The protracted Cumberland Cup tie, which was originally scheduled two months ago, finally went ahead at the sixth attempt with a young Reds team cruising through to the next round at the expense of their Westmorland League opponents.

Greystoke, who returned to league action for the first time in seven weeks on Saturday, put in a commendable ninety minutes and kept the holders at bay until the 25^th minute.

Stephen Hindmarch went on one of his trademark runs towards goal but his progress was checked just inside the area by Karl Pinder and referee John Corkhill had no hesitation in awarding the penalty.  Adam Main took the spot kick and opened the scoring by converting from twelve yards.

Reds increased their lead after 37 minutes with a superb goal from Jordan Lee.  Main turned provider on this occasion with his floated cross from the left finding Lee and his volley from the edge of the area thundered past Robert Benn in the Greystoke goal.

Benn, or any other goalkeeper in the country for that matter, had no chance with Lee’s wonder goal but he pulled off a string of fine saves to keep the scoreline more than respectable.

Hindmarch’s rehabilitation gathered momentum with another seventy minutes of action and, like at Formby last week, he displayed his full repertoire to the delight of the home support.  The thought of him playing like that at first team level is, indeed, an exciting prospect.

Greystoke’s only real scoring opportunity fell to Kevin Pattinson when he took advantage of a Dan McDermott error.  The Greystoke player probably shot too early but it still required a fine save from Aaran Taylor to prevent a shock goal for the visitors.

Soon after that scare, Reds netted a third goal to secure their passage into the next round.  Jordan Lee had missed a couple of chances after his stunning first half strike but he netted his second with another fine finish in the 65^th minute.

Hindmarch left the pitch to generous applause after his eye-catching performance but there was an even bigger cheer when Darren Edmondson took to the field as a late substitute.  At that point, he was one of the oldest players on the pitch but only until Greystoke introduced their third substitute – 57 years old, John Airey!

Carlisle Amateurs, who were represented at Borough Park, will now host Reds in the quarter final scheduled for the first Saturday in March.