Nine-man Lichfield City FC reached the semi-final of the JW Hunt Cup after seeing off Wolverhampton Casuals.

They will now face Wolverhampton Sporting with the carrot of a place in the final at Molineux awaiting the winners – something City will be desperate to achieve after missing out on the chance of an appearance at a Football League ground in the final of the Walsall Senior Cup final.

But Lichfield were made to sweat for their victory after seeing two players sent off in the second half against Casuals.

The opening period started well with City going close when Martin Crawford saw his effort cannon back off the upright.

As the first half wore on Lichfield began to have the better of the action as Crawford was again denied when the ball was cleared off the line.

The breakthrough eventually came when Tyrone Smith netted five minutes from half-time.

Gavin Hurren almost doubled the advantage before the break as City looked to capitalise on their domination.

The second half also started brightly as Smith went through one-on-one but failed to find the net.

But a fiesty game sparked into life as Casuals levelled.

And things went from bad to worse for Lichfield after Peter Folkes was shown a straight red card and Keenan Richards picked up his second yellow of the afternoon.

The rollercoaster encounter wasn’t finished yet though as Smith fired City back in front.

There was still time for Casuals to have one last chance of staying in the cup, but Lichfield keeper Conor McCarthy pulled off a fine save to send his side through to the semis.

Founder of Lichfield Live and editor of the site.