Silsden Sunday 2 West Bowling 3

Silsden's Sunday team were knocked out of the West Riding County FA Sunday Cup in a hot-tempered game which saw five players sent off.

West Bowling were quick out of the blocks, scoring a goal in the first minute. Silsden replied just after the break with a penalty by James Gill.

Centre half Shaun Airey put Silsden ahead with a goal in the 70th minute. But West Bowling equalised from a deflected free-kick in the 90th minute to take game into extra time.

The Bradford side, which is one Silsden's rivals in the Bradford Sunday Alliance League, sealed it with a goal in extra time.

But the story of the game was the sending off of five players, two for Silsden (Airey, for two yellow cards and Peter Hanson, straight red) and three for West Bowling.

Silsden manager Jason McNulty said the sending offs began when a Silsden player booted a West Bowling player while he was on the ground, an incident which allegedly sparked a mass brawl between the two clubs.

The game also saw two players taken to the hospital, one being Silsden's Adam Whiteoak who had a concussion and a gash on his forehead. McNulty said that Whiteoak played on for a bit but eventually had to be taken off.

McNulty said that his players received a "very serious talking to" after the game.

He was also very critical of the referee's handling of the game.

Silsden have lost in the final of the Sunday Cup for the last two years in a row, and McNulty said he was disappointed to see his team go out in the quarter-finals.

Although he has a yet to receive the referee's report, West Riding County FA manager John Riordan said that any players involved would be dealt with in the normal disciplinary manner.

Silsden's game featured five sending offs but it not the only highly charged Sunday Cup quarter-final. The game between Thornhill Lees at Old Unicorn (which the former won 9-4) also featured five red cards.

"It must have been a full moon," said Riordan." Tempers run high in quarter-finals. The stakes are a little bit higher than other football matches because the semis are played here at county headquarters."