D&P Copper Pot Win Lancashire Sunday League Trophy

D&P Copper Pot FC

9 More Image(s) In Gallery

D&P Copper Pot 4 – 0 New Meadow Street LC

Rochdale Sunday League outfit D&P Copper Pot won the Lancashire Sunday League Trophy after a comfortable victory over Lancashire Evening Post League side New Meadow Street at the County Ground in Leyland, home of the Lancashire FA. Two goals in both halves secured the win for Copper Pot who were never threatened on their route to glory, proving too strong for their industrious opponents.

A large Copper Pot contingent travelled to Leyland and they were rewarded with an early goal by the impressive striker Dave Walsh, who proved to be a handful throughout the evening. Walsh beat a mistimed Meadow Street offside trap and he raced clear on goal before finishing neatly past the oncoming keeper; from there Copper Pot never looked back, the early goal settled the nerves and they played some neat football throughout the remainder of the half.

Walsh was at the heart of all Copper Pot's attacks, looking to take on an ageing defence at every opportunity whilst Jason Kay provided the support, the two strikers with some neat interchanges continued to carve open the Meadow Street backline.

Kay provided the assist for Copper Pot’s second with twenty minutes played, knocking a delightful ball inside to Davey Luker, who had made a late run from midfield and was left woefully unmarked to finish comfortably and give his team a hand on the trophy with barely a quarter of the game gone.

Copper Pot were rampant and minutes later they were presented with a great chance to make it three. Peter Farrish needlessly lost the ball for New Meadow and it broke to Walsh who again found himself free down the right side but his square ball from inside the box could only find a well placed defender.

The game then entered a scrappy phase and the referee was kept busy, dealing with a few rash challenges by showing a yellow card to players from both sides.

Meadow Street were beginning to get a foothold in the encounter but the strong Copper Pot back pair of John Luker and Wayne Jopson limited them to half chances.

Copper Pot were still creating the more meaningful opportunities and they had a Kay header spectacularly cleared off the line after the play-maker found himself unmarked from a corner.  They had a further chance just before halftime as Davey Luker sprung the offside trap only for New Meadow keeper Tony Jones to race quickly from his line and clear the danger.

New Meadow started the second half brightly and they enjoyed a lot of early possession and tested Copper Pot keeper, Ian Tyson for the first time. Chris Collins broke free down the right and fired a low drive from an angle which Tyson did well to palm away for a corner.

Despite maintaining possession this marked New Meadow’s only real opportunity as the Copper Pot backline continued their dominance and the tie was all but over when they struck a third on the break. Walsh went clear and after turning inside his marker, unselfishly squared the ball for Davey Luker to notch his second.

The impressive Luker was proving a joy to watch and he began to show off his skills with Copper Pot in the comfort zone. The midfielder beat three challenges before unleashing Walsh to beat the offside trap once more but with the goal at his mercy, Walsh sliced his shot wide.

With the game over as a contest, Copper Pot continued to pour forward in search of more goals and Walsh should again have had a second but John Fowler’s last ditch tackle rescued New Meadow with Walsh taking too much time over the shot.

The fourth goal inevitably arrived shortly after and Walsh again proved to be the thorn in New Meadow’s side, holding the ball up well before playing a delightful through ball to Jason Kay, who took his deserved goal well, chipping the oncoming keeper then rounding him to fire into the empty goal.

Copper Pot continued to dominate against a tiring New Meadow, but the fourth goal marked the end of the scoring and Partridge marched comfortably towards the trophy for the remaining fifteen minutes.

The supporters gathered to see Michael Barker lift the cup for his side and the captain spoke to Rochdale Online after celebrating on the pitch with his team-mates, “I thought we dominated from start to finish and deservedly won the trophy. The early goal was important and from there the goals kept coming. Credit is due to New Meadow for giving us a good battle and they didn’t make it easy for us.”

The celebrations continued long into the night with team sponsors Copper Pot providing a well earned supper for the cup winning side.