Harrogate Town 0 Garforth Town 2

Graham named an attacking line-up, with welcome returns for Nick Black and C J Lyle. Tim Robertson replaced an unavailable Hawksworth and Jassim Alali was given the captain’s armband.

In the first ten minutes the best chances fell to the home side; on 6 mins Lloyd Kerry’s top-corner bound free kick forced a good save from Ben Hunter and shortly after Kerry supplied Jake Speight who half-volleyed a fierce shot over the bar from a good position inside the box.

Once The Miners had settled our pace on the break started to give the home side problems at the back, a theme which would continue for the rest of the encounter. Tawanda Rupere made a good run forward on 11 mins and put a low effort wide from just outside the box. Moments later Sinmi Oyebanji got the better of his marker in the corner, charged along the byeline and squeezed a cross in through the legs of Harrogate keeper Phil Barnes and across the goalmouth but sadly with nobody at the far post to turn into the empty net.

On 14 mins Adam Nowakowski almost opened the scoring but couldn’t get a decisive touch on a dangerous ball in to the six yard box from the left.

Mark Simpson provided Town’s first shot on target just after the half-hour mark from 30 yards out which Barnes just about held. A brilliant foray down the left from Rupere and Oyebanji on 36 mins almost saw sub Sam Jones score his first Town goal but the ex-Maltby man could only curl well over. Jones had been brought on for Jay Davis after he came off injured and put in probably his best performance since arriving in November, adding strength in midfield and always looking to play the pass.
Down at the other end Hunter had to be alert again to deny the home side a crucial goal five mins before the break, brilliantly tipping over a vicious 25-yard effort from Nowakowski.

A scrappy first but to be fair on a difficult surface which had both sets of players sliding around on by the end of the night. From a Garforth perspective the supply to the front line had been excellent so far but was just lacking the end product.

The second half was kicked off by Harrogate but within seconds Barnes had to gather a deflected effort from Simpson after he’d received the ball in midfield and made a blistering run forward. Only three mins later however Simpson had his goal after intercepting a poor pass from Rhys Meynell in midfield, finding himself in acres of space to finish coolly past Barnes. The striker’s third goal in two games now with surely more to come.

Two mins later he almost made it 2-0, again finding himself in space again but Barnes was just about equal to his low strike.
There were excellent performances across the field, including from Lyle who was looking sharp despite his long coach journey from London. On 57 mins he almost found Oyebanji in the box but Barnes was alert to shut him out. It was another resolute display at the back from Garforth and from a home corner a couple of mins later Nowakowski was denied by a clearance off the line. On the hour mark though Town had a second courtesy of Rupere. Making a run forward his early-taken shot evaded the stretch of Barnes and nestled into the bottom corner to the delight of the Town players and supporters.

On 68 mins an almighty up-and-under from Hunter caused panic in the Harrogate defence. Simpson managed to get between defender and keeper but couldn’t quite get to the ball and Barnes managed to scramble clear.

Captain Leigh Franks was lucky to stay on the field towards the 80 min mark with a shocking challenge in midfield to halt Tim Robertson’s great run forward, which eventually saw him replaced with Chris Simpkins. Referee Gareth Mellor only opting for a yellow card.

Rupere was unlucky not to have a brace on 86 mins, his strike from the edge of the box flashing past the far post.
The Conference North side (who admittedly had made a number of changes for the game) had had a few chances but surprisingly never really put The Miners under the cosh. Amidst some home fans heading for the exits and others resorting to gallows humour, their final chance came in injury time when Speight was supplied by James Walshaw but blazed his shot over the bar.

The final whistle went and the Town players and supporters were able to celebrate an impressive and fully deserved win. We now progress into the final where Bradford Park Avenue or Tadcaster Albion await.