Sports show their class as they see off Steelmen to reach cup final

A strong Sports line-up set the tone for the evening by opening the scoring after just 18 seconds and they never really looked back as they earned a first win for interim boss Michael Gash.

Steelmen manager Gary Setchell had said in the build-up that he expected to make changes to his starting line-up and he did just that.

But Corby were caught napping right from the kick-off as the two-division gap between the two clubs was on show pretty much from the start.

Sports took the kick-off and just 18 seconds later they were in front as the ball was worked to the right side of the penalty area where Maniche Sani was waiting and he took one touch before firing into the far top corner.

Sports went on to dominate possession in the first half but Corby created their own problems at times, not least for the second goal on 10 minutes when a loose pass towards Michael Jacklin saw him lose control and Joshua McCammon nipped in before beating home goalkeeper Tomasz Bukowski with ease.

Corby tried to settle things down and they went close to pulling a goal back when Hilton Arthur swivelled in the box and hooked a volley just wide of the target.

But the game was done and dusted just before the half-hour mark when former Steelman Nathan Fox did the leg work down the left and the ball eventually fell perfectly into the path of McCammon who slotted home his second of the night.

Corby started the second half brightly enough and Arthur raced clear but could only send his final effort high and wide of the goal.

But it didn’t take long for Sports to put the game to bed as McCammon completed his hat-trick from close range after Ryan Fryatt had nodded down a free-kick from the left.

It could and should have been five soon after with Sani out of luck as his fierce strike cannoned off the crossbar but it rebounded to Connor Kennedy, who was denied a goal against his hometown club where he started his career, by a brilliant clearance off the line from Malaki Black.

The introductions of Tristan Thompson-Matthews and Tsaguim Florian gave some fresh impetus to the hosts and Sports goalkeeper Lewis Elsom was forced into his first save of the night when his palms were stung by a well-struck free-kick from Dan Gordon.

At the other end, Bukowski produced a fine stop to deny McCammon his fourth of the night.

But the damage had long since been done as Sports cruised into the final where they will meet either Cogenhoe United or Kettering Town who are set to play the other semi-final next Tuesday night.

Corby: Bukowski; Floyd (sub Thompson-Matthews, 57 mins), Gordon, Jacklin, Black; Arthur, Slinn, Norman, O’Brien (sub Florian, 57 mins); Darlington (sub Brown, 88 mins), Furey. Subs not used: Miller.

Peterborough Sports: Elsom; Williams-Lowe, Fryatt, R Jones, Fox; Lawlor (sub Bazeley, 67 mins); Sani, Kennedy, Camara, McCammon; M Jones. Subs not used: Johnson, Crook, Gash, Nicholson.

Referee: Joe Woolmer.

Goals: Sani (1 min, 0-1), McCammon (10 mins, 0-2), McCammon (29 mins, 0-3), McCammon (50 mins, 0-4).

Man-of-the-match: Josh McCammon – stole the show with a semi-final hat-trick.

Attendance: 334.