Zak's The Man for Saddleworth 3D in Record Win

The domestic cup semi-finals got underway this weekend and Saddleworth 3D set an L&C record by surging to victory in their Wray Cup clash with fellow Division Two side Heywood St James.

Only a point separates these two in the league but Saddleworth made that gap seem markedly wider by sauntering to a 13-1 win.

Zak Barton enjoyed an afternoon for the ages, scoring seven first-half goals in a remarkable encounter, including four in the opening 25 minutes as Saddleworth raced into a five-goal lead. By half-time, they were 11-1 up, and added two more as they marched to the final.

There was further semi-final action in the Whitehead Cup which saw Signol Athletic book their place in the final by defeating Rushford Park Reserves 3-1.

Elsewhere, in the Geoff Garnett Cup, there was an upset as Division One Oldham Hulmeians overcame Premier Division Rushford Park in a tense penalty shootout.

The game ended 3-3 in normal time but the Division One outfit edged through 4-2 on penalties.

League action in the Premier Division saw Bedians put some poor recent results behind them with fine 7-2 win at Manchester Rose moving them into third place.

The other games saw AFC Oldham win a close contest 4-3 hosting Richmond Rovers to stay in second place and Boothstown continued their good run of form with a 2-0 win over Trafford United.

With the top two in Division One out of league action, the two games played saw Grappenhall Sports and Rochdalians locked at 1-1 and Stretford Paddock Amateurs win 4-1 at Withington Wanderers in an entertaining game with Joe Middleton netting an excellent consolation for Wanderers.

There was plenty of important action in Division Two and leaders Moorside were impressive in a 5-0 win at Bury Ams thanks to a Kieran Thomasson hat-trick and Jason Evans brace.

Moston Brook Reserves stay in second place, two points behind Moorside after a big 8-1 win over Abacus Media Reserves.

Third-placed Manchester Rovers lost ground as they went down to the only goal of their gritty game at Old StretsGregs with Zach Wilson providing the decisive strike for a memorable win.

No games played in Division Three and in Division A, Cheadle and Gatley moved into second place behind non-playing leaders AFC Salford with an impressive 6-2 win at Silver Birch.

Village Manchester Reserves kept up their recent good run with a 5-3 home win over AFC Stockport Titans and Newton Vikings eased home 3-1 at Heyside.

In Division B, leaders Oldham Hulmeians Reserves had to work hard for a 3-2 derby win at Santos U23’s.

Moston Brook Fourths led 4-0 at the break at Cavaliers who came back well to score the only goal of the second half.

The other two games were close contests with Didsbury Thirds and Bury Ams B locked at 2-2 with Didsbury’s James Keane scoring a stunning equaliser for Didsbury, while AFC Oldham A and Waterhead Reserves shared two goals.