Eagley booked their place in this year’s final of the Bolton Hospital Cup at Radcliffe’s Neuven Stadium next Friday, with a convincing 4-0 win against Daisy Hill in the semi-final played at Atherton LR’s Crilly Park on Wednesday.

After a goalless first half, two goals in the space of seven minutes from leading scorer Finley Stafford put the West Lancashire League Division One champions in control, and once Alfie Cowan added a third with a cracking 25-yard shot, there was no way back for Daisy.

A fourth goal from Harry Wood with four minutes remaining rounded off a fine night’s work for the Eagles, and manager Neil Hart was full of praise for his side after the game.

“I thought that in the second half, in fact pretty much the whole of the game, we were outstanding,” said Hart.

“We knew it might be a bit transitional in the first half, the pitch was hard and bobbly, and the first 20 minutes was about settling into the game and making sure our shape was good.

“We knew we had to sit in as we knew they (Daisy Hill) were a quality side, they are two leagues above us, but at half time the message to the players was to just show a bit of belief and confidence.

“We know we have got a threat at the top end of the pitch, we’ve got pace and ability, and Finley just carried on where he has been all season, his goalscoring ratio has been outstanding.

“Alfie (Cowan)’s strike was brilliant, we know he’s got that ability and as soon as he lined it up I had a feeling where it was going to go.

“It’s great testament to the lads, it’s such a young squad, to perform like we did. We have had a really tough schedule, and to come through it and put that performance on tonight is just fantastic.

“I said to the players before the game that tonight was a bonus game, as we have achieved everything we set out to achieve, our target was to get promoted and we topped that by winning the league which was an incredible effort.

“So we’ve pulled that off and now we are in a cup final too, and I can’t praise the lads highly enough”.

With their season now over, Daisy Hill boss Lee Hill was disappointed in the way their campaign had come to a close.

“The lads have been told in no uncertain terms that they have let themselves down and the management team down tonight,” said Hill.

“It’s a learning experience for me as well, as I have to take a portion of the blame.

“We started well enough, Eagley sat in and gave us time on the ball, and with them playing a team from two leagues above, they maybe

showed us a bit too much respect early on.

“But they have some bright young talent in their squad, which we knew about and were aware of, and they have come into the game on the back of a good league win, which creates momentum.

“We’ve been struggling in the past six weeks with injuries, and I had to bring players in, but we’ve just faltered a bit and it didn’t work out for us.

“Now, we’ll have a bit of rest, plan and prepare for the start of next season.”

The first half gave little indication of what was to come in the second half, with both sides largely cancelling one another out in a half that produced little in the way of clear chances.

The first chance of the game fell to Daisy in the 10th minute, when Nick Hepple’s cutback found Ryan Talbot, whose shot flew over.

Four minutes later Daisy had a let off when a mishit clearance from keeper Morgan Newns landed at the feet of Stafford but the Eagley striker screwed his attempt on goal just wide.

However, it was Stafford who broke the deadlock five minutes into the second half when he nipped through a gap in the Daisy defence to get on the end of a right-wing cross to tuck the ball into the net.

Seven minutes later, Stafford doubled his and his side’s tally with a second goal, that began with a Daisy free-kick being cleared upfield, and the Eagley striker took full advantage of the time and space he had been allowed by an out-of-position back line to advance in on goal and beat Newns with a cool finish.

Two minutes later, Stafford nearly completed hat-trick but his well-struck volley was brilliantly tipped over by Newns.

The Daisy keeper, however, had no chance with Eagley’s third goal on 63 minutes, when Cowan picked up a loose ball in midfield and unleashed an unstoppable shot that flew into the top corner.

Daisy kept going and came close to pulling a goal back when a Glenn Matthews free-kick was headed wide by Nick Hepple, but with four minutes remaining Wood wrapped up a great night for Eagley with their fourth goal.

Once again, the Daisy defence failed to deal with a cross from the right, and Wood got ahead of the covering defender to convert from close range before colliding with Newns.