouse and Chris Lockwood not only contributed towards the scoreline but their enforced absences through suspension may well cost Trojans dear in the title run.

Preparations for the game were disrupted by the withdrawal of Andy Vowles and Phil Constantine through injury and they also had to cope with the loss of Dave McKain with hamstring problems.

The visitors were clearly still smarting from the trouncing they received from Trojans in January and were quickly out of the blocks. In their first real attack of note Mark Schofield's run was halted by Steve Owen's needless challenge from behind. The reliable Jimmy Binks stepped up to make no mistake.

Trojans struggled to find any pattern to their play with too many passes going astray. A Nick Quaife free-kick which drifted harmlessly wide and a Martin Robinson shot were the best that the home side could muster in the early exchanges.

Their best moment of the half came when Lofthouse released young substitute Kieren Hanogue on the right and from his cross Grant Dyson forced Hendry into a hurried save.

The match turned on a crucial incident on the hour mark. The Trojan' defence had difficulty in clearing a corner and when the ball was turned goalwards it struck the unfortunate Lofthouse on the hand.

Surely a penalty would have been sufficient punishment but once again it was a case of the match official taking the letter of the law quite literally and producing a red card despite protests from both sides.

Binks eventually despatched the spot kick past the helpless Chris Hargreaves who remarkably had enjoyed a relatively quiet afternoon up to that point.

Trojans switched to three at the back in an attempt to get back into the game. Quaife tricked his way into space but drove narrowly wide.

Darryl Perry added a third to put the tie beyond Trojans' reach. Hargreaves then saved brilliantly from Fowles as Bridge threatened to overrunn the home side.

Trojans' numerical disadvantage was made even worse when Lockwood, booked minutes earlier, was also shown the red card for a late challenge as frustration boiled over. In addition bookings for Robinson and left-back Jonny Clarkson will have had the administrative staff at West Riding FA headquarters working overtime this week.

Fowles added a fourth near the end and it was credit to Trojans that they

battled to the finish and makeshift striker Dibb hit a post and man of the match Matt Hawnt saw a header fly wide as they ended the match depleted but with their pride intact.

Whilst disappointing the defeat clears the way for Trojans to focus on the league campaign and the task of pegging back leaders Kirkby Malzeard.

BURLEY TROJANS.....1

Ilkley...................... 0

Trojans kept their title challenge firmly on course with a deserved derby victory over neighbours Ilkey. A Pete Sumner strike after 15 minutes was enough to see off Ilkley and close the gap on leaders Kirkby Malzeard to just three points with two games in hand.

The goal was a personal disaster for young 'keeper Matthew Lake who allowed Sumner's 30 yard strike to squirm out of his grasp and over the line. For once Trojans got off to a good start with Phil Constantine promonent but sadly he limped out of the action with only ten minutes on the clock, to join the ever lengthening queue in the Trojans treatment room. New signing Tom McDermott came off the bench and the young striker looked very comfortable alongside centre-forward Gary Shankland showing good composure and some nice touches.

Much of the action centred around the midfield area and an interesting battle developed between Sumner and skipper Nick Quaife and Ilkley's Richard Giles and Steve Hall, with the Trojans' pair enjoying the better of the exchanges.

Ilkley threatened an equaliser just before the break but Quaife reacted quickly to close down Wilson as he shaped to shoot.

The second-half continued in a similar vein with few chances being created by either side. Man-of-the-Match Sumner almost created another goal when his alertness enabled him to rob a defender on the edge of the area but he blazed wide.A welcome sight for Trojans' supporters was Chris Connolly making a cameo appearance as substitute in the gathering gloom and his timely return following a lengthy injury lay off will help to offset the loss of Constantine.

One pleasing aspect for Trojans was the resilience shown by the whole team following Saturday's reverse and this type of battling display will need to be repeated on a regular basis over the coming weeks as the title race really hots up.

l On Saturday both Trojans teams are at home in a double header. The first team entertain Beckwithshaw Saints at 2pm while the Reserves will be keen to take maximum points in their quest for the Third Division title when they play Marton-cum-Grafton, kick-off 4pm.