Basingstoke Town 2, Newport IOW 1 (Basingstoke win 3-1 on aggregate)

BASINGSTOKE Town earned their place in the Hampshire Senior Cup final - their first appearance in nine years - after striker James Taylor's second brace of goals in as many games saw off plucky Newport on Tuesday night at the Camrose.

Town will now meet fellow Nationwide South outfit and county rivals Farnborough - who beat Eastleigh 3-2 for a 5-4 aggregate triumph - on Monday, April 24.

The game will be played at Bournemouth's Dean Court ground, as Town seek to win their first piece of silverware for more than a decade.

Town's new manager Francis Vines said: "I am really looking forward to the final and I hope the players and supporters are just as much."

Although pleased to reach the final, Vines acknowledged the way Town got there was less than pretty or comfortable.

After Saturday's 4-0 league thumping of Yeading in his debut match in charge, Vines had hoped to leave the cup game to assistant Steve Richardson.

But he had to step in to take a firmer grip on things as Town's Jekyll-and-Hyde nature again prevailed, and he said: "I told the players before the game I didn't want to see an after-the-Lord Mayor's-show performance, but that is certainly what I got in the opening 30 minutes."

Newport, who made four changes from the first leg two weeks ago, caused Town some real problems in that time. Indeed, Taylor's left-foot drive to put Town ahead on 30 minutes - after he was set-up by Ben Surey - came against the run of play.

And the visitors got reward for their efforts when Mike McEmery reacted first to Andrew Smallpiece's spillage of Phil Archibald's 20-yard shot to rifle home and equalise from close range on 36 minutes.

Vines identified Newport's Steve Leigh and young strikers Shaun Taylor - "I really like him as a player. It's a shame he doesn't live nearer or I would take a proper look at him and get him here" - and McEmery as the trio who caused Town problems.

He added: "Leigh was getting in between the midfield and our defence a lot to win possession and he certainly gave our midfield a lot to think about for the first 45 minutes.

"The impetus of the half-time talk was to stop him doing that and get bodies in there, which we did better."

As the match wore on, Archibald cleared a Taylor header off the line on 54 minutes, while David Ray's goal-bound follow-up drive was blocked by Fraser Quirke, who was later dismissed for two bookable offences.

After Smallpiece had tipped round the post and over the bar from Leigh and Archibald, Town's winner came on 83 minutes.

Quirke took out Ricci Dolan in the right channel to earn his second yellow - although the referee had forgotten he had booked him previously, and it was only the intervention of the fourth official that saw Quirke removed.

From the resulting kick, Ray floated over a perfect delivery that Taylor met from six yards at the back post to power home his header.

Basingstoke Town: Andy Smallpiece, Lee Molyneaux, Neville Stamp, Jason Bristow, Wayne Heath, David Ray, Ben Surey, Ricci Dolan, Ryan Stephens (Matt Stamp 83 mins), James Taylor, Lewis Cook. Not used: Steve Hemmings, Kieron Thorne, Ian Dickens, Bledian Fezjullahu.

First published: Thursday, April 6, 2006