Emmanuel played their first Derby City Football League Challenge Cup semi-final for four years and this time came out on top after a thrilling, tense, and wonderfully sporting encounter between two excellent and well-matched teams. The game was a typical semi-final, being extremely tight with almost no clear-cut chances for either team; indeed, in the first half neither keeper was stretched. Having said that, Day in the Emmanuel goal was the slightly busier; however, the Cobra keeper was very grateful to see a superb Aning strike whistle past his post. At half-time the game was goalless and, as the second-half progressed, remained on a knife-edge. It looked, though, like Cobra were about to take the lead as their centre-forward got his head to a corner and sent the ball goalward only for Sweet to clear coolly off the line. This seemed to give the church club the wake-up call they perhaps needed and they duly produced their best spell of football with Large, Sweet and Walker combining well in midfield, Pownall lively on the right and the speedy Allard full of astute running up front. This phase of play produced a period of pressure which led, in the end, to a free-kick some 40 yards out from which Sweet produced a top-class in-swinger which was met perfectly by centre-half Riman who headed the ball home for his first goal of the campaign. With some 15 minutes to go Emmanuel still, though, had work to do and it took some top-class defending as a unit by Arme, Sharp and Schad to keep Cobra at bay. Indeed, as the clock ticked down it was Emmanuel who came closest to scoring as Allard broke through, one on one with the keeper, only to see the ball take a cruel bounce at the vital moment. This did not, though, matter as the whistle went soon after to seal Emmanuel's win and their place in the cup final at Derby's Moorways Stadium.
Day; Sharp, Arme (c), Riman, Schad; Pownall, Sweet, Large, Smithson; Aning, (Walker), Allard. Subs: Cole, Eccleston, Lewis, Taylor,
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