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Malt Shovel v Kippax

6.15pm  7 August 2017

Barkston Ash FA, Mitre Cup Quarter-Final
Malt Shovel 7 Kippax 5 (att 25)

The Barkston Ash FA's annual cup - called the Templenewsam Cup before sponsors got involved - straddles the line between pre-season warm up and competitive football, and provides opportunities to visit a few extra venues on Monday nights at this time of year.

There are two pitches at Malt Shovel's Denison Road ground in Selby, but with the hosts' Sunday team also at home in a quarter final it was pot luck which one I'd see a game on.

With the occasional exception of summer leagues I don't watch Sunday football, so I was always going to watch the Saturday team, who play in division three of the York League. Slightly frustratingly for me they were on pitch two, so I'll need to return to watch them on the railed off main pitch in the future.

Whenever I return I doubt I'll see a game anything like as entertaining as this one. Kippax play a couple of levels higher than Malt Shovel, in division one of the West Yorkshire League, so by my reckoning they began as favourites.

They were quickly behind though, and while it didn't take them long to equalise they soon found themselves 3-1 down. Kippax pulled one back, then as half time approached seemed to click into gear, scoring three times in quick succession to lead by the unlikely half time score of 5-3.

I thought Kippax might add a couple more second half goals to run out comfortable winners, but they never got going after the break. Malt Shovel did though, they scored twice to make it 5-5 just six minutes after the restart, then went ahead 10 minutes later. A seventh rounded off an amazing game.

While all this was happening Malt Shovel's Sunday side were winning their quarter final, setting up an in-house semi final next week when the Sunday team host their Saturday namesakes. Could be interesting.








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