It was a fabulous week for Adel as the north Leeds club secured a place in three finals of the 2017/18 Harrogate League Cup – and came within a whisker of representation in all four!

Over the two match nights, many of the semi-finals were thrillers which went right down to the wire. While Adel excelled in reaching finals in Divisions One, Two and Three, only one of Chapel Allerton’s seven teams managed to progress beyond the semi-finals.

Adel 1 were one of two surprise finalists in the Division One cup, notching a terrific win at top-of-the-table Harrogate, who had Neil Molyneaux and Andy Keeling at Nos. 4 and 5 – both players who have spent the majority of their seasons in Division Two.

They went down to Danny Groom and Richard Greenhalgh respectively, but brothers Peter and Olly Hotchkiss pulled Harrogate back to 2-2. Adel’s Kieran Wardman beat Mark James 3-0 at No.1 string to seal a finals night appearance for the boys from the north Leeds ‘burbs.

Just round the ring road, Otley won an incredibly tight contest at Chapel Allerton 2 where the final score was 12-11.

The away victory was sealed by the lower order with Matt Wood, Phil Davies and Mark Swift clinching labour-intensive wins over Adam Barrowcliff, James Butterworth and Paul Allen respectively.

The match was won already, but Chapel A reduced arrears at No.1 and 2; Richard Hinds beat Rick Saunders 11/8 in the fifth and Cameron Ward sunk Simon Gittins in four. A high quality contest, for sure.

Into Division Two, and the trophy will have to be returned from under captain Mike Dale’s pillow after holders Chapel Allerton 4 were thoroughly walloped 5-0 at Collingham 2.

The signs weren’t good when Mike Robinson turned up with a swollen ankle and lost 3-0 to Nick Robinson at No.5. Dan Adams’ day-glo wife-beater vest then dazzled Mike Dale into a 3-0 defeat at No.4.

Even Tim Manuel – unbeaten all season – had no answer to Paul Adams at top string, and Jay Talintyre and James Rollinson completed the rout. Surely only some sort of pox sweeping the village can prevent a very strong-looking Collingham winning the cup?

Adel 2 may have something to say about that, though. They beat Dunnington 3-2 thanks to early wins for Jonty Hodgson and Raj Achuthan, although Joe Cybaniak beat his close pal Dave Hendry and Andy Tuck won at No.3 to level matters at 2-2.

It all came down to Mark Ambler v Jermaine Manners at No.1 and it was the Adel man’s 3/1 triumph that took his side to finals night on March 9.

Adel sealed their berth in the Division Three showpiece too as Max Cawthra, Chris Wilcox and Jonty Hodgson all won with minimal fuss to take them to a 3-2 win at Otley 3, for whom Gareth Needham and Brian Portwood got what turned out to be consolation wins.

Adel will face the intimidating prospect of a home crowd in the final after Harrogate 3 (who sit bottom of the league) won another very tight contest, 3-2 against Chapel Allerton 5.

The home side’s lower order of Bob Peacock, Mark Harding and Dave Mann did the damage, although Harrogate’s No.1 James Tomlinson suffered the ignominy of losing 3-0 against his old club after his deadline-day free transfer last summer.

In the Division Four Cup, Harrogate 4 also reached the final despite being second from bottom of their table. Unlike almost all the week’s other ties, this was fairly one-sided, with League Secretary Tony Norwood, Ian Cooksley, Alex Hope and Marcus Lynn all sewing up wins to sink Otley 4.

It was an odd night in other Division Four semi-final between Chapel Allerton 7 and Adel 4. Firstly, it was decided by persons unknown to play American scoring. Secondly, the final overall scoreline finished 10-9 to Adel, even though the match result was 3-2 to Chapel A.

After wins for Chapel A 7’s Sarah Wood and Martin Holland, and for Adel’s James Berman and Alan Johnson, it all came down to Simon Child v Nigel Smithson. Always a man for the big occasion, and fresh from his win in the Chapel A Christmas handicap at the weekend, Child won 3-1 to propel his side to finals night.

Final line-ups:

Division One (March 2): Otley 1 v Adel 1

Division Two (March 9): Adel 2 v Collingham 2

Division Three (March 2): Harrogate 3 v Adel 3

Division Four (March 9): Harrogate 4 v Chapel Allerton 7