Midland Phoenix through to Alan Haughton Memorial final

Midland Phoenix won through to the final of the Alan Haughton Memorial Trophy following a narrow victory over Catholic Club.

Catholic Club took an early lead but Midland were ahead by half time. They relied on a late winner to see them through to the final after Club equalised midway through the second half.

Club were quickest out of the blocks and they could have been four goals up before they eventually took the lead. Thanks to some poor finishing and great defending they only managed to hit the target once in the opening stages and they found keeper Gaz Horrocks equal to the shot.

On 15 minutes Club opened the scoring. Horrocks completely missed a through ball and Michael Kearney had the simple job of slotting the ball into the unguarded net.

Midland dug deep and brought themselves back into the end-to-end affair when Chris Harris rose to power Liam Ratcliffe's corner into the net.

Midland battled for every ball and just before half-time they went in front when a through ball found Scott Highton, who chipped the onrushing keeper.

Club went all out to level the scores after the break and, following a period of pressure, they found the equaliser on 50 minutes when Greenhalgh hit a great strike from distance. Keeper Horrocks should have done better with the shot but couldn’t keep it out.

Scott Highton and Nathan Taylor chased every loose ball to try and drag Midland back in front and their efforts were rewarded when a quick ball out of defence found Highton in on goal and, after beating Lester Peters for pace, he drew the keeper out and scored at the second attempt with a miss hit shot that just crept over the line.

Club tried hard to find an equaliser in the dying minutes but ultimately fell short and Midland just about deserved their win.

They now face rivals Copperpot in the final on Sunday at Springhill Stadium, kick off 11am.