Boldmere St. Michaels 3-1 Highgate (BSM Win 5-1 on aggregate)
The Mikes booked a place in the Moldwel Products MFA League Cup Final for the first time, coming from behind on the night to record a hard earned victory over Highgate United at the Trevor Brown Memorial Ground.
The Mikes take on champions elect Market Drayton Town at Walsall's Bescot Stadium on Tuesday 5th May (ko 7.30pm).
The Mikes went into the second leg with a two-goal cushion from the away clash three weeks ago, but knew the contest was far from over as Highgate had since triumphed on Boldmere soil in an MFA clash.
It was the Mikes who started the brighter, looking for the early goal that would surely put the tie beyond the visitors. The Mikes were playing some neat attacking football as they probed to work an opening, but the 'Gate' were keeping them at bay with the dogged resistance that has become their trademark in their debut season in the MFA.
For all Boldmere's posession, it was the visitors who had the first clear chance on 18 minutes, Chris Gummery breaking through, only to be denied by a superb one handed block from Mikes custodian Adam Jenkins.
The reprieve was only temporary though, as the resultant corner was turned home by Gummery from close range to bring Highgate right back into the tie.
To their credit, the Mikes continued in the same vein, playing some neat attacking stuff. Kirk Smith flighted in a delightful free kick, and Tom Stevenson's flick on flew tantalising across the far post with nobody able to apply the finishing touch.
The Mikes forced a number of corners, but the visitors defended well to preserve their one goal cushion at the break.
The tie was delicately poised, with the next goal crucial. The Mikes came out with a real sense of purpose in the second period, and ensured they claimed it courtesy of a delightful strike 10 minutes after the restart.
Baker and Mason combined well to carve the vistors defence open. Baker's well flighted cross was met at the far post by Stuart McNaught, who squared perfectly for Jason Holmes to emphatically sweep the ball into the roof of the net.
The Mikes knew the job was not yet done and set their stall out to deny the visitors any space to work an opening. With Aaron Hamilton in commanding form, aided by excellent protection from the midfield, the main threat came from Darlington's prodigious long throws. The Mikes defended a succession of these, with the visitors unable to work a clear chance.
The Mikes continued to look dangerous on the break, with Baker and Holmes combining well. They knew another goal would totally kill the contest. It arrived with 10 minutes left on the clock, from an unlikely source. Overlapping full back Adam Swain chased a lost cause by closing down a defender. He managed to block the attempted clearance and was left one-on-one with visiting keeper Cox.
Swain delightfully exposed the stranded keeper by flighting home a superb 25-yard chip with outside of his right foot to all but book the trip to Bescot.
The vistors were throwing caution to the wind in an effort to salvage the tie, but the Mikes looked more likely to score on the counter. A four on two break was squandered, but their fate was sealed in stoppage time. The rampaging Baker put substitute Simeon Tulloch clear on the edge of the box. Tulloch drew Cox, before calmly dancing round him to slot home past a covering defender.
A 5-1 aggregate scoreline was maybe somewhat harsh on Highgate, who fully competed over both games, but there was no doubting that the Mikes created the clearer chances in two very professional team performances and fully deserved to progress.
Boldmere: Adam Jenkins; Adam Swain; Matt Jackson; Aaron Hamilton; Tom Stevenson; Stuart McNaught; Anthony Juxon; Kirk Smith; Jason Holmes; Lee Osborne; Ricky Baker.
Subs: Andy Lewis (McNaught); Sean Butler; Simeon Tulloch (Mason); Lyndon Weller (Smith); Adam Wood.
