Barnoldswick cruise to Macron Cup victory against ten-man Chadderton

TWO quickfire first half goals saw Barnoldswick Town cruise to a 3-0 victory over Chadderton in the Macron Cup final on Saturday.

With high stakes at play, both sides started the contest tentatively, but two goals in two minutes from Andrew Hill (28) and Luke Stowe (29) put Barlick firmly in the driving seat heading into half-time.

And Oliver Roberts wrapped up the contest after the interval to crown a dominant cup final victory for his side at Accrington Stanley's Wham Stadium in the May sunshine.

It took until the 13th minute for Barnoldswick to have their first meaningful effort on goal, when Jack Foster turned sharply in the penalty area before dragging his effort just wide.

However, Town wouldn't be denied 14 minutes later when A.Hill drilled a fierce effort from the edge of the area beyond the reach of Chadderton's stopper.

Barlick were at it again just moments later, as they doubled their lead through Stowe.

The fullback produced a sublime bit of skill before burying a curling effort into the net to double his side's advantage.

Morgan Bacon, Chadderton's goalkeeper, having already conceded two goals, things got worse for him in the second half.

With the clock ticking down, minute 75, Stowe raced clear ready to score his second of the game, and after he'd rounded Chadderton's no1 at the edge of the box, he was pulled back by Bacon who denied a clear goalscoring opportunity.

For his troubles, he was shown a red card which left his side with a mountain to climb.

To make things worse, up stepped Roberts to curl a fantastic free-kick in off the crossbar to seal a memorable 3-0 victory for Barnoldswick.