19 APRIL – LEAGUE CUP FINAL – Bramall Lane date of Tuesday 12 May set for our League Cup Final – The date for the League Cup Final between Royal Earl and Wadsley Bridge Sixers at Bramall Lane has been set for Tuesday 12 May with a 7:15 kick-off.

19 APRIL – COUNTY FA SUNDAY TROPHY FINAL – Loca pay the penalty for missed chances – Division 1 Loca FC were beaten on penalties by Barnsley's Shaw Inn in the County FA Sunday Trophy Final at the Steel City Stadium (formerly known as the Olympic Legacy Park}.

Loca dominated play the early play and took a deserved lead when Logan Liggins headed a corner home. Loca continued to dominate. Liggins missed a glorious chance to double their lead, but some slack marking and a good finish saw Shaw Inn equalise to send the teams into half-time all-square.

The second half continued much the same as the first half and Loca deservedly got back in front when a set-piece was flicked on and Michael Golland headed home, but some more slack marking and a good piece of skill allowed Shaw Inn to draw level a second time. Loca went flat out for a winner, but a series of missed chances and good saves by the Shaw Inn goalkeeper and Man of the Match Aaron Davison kept them out and the game ended 2-2, so it went to penalties. Neither keeper got close to a save until the 12^th penalty was saved by Davison to hand the Trophy to Shaw Inn. Action from the game is left with more pictures below, courtesy of Ian Anderson.

19 APRIL – CBC PREMIER – Eckington beat Stannington to hand the title to Royal Earl – Royal Earl were crowned Champions as Stannington Village's 5-2 defeat at Eckington meant no one could catch Earl. Stannington had the first chance when a Connor Platts header was tipped over the bar by the keeper, but it was Eckington that took the lead when a quick break saw the ball crossed into the area for Ethan Flower to slot home. Five minutes before half-time Flower doubled the lead with a stunning long range volley and Eckington took a real stranglehold of the game when minutes later a long throw was headed home by Mitch Walker.

Stannington started the second half well and pulled one back when Leo Higgins crossed for Aemad Gadour to score, but Eckington soon restored their three goal lead when Owen Ryan fired into an empty net after the initial effort was saved. Stannington pulled a second back when Niall Butchart found the top corner, but it was Eckington that had the final say when a good cross into the box was turned into his own net by a Stannington defender. The loss meant that Stannington could no longer catch leaders Royal Earl, but the win for Eckington kept them in the race for the Runners-Up spot.

Wickersley CC also stayed in the race for Runners-Up with a 3-1 victory over Woodman. Although Woodman always looked dangerous on the break, it was Wickersley that started well and had the lead at half-time with an Owen Kelly penalty.

The second half saw Wickersley still on top, but the Woodman keeper kept his side in it and his efforts were rewarded when Lemuel Chitekwe equalised.. The game became very open at this stage, but it was Wickersley that went back in front with Kelly grabbing his second after a good build up. A second penalty allowed Kelly to complete his hat-trick to confirm the three points that leaves them just a point behind second place, but it’s very tight with just 3 points separating 4 clubs.

At the other end of the table, Nailmakers went 6 points clear of the drop with a 2-0 victory over relegation rivals Jubilee Rangers. Although Jubilee withstood early pressure, Nailmakers took a half-time lead when Harry Wharam netted from a Russ Westby corner. Nailmakers doubled their lead midway through the second half when Adam Justice nodded in a Ryan Goodison cross and only good defending stopped them increasing it further.

Jubilee dropped into the bottom 3 after Chapeltown RBL's 2-1 win in the High Green derby with Boynton Sports. RBL made the perfect start when the opening minute saw Charlie Cope released and kept calm to beat the keeper. They doubled their lead on 19 minutes when Mitch savage threaded a superb through ball into the path of Aaron Williamson and he made no mistake to score his first for the club.

Boynton quickly pulled one back with a Tom Deighton strike to set up a nervy contest, but with Dale Shaw marshalling the defence and Jav Heffferan barking out the instructions in midfield like an air-traffic controller, it was RBL that held on to take the three points that lifted them above Jubilee on goal difference and out of the bottom three for the first time this year.

19 APRIL - DIVISION 1 – Hackenthorpe end the season on a high and Oaks climb off the bottom – Hackenthorpe completed their games with a 2-0 victory at third place Mosborough Reds to extend their lead at the top of Division 1 to six points. Hackenthorpe led at half-time after Xavier Dandrade danced past three defenders before slotting home. The result was confirmed midway through the second half when Kian Holloway nutmegged a defender before beating the keeper.

The result meant Hackenthorpe ended the season with a perfect all-win record away from home and they can only be pipped to the title if Loca win both their final two games. Reds will still be promoted if they win their final game at AFC Wisewood next Sunday, but if they don't win, Crookes will take it if they win at Brunsmeer.

Norton Oaks finally got some reward for keeping going despite being rooted to the foot of the table for most of the season when they beat Cotts FC 5-0 - a result that saw Cotts replace Oaks at the bottom on goal difference. Jon Allen, Atty Aydinli and Khalid Muhrez combined to cross for Andrew Bokea to give Oaks a half-time lead.

The second half saw Tom Blacksell claim three assists. The first saw his cross turned into his own net by a defender and the second allowed Bokea to score his second of the game. Joe Baker then set Bokea up to complete his hat-trick, before Blacksell set Baker up to complete the scoring from close range.