A CROWD of 500 watched Mond Rangers Reserves make a valiant bid to capture the Guardian Cup in the final at Ryland Rec, Warrington, on Easter Monday.

Mond, however, were in for a shock with Greenall opening the scoring in the first minute when the ball was headed in at the back post from a free-kick.

Things then got worse for Mond when Hennessey scored from five yards.

Mond's captain Paul Cogswell pulled one back when he forced home a corner from Moore, but, unfortunately, the Gers goalscorer had to come off with a knee injury.

The Runcorn side got a second through Mark Tudor, from another Moore corner, but not before Greenall hit a third after 20 minutes.

Mond suffered more misfortune when Scott Howard dislocated a shoulder, and to make matters worse, Greenall added a fourth goal in first-half injury time.

Droughton and Nelson forced good saves from the Greenall keeper in the second half and Moore blasted wide, while Ged Bushell saw a shot saved on the line.

Although disappointed with the result, Mond manager John Crompton said the cup-final experience had been 'brilliant' and the team had learned a lot along the way.

Rangers: Bate; Norton, Cogswell (capt), Atkinson, Tudor; Howard, Patterson, Moore, Linnett; Droughton, Bushell. Subs: Lancaster, Nelson, Ramanouski (all used).

Mond 5 Pensby 0: Mond moved a step closer to the West Cheshire League Division Two title with a convincing 5-0 victory over Pensby.

And in the process, the league leaders fired in several excellent goals. The first from Darren Moore - a shot across the keeper - was followed by an unstoppable Savage volley.

The third of the home side's five goals came from Alex Maxwell who latched on to an Ellams pass, bringing the ball down in one movement and rounding a defender before clipping the ball over the goalkeeper from a narrow angle.

A long-range drive from Moore brought a good save from the visiting keeper and, at the other end, Bate kept a clean sheet with a splendid save, tipping over a goalbound shot.

Mond's fourth goal came from captain and man-of-the-match Mark Robinson.

A pinpoint free-kick from Moore found Robinson and his looping header beat everyone to find the top corner.

The fifth and final goal - the best of the match - came when Alan Glover cracked a half-volley into the top corner from wide left.

On Saturday, Mond travel to Maghull for a Division Two fixture, ko 3pm. The Reserves host Mersey Royal in Division Three, ko 3pm.