Football: Stowmarket Town romp into League Cup last four

Stowmarket Town 5 Team Bury 0

Two goals from Wayne Proctor
took his tally for the season to 21.

A clinical display of first-half finishing put Town through to the semi-finals of the Ridgeons League Cup at Greens Meadow this evening.
Four goals in the first 34 minutes killed off the young visiting team and Town simply had to go through the motions after the interval with only a strike from Under-18s substitute Tom Abbott on his first-team debut to add to their tally.
Not to say Bury did not have chances. In the first minute they forced a corner and only goal-line blocks prevented Nathan Prigg and Dan Galley scoring.
And midway through the first half, home keeper Kevin Bugg dropped two corners on his own goal-line, sparking frantic scrambles to clear.
However, at the other end, chances were wolfed up.
Marc Wake was inches away from giving Town a second-minute lead when he scooped Wayne Proctor's cross over from close range.
The opening goal came after ten minutes when a defender slipped in possession midway inside his own half. Dan Smith quickly latched onto the loose ball and dummied past one challenge before placing the ball into the corner of the net from the edge of the penalty area.
Four minutes later hesitant defending allowed Proctor to steal the ball and he lobbed Craig Brand in the Bury goal from 30 yards.
James Horsfall looked to have added another when his shot flew towards the bottom corner but Brand threw out a hand to make a magnificent save at the foot of the post.
The third was not long in coming though with Proctor striking from even further out than his first goal. This time he made the most of Brand's headed clearance from outside his penalty area. The ball fell to Proctor and he chipped in from fully 35 yards for his 21st goal of the season.
Amazingly, the same happened six minutes later but this time centre back Connor Hall was in place to clear Proctor's shot off the line.

Right-back Dean Pleasence
scored the fourth goal

Left-back Dean Pleasence completed the first-half scoring, exchanging passes on the edge of the area before curling a delicious shot into the net off the far post.
The second half was an anti-climax with Town happy to let Bury pass the ball around the field without ever threatening goal.
Abbott ran through to score the fifth goal from Bugg's long free-kick and only the bar denied Dean Turnay-Godfrey making it half-a-dozen when Brand diverted his point-blank header onto the woodwork in stoppage time.Town will have to wait to see who joins them in the last four. Wroxham's match with Godmanchester was called off after the visitors' coach broke down en route to the Broads and the Wisbech versus Kirkley & Pakefield tie was postponed due to a waterlogged Fenland Stadium. Stanway play CRC tomorrow in the fourth quarter-final.
Stowmarket Town: Bugg, Pleasence (Hall, 53), McConnell, Smith, Birch, Horsfall, Myhill, Graham, Proctor (Abbott, 68), Wake, Tournay-Godfrey.
Scorers: Smith 10; Proctor (2) 14, 22; Pleasence 34; Abbott 72.
Team Bury: Brand, Thomas (Clarke, 66), Peters, Walker, Hitching, Hall, Watson, Curry (Rowe, 66), Prigg, Barker (Flatley, 66), Galley.
Substitute (not used): Greygoose.
Booking: Rowe (79, foul).
Read the Stowmarket Town website report on the match, here.