Steeton 3 Cowling 2

Steeton scraped through in  the Keighley Cup with an 89th-minute penalty from Lee Reilly, which he scored at the second attempt after it was ordered to be retaken.

Cowling keeper Wayne Mahomet had saved the first one but Reilly was given a second bite at the cherry as the referee ruled that players had encroached into the area.

Mahomet received a second yellow card after protesting as Cowling bowed out in a controversial ending.

The home side, who were unchanged from the one that had beaten Campion the previous week, went into the game as big favourites and started the brighter.

Chris Simpson fired over and Reilly struck the side of the post. Arley Barnes then whistled a shot over the bar before Steeton took the lead when Reilly fed Chris Simpson, who calmly slotted past Mahomet.

Thabani Songo went close for Cowling as they looked to get back into the game.

Barnes struck the bar with a long-range effort before Cowling did level. Ali McEwan turned in the box and was upended by Joe Park before former Steeton man Lee Barker calmly converted the resulting spot-kick.

Barker kept his side on level terms when he cleared off the line following a Steeton corner.

Andy King fired straight at Mahomet as Steeton looked to grab an interval lead. However, it was the visitors who almost went ahead through Steve Barker but Phil Rishton’s quick reflexes denied him.

The second half saw a spirited Cowling side really come at Steeton.

They made things difficult for the home side by not allowing them any space and the Steeton rearguard of Michael Rhodes and Matty Kershaw had to be alert to avert danger from the visiting front two.

The Craven League side took the lead when Barker added a second. Steeton claimed he was offside but Barker followed the old adage of playing to the whistle and back-heeled home to make it 2-1 as the hosts protested.

Within two minutes the Chevrons levelled when Barnes picked the ball up on the edge of the box and curled a great strike into the top corner, giving Mahomet no chance.

This spurred Steeton on as King and Andy Holden went close while, at the other end, skipper Jimmy Christian made a last-ditch tackle to thwart Cowling.

Martin Galdes then fired over a long range free-kick for Cowling which never looked like troubling Rishton.

With only two minutes remaining King burst through in the box and was felled by Mahomet, the referee awarding Steeton a spot-kick and booking Mah-omet in the process.

Up stepped leading scorer Reilly but Mahomet guessed right and saved the penalty, only for the referee to award a retake for encroachment.

Mahomet threw the ball away in protest and was promptly shown a second yellow and dismissed.

With James Complin taking over the keeper’s jersey Reilly showed a lot of bottle to keep his composure and slot home at the second time of asking and send Steeton into the semi-final.

Steeton boss Roy Mason said: “It was a great cup tie – big credit to Cowling, who gave us a great game.

“It was good to see a big crowd down and I think that most of them saw a cracking tie.”

Steeton head to Lepton Highlanders on Saturday in the West Riding County Amateur League Premier Division, while Cowling visit Embsay in the third round of the Northern Plant Hire Trophy.

Steeton: Rishton, Rhodes (Rooke), A King, Christian, Kershaw, P King (Whiteoak), Longley, Barnes, Reilly, Simpson, Park (Holden).