Whaley Bridge beat local rivals Chapel Town in this Derbyshire Divisional Cup semi-final and progressed to the final for the third year in a row.

Whaley made a flying start when, in the first minute, Ray Dwolitka beat Chapel's keeper Adam White with a fierce, close-range shot. Chapel could not contain Ray Dwolitka and, after great work on the right, he crossed low and Rob Newton ran the ball into the net.

Chapel rallied as Ben Lomas and Jake Taylor saw more of the ball and a free-kick forced a great save from James Tattersall. Chapel's Stacey Wild could not find the target with a free header from a cross but Scott Dignan and Dan Whelan were outstanding at the heart of Whaley's defence.

The game threatened to deteriorate as it became more physical and the referee was forced to do some serious talking and yellow cards were shown. This settled things down and, towards the end of the half, Ray Dwolitka produced the goal of the game with a terrific right foot shot from outside the area. A half-time scoreline of 3-0 did not flatter Whaley.

Chapel started the second half with much more purpose and were rewarded when Ryan Stafford fired home through a mass of players. Sensing a comeback was on the cards, Chapel gained self-belief and, when James Tattersall could only palm a shot onto the crossbar, Ryan Stafford headed in the rebound.

However, that was as good as it got for Chapel because Whaley regained composure and pressed the Chapel defence once more. Adam White made a great save from a Bill Sutton free-kick but Whaley's forwards were looking dangerous again.

Whaley eventually put the game out of Chapel's reach when Mick Ryan headed a cross into the path of Paul Kelsall and his header bounced into the net. This ended Chapel's resolve and the rest of the game was played out with Whaley in control.

For his outstanding contribution and goals, Ray Dwolitka was “man of the match”.

Team: J Tattersall, C Wood, D Whelan, S Dignan, P Walker, W Sutton, P Kelsall(1), R Newton(1), M Brown, M Ryan, R Dwolitka(2)

Subs: M Ward, J Williamson