A LATE goal by centre-forward Chris Smith saw Bishopthorpe through to the second round of the North Riding CFA County Cup with a 2-1 win at Ryedale SC.

However, it could have been a totally different story, as Bishops nearly turned out without a recognised goalkeeper.

Former number one and now club secretary Phil Hulse, 48, answered an 11th-hour call to stand in between the sticks after two goalkeepers were unable to show.

First-teamer Scott Clapham was injured, while first-choice stand-in Miles Massey - who used to be on York City's books - was left stranded between Liverpool and Leeds when his train to North Yorkshire broke down.

"We found out Miles wouldn't make it in time at about 12.30 so I gave Phil a call and he stood in at the last minute," said boss Jeff Morrow.

"Something always happens when we play in this competition," he added, referring to last season's incident-packed run to the final, where they lost to Kirkbymoorside.

An own goal by defender Paul Haliday with about half an hour left had given Ryedale, of the Scarborough and District League, the lead.

However, midfielder Jack Boston equalised just five minutes later and Smith popped up with the winner.

"We had a lot of chances before they scored and basically made hard work of it," added Morrow.

Semi-finalists last year Nestle Rowntree put in a solid performance on a poor surface to beat Thornaby 3-0 in the opening round of the North Riding Cup.

Goals from Brent Terry and Colin Rayner, sandwiching an own goal, were enough to send the York-based West Yorkshire League side through, but they had to dig deep in difficult conditions for the win.

"We had to work hard as the pitch was in a poor state," said Nestle assistant manager Jon Reynolds.

"It was a solid performance. We defended very well and we took our chances when they came along.

"We couldn't play a lot of football on their pitch as it was in a poor state, so it was certainly a good win for us."

Kirkbymoorside also enjoyed victory on their travels as they beat Acklam 4-0.

York RI failed to raise a side for their clash with Nunthorpe.

Updated: 12:33 Monday, October 22, 2001