THOMAS Palmer’s 25-yard thunderbolt booked Poppleton Tigers under-14s a place in their first-ever North Riding County Cup final.

Tigers won 3-2 against a Redcar Town Blues team that had knocked them out of the same competition last season with Jack Atkinson and Dan Moll also on target.

Atkinson opened the scoring with a well-finished strike following Palmer’s great through ball.

But the visitors drew level just before the break with a header from a corner and forged ahead early in the second period with a thumping shot into the top corner.

Moll equalised, though, after arguably the best move of the game straight from the kick off.

He fired across the goal into the bottom left-hand corner at the end of some quick one and two-touch passing.

Palmer then secured victory with a goal worthy of winning any semi-final, drilling into the roof of the net with his spectacular long-range strike.

For the jubilant Tigers, victory made up for the disappointment of being knocked out twice at the same stage to Middlesbrough-based Nunthorpe Athletic in the past.

They will now meet Middlesbrough side Polton Allstars in the final – an academy team set up by former Manchester City midfielder Jamie Pollock.

Delighted Tigers coach and former York City midfielder Christian Fox said: “Getting to the County Cup final is something we have been aiming for since starting out. We have won the league and cups in York before but never the County Cup.

“Middlesbrough-based teams normally compete in the final at our age group so I think it is good for a York based team to be in the final again. York Cubs U14s won the County Cup last season so we will be hoping to emulate their success and the standard of football in York and the surrounding areas is improving all the time.”

Poppleton U14 and U15 girls’ teams have also reached the County Cup final with the latter hoping to retain the cup they lifted last season.

Elsewhere, Josh Waddingham, one of the coaches at Fox’s All Star Football Academy attended by 12 of the Tigers’ 14-strong semi-final squad, converted the winning penalty for York Cubs U16s in a County Cup shoot-out victory over Richmond Town, sending them through to the final too.

The game finished 2-2 with Cubs winning 4-2 on penalties.