Langbaurgh won their first ever trophy when they defeated Easington in the Wanless McConnell Shield Final.
The match was played at Seaham Red Star on May 6. The first half was goalless, with Langbaurgh having the better chances. It took only two minutes of the second half to break the deadlock. A defensive mix-up left Ally Lancaster with the easy task of heading in from almost on the line. Langbaurgh took control of things and were only kept at bay by keeper Brendan Jackson. Twenty minutes into the half, Langbaurgh doubled their lead, when Darren Henry smashed the ball home after Jackson had twice thwarted his opponents. Ten minutes later the victory was secured, when Matt Lymer slotted the ball home from 15 yards after Jackson had blocked the initial effort.
In the closing minutes, Henry scored his second from close range to put the icing on the cake. It was just reward for a team that has shown massive improvement throughout the season, under the guidance of Carl Endrodi.
Frankland caused a huge upset in the League Cup, when they knocked out treble chasing Tyne and Wear, 4-2. The Prison officers will face Newcastle West in the Final.
Malcolm Penney put Frankland ahead, only for Kevin Farrell to level things. Before the interval, Richie Huskisnon restored the Frankland lead. In the second half, Ian Gibson gave his side a two goal advantage but then things started to go wrong for Frankland. First they had a man sent off for a second bookable offence and then Tyne and Wear got a penalty. Fortunately, keeper Stuart Lambert pulled off a magnificent save, to maintain the two-goal advantage. Tyne and Wear kept pressing and reduced the deficit with a goal from Kevin Simpson. Frankland won the match when they caught Tyne and Wear on the break and Malcolm Penney scored his second goal to put his team into the Final.
The three cups have produced six different finalists, showing how even the competition has been amongst the clubs this season.
Durham HQ completed their league problem with a 2-1 win at Darlington, despite playing the majority of the game with nine men. Paul Jackson and Tony Pearson scored the goals. Jeff Summerhill blasted Darlington's goal, whilst his side also missed a penalty.
Stockton have put an unexpected gloss on their season with consecutive wins against high flying opposition. This time they beat Durham Fire 3-1, with Jimmy Walton scoring all the goals, a feat all the more surprising, as he rarely scores and is a defender by trade.
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