Aire advance to the Cup Semi-final

Aireborough travelled the short distance to Yarnbury to play their second round Aire-Wharfe Cup tie, knowing that a win would earn them a home semi-final against Otley 2s. But, not getting ahead of themselves, the 17-man squad knew this would be a sterner test than the previous round vs Bramley, a match that had seen Aire run close despite up front dominance.

In the first half Aire had the considerable wind and knew they'd need to build a lead. It took 20 minutes to break the deadlock, with 90% of that period played in Yarnbury's 22m - Aire pressured at set piece and Yarnbury struggled to exit, with only Aire infringements providing them any let up.

A Yarnbury lineout on their own 5m resulted in a free kick to Aire, and a quick tap by hooker Rich Lister (sponsored by Fire Investigations UK) found Luke Exley (sponsored by NW Autoservices) on the charge; quick ball generated, and Nick Jackson (sponsored by Furniture Clinic) got the scoreboard moving finishing by going through 3 Yarnbury players on his way to the line; Nick Holdsworth (sponsored by Step Change) added the extras.

Shortly after, Chunky went over for the second of his brace on 25 minutes: a maul created in open play by Aire's forwards, driven from 10m out by an eager pack containing Tom Clayton and Tim Baxter (sponsored by Humanist Ceremonies) and second row, and ex-Yarnbury, Martyn Booth (sponsored by Somewhere Different). Nick Holdsworth again added the extras and Aire had a handy 14-0 lead.

The referee's patience then ran out with both sides, seeing skipper Chris Chapman (currently unsponsored) and a Yarnbury second row sent for a 10 minute breather just before HT.

Yarnbury opened up the second half scoring with a flowing move that found one too many sets of hands for Aire to defend. The Yarnbury kicker astray, Aire held a 9 point lead, which they extended shortly after the restart. Putting phases together, Aire caused havoc for the Yarnbury defence - an infringement within 10m of their line saw Yarnbury forwards slow to retreat, and Rich Lister took a quick tap and squeezed over under the sticks. Holdsworth failed to add the extras, but Aire found themselves back out to a 14 point cushion.

Yarnbury then gave it the beans - a try (conversion missed), followed by a penalty, made it 13-19 with 15 minutes to play. A further unconverted Yarnbury score saw Aire scratching their heads wondering if this one would get away.

The final 15 minutes saw Yarnbury have a few chances to take the game away from Aire - unfortunately for Yarnbury as Aire were stretched, the referee pulled play back as two Aire players were on the floor having clashed heads in an earlier phase. The Yarnbury kickers had a difficult day off the tee, and this continued as the Yarnbury replacement fly half missed a long range penalty from in front of the sticks.

Finally, in nearly the last play, Aire were pinged for side entry 10m out, 15m in from touch - a rush of blood to the Yarnbury 9's head saw a quick tap rather than a shot at goal to win it. Aire defended and forced an error to end the game, winning by the closest margin. FT 18-19.

There were a number of standout efforts: Tom Helliwell scrummaged excellently at tight head to disrupt Yarnbury ball and made a midfield shot or two; Nick Jackson looked at home at flanker, and the centre pairing of Jonny Mackey (sponsored by Dave Greenwood) and Liam Cree (sponsored by Phil Knowles) shut down Yarnbury's attack and won plenty of turnover ball; Matty Jones and Iain Craven managed to move work commitments around to be there and ensure we had 17 lads to continue the cup run; and Stu Wilson (sponsored by GMEx Construction) returned to his former home and put in a great shift at 9.

MoM: Iain Craven has barely been seen in 2018, but returning into an Aire back line he slotted in like he'd never been away, and in the words of Head Coach Si Davies "barely put a foot wrong" - Iain's effort to win the high ball, take up hard carries and make the last tackle on numerous occasions last night earned him the MoM award.