Birstall United 0-4 Hinckley AFC
Hinckley AFC marched into the Jelson Homes Senior Cup Final for a second consecutive year with a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Birstall United.
Carl Abbott’s side produced a commanding first half performance to put the Semi Final tie to bed before half time, thanks to goals from Marco Adaggio, Ryan Seal and Javia Roberts.
Adaggio added his second and AFC’s fourth after the break to ensure that it is Hinckley who face Oakham United in the Final on 3rd May.
Abbott made three changes to the side that started last Tuesday’s win over Bolehall Swifts. Alex Morris replaced Mike Harvey at centre back, Darious Darkin replaced Lee Butler in midfield and Marco Adaggio started up front.
In truth, Abbott’s men were in control over their Leicestershire Senior League opponents throughout. Birstall were content to defend in numbers and hit Hinckley on the break, but their chances were few and far between and once Hinckley took the lead, there was no looking back.
It took AFC almost half and hour to break the deadlock, but they did so when Adaggio finished off a neat move after Luke Richards’ fine pass.
And just a minute later, Hinckley doubled their lead. AFC won the ball back from the re-start, and Roberts fed Seal. The midfielder took one touch to control before slotting home to double the advantage.
Hinckley were now making their dominance show on the scoresheet, and less than five minutes later they added a third. Mitchell Tomlinson’s neat ball played in Roberts, for the winger to fire an unstoppable shot into the corner.
The second half continued in much the same vein, and Adaggio added a fourth goal midway through it. Roberts, a constant threat throughout, was again the creator as he fed Adaggio, who calmly tucked the ball into the far corner to seal the victory.
That added gloss to the already comfortable scoreline, and although Adaggio couldn’t fashion the chances for his hat-trick, Hinckley will be delighted with their showing and will look to win their first piece of silverware when they face Oakham at the end of the season.
Hinckley: Tom Cross, Mitchell Tomlinson, Lee Thomas, Alex Morris, Greg Pearson, Darious Darkin, Javia Roberts, Marcus Jackson, Ryan Seal, Marco Adaggio, Luke Richards. Subs not used: Kristian Ramsey-Dickson, Tom Bates, Sean Williams.
Goals: Marco Adaggio (29, 55), Ryan Seal (30), Javia Roberts (34)
