Playing in the League Cup Final, it's not often Ancients Under-13s B go into a game as underdogs but Yarm had already won the League and had beaten Ancients home and away in the process.

The mood was set in the changing room where the boys were quiet and focussed, obviously determined to perform. They wanted to dedicate this game to teammate Liam Hardman who missed the final as he is in hospital recovering from a serious accident.

Ancients came out of the blocks flying - to say they were up for it would be an understatement - and Yarm instantly knew they were in a game. A large crowd gathered as one of the games of the day slowly unfolded. Danny McAvoy gave Ancients a deserved lead, and soon afterwards Adam Gell's shot was redirected by quick thinking striker Andrew Cook who doubled Norton's lead with a fine header.

James Cronesberry was involved in everything and was, simply, a class above on the day - in that mood he's unstoppable - and the Yarm lads could only watch as he refused to lose the ball and rode tackle after tackle. A good right wing run and cross from Ryan Burton resulted in a header which Ancients' keeper Josh Edon went full length to palm around the post, but soon after Yarm did pull one back. A direct free kick wasn't cleared, falling to the striker's feet, and he finished well. In the second half Norton picked up the pace again, and their rearguard looked superb. Norton captain Adam Iveson, alongside Josh Simpson, were solid and played a huge game centrally, whilst Jon Stephenson and Steve Atkinson reunited to great effect, providing strength and pace down either side. Arran Stott turned in a fantastic performance at left midfield, whilst Michael Bell played in a central midfield partnership with Gell, and Bell's contribution was magnificent. Gell's deep midfield display was probably his best performance in a gold shirt and the tough-tackling protection he gave the back line was fantastic. Cook scored the goal of the game, combining tenacity, skill and a pure striker's instinct to finish well when he wasn't favourite - 3-1 Norton. After the third Ancients goal they were comfortable, and Yarm did well to keep the score to 3-1 against Norton who deserved to win the Cup.