Worsbrough Bridge reached the Sheffield Senior Cup semi-finals for the first time in their history with a 3-0 win over visitors AFC Emley on Wednesday evening.
The Briggers now join their Barnsley neighbours Penistone Church in the last four along with Sheffield FC and Frickley Athletic. In front of 166 fans, Billy Rhodes opened the scoring in the seventh minute then Kai Hancock doubled the lead before half-time and a second half own goal completed the rout.
Manager Lee Morris said: “I have been told by my chairman that we’ve never got to the semi-finals before so it’s a massive achievement for the club, the players and myself. “We just want a home draw in the semi-finals and we think we can beat anyone. It’s great for Barnsley football to have us and Penistone in the semis. The players applied themselves perfectly to our gameplan. They got in Emley’s faces from the first minute and Emley couldn’t cope with it. We barely conceded a shot and we could have had more goals, including for a penalty for a handball on the line which the officials missed. It’s our first clean sheet of the season which is probably the most pleasing thing about the whole night.”
Morris was also pleased with the attendence, as more than 100 people came to Park Road for the second time this week. The cup tie was the third of seven successive home matches for the Briggers. He said: “When I first came to the club, we were getting crowds of 20 or 30. But it has slowly built up and they know that there is never a dull moment at our club. Hopefully they keep coming back and we can build on that fanbase.”
On Saturday, Bridge drew 1-1 at home to fifth-placed North Ferriby in NCEL Division One. The match took place in front of 117 fans which was their biggest attendance since the final day of the 2017/18 season. The visitors took the lead early in the second half but Daniel Palmer levelled for Worsbrough with 20 minutes to play. It was a third successive league draw for Bridge. They are unbeaten in four in the league while their last league loss at home was on October 19. They are now 16th with 20 points from as many games, seven points clear of the two-team relegation zone.
Morris said: “We have had too many draws but hopefully we can start turning more of them into wins and push into the top ten. We had a difficult start to the season but, if you had offered me a semi-final and a top ten finish in the summer, I would have definitely taken it. The lads are working really hard and we have laid the foundations for a decent second half of the season. “The cup run is exciting and there is a really good mood around the club.”
