HOLDERS St Neots comfortably made it through to the Hunts Senior Cup final but this semi-final will be remembered for all the wrong reasons after two players were hospitalised.

Hunts Senior Cup semi-final (played at The Hunts Post Community Stadium)

Eaton Socon 0

St Neots Town 3 (S Moore 9, 66, Kanuda 21)

HOLDERS St Neots comfortably made it through to the Hunts Senior Cup final but this semi-final will be remembered for all the wrong reasons after two players were hospitalised.

Play had to be stopped for around 45 minutes in the second half after Socon defender Tom Mills sustained a serious neck injury after colliding with team mate Glen Grimes.

There were worrying scenes during the long wait that saw him carefully stabilised and removed from the pitch and into an ambulance.

But, thankfully, he was released from hospital on Sunday following an overnight stay.

Earlier, St Neots skipper Glen Fuff was also taken to hospital as a precaution after colliding with central defensive partner Lewis Christon just before half time, sustaining a cut head that required stitches.

Both incidents marred the tie and detracted from a local derby in which visiting Socon, who play their football two levels below Saints in the Kershaw League, acquitted themselves well against what was a near full-strength UCL Premier outfit in front of a healthy 450-plus crowd.

St Neots will have been disappointed not to have run out much more convincing winners for the chances they created, almost at will, although much of their finishing was poor.

They broke the deadlock after nine minutes when Lewis Hilliard’s chipped pass over the defence found Stefan Moore, who benefited from a ricochet off outstanding goalkeeper Matt Millard, after his initial effort had been foiled.

Millard could do nothing about Junior Kanuda’s goal on 21 minutes – a sure candidate for goal of the season.

The Neots midfielder, who pulled the strings in midfield from the off, drifted past a defender and unleashed a 25-yard shot across the keeper and in under the angle of post and crossbar to all but end Socon’s realistic cup upset ambitions.

Shane Tolley saw an effort rebound back off the post just after the hour mark, before Moore found an extra yard of pace to get beyond the defence and angle a shot in off the far post to make it 3-0 and game over.

Mills’ injury 11 minutes from time delayed the finish, before the teams returned to finish up, with Saints now going on to face either St Ives or Huntingdon Town in the final, scheduled for Saturday, May 2.

Saints: McShane, Hyem, Davis, Webb, Fuff (C, Gent 43), Christon, Hilliard, Kanuada (Davies 57), S Moore, Tolley (Essandoh 78), Jacob.

Subs not used: Montique, Scully.

Socon: Millard, Banbury, Grimes, Mills, Storey (C ), Farmer, Kays (Godfrey 62), Randall, Argyle (Hall 62), Stanton, Westbury (Griffiths 51).

Subs not used: Haynes, Blackall.