Wirral's independent local news website
Having already won the Wirral District FA Senior Cup, Cammell Laird 1907 FC now have the opportunity to add two more cups to their trophy cabinet.
On Saturday 7 May they entertained Ilkley Town from the North West Counties First Division North in the First Division Cup semi-final and a thrilling encounter ensued.
Opening exchanges were very even but a counterattack by Town in the 20th minute saw Nathan Hunt put them ahead, but the game remained an even affair and it was fitting that Lairds equalised in the 41st minute as Kieran Hamm bagged a superb leveller to provide a half time score of 1-1.
A slow start to the second period saw Lairds caught napping as Hunt added a second goal for Town in the 50th minute.
But midfield powerhouse Ryan Smith soon had Lairds on level terms when heading home in the 59th minute.
Positive play by the Cammells kept them looking the likeliest to bag a winner, but the game ended 2-2 and a penalty shoot-out was required to decide the tie.
Lairds netted their first four efforts and Town scored three, but Nathan Davidson produced a superb save to keep Lairds ahead before the final spot-kick saw H Kieran Hamm blast home the winner to set up a final date versus divisional runners up FC Isle of Man on Saturday 21 May at their home venue of The Bowl on the island with a 3pm kick-off.
Tuesday 10th May again saw Lairds at home in the semi-final of the Macron Cup against Premier Division team Congleton Town, who boasted the talents of Port Vale FC legend Tom Pope, who captained their team and who proved to be a handful for the Lairds defence in a very even fixture.
He was instrumental in helping Town take the lead in 24th minute when crossing for Needham to open the scoring.
Lairds however dealt well with Pope throughout and surged forward on many occasions due to the prompting of Joe Downey and the hard running of Jay Harvey, but failed to find the net before the break.
The second half began with Lairds in the ascendency and Kieran Hamm nearly levelled when hitting the bar from fully 35 yards, but he was not to be denied as he rifled home a brilliant low volley in the 65th minute to level matters.
Six minutes later Jay Harvey burst through only to be upended in the box and Hamm rammed home the penalty to give Lairds a deserved lead.
Chances fell to both teams with Lairds looking stronger, but a breakaway goal came for Town in the 79th minute as Jones-Griffiths rammed home the equaliser.
As the game progressed with Lairds pressing for a winner, it duly came when Cameron McGregor floated in an excellent free kick in the 85th minute for Daniel Stevenson to head home a great goal that became the winning strike to send Lairds through with a 3-2 victory.
They will now play another Premier Division team in the final; Charnock Richard, with the final being at Chorley FC’s ground this Saturday for a 1pm kick-off.
Considering the final position in the league table, the Cammells have proved themselves to be a cup competition team with sterling performances that showed their fighting spirit by coming from behind in games to hold their nerves in penalty shoot-outs.
Congratulations go to all the squad for reaching three cup finals this season and best wishes in their quest to make it a hat-trick of victories to complete the season and show everyone they are the premier team on the Wirral.
Let’s hope they give their opponents the hump!!
Image: The team when they won the Wirral District FA Senior Cup
Why not follow birkenhead.news on Facebook and Twitter? You can also send story ideas to news@birkenhead.news