A brace from Arron Johns against League Two side Crewe Alexandra confirmed Congleton Town’s place in this year’s Cheshire Senior Cup final.

The Bears will face Altrincham with details regarding the final being announced in due course.

Congleton made seven changes to the side that drew with Wythenshawe on Saturday, something we have become accustomed to in recent weeks given the hectic schedule Congleton find themselves in, making a win like this that even more impressive.

Johns broke the deadlock five minutes into the game, as he was quickest to react to Jack Flint parrying Dan Needham’s initial effort to fire home from close range.

Crewe had chances of their own with David Amoo and Max Woodcock having efforts fly marginally over the bar from inside the Congleton box.

As the interval loomed, it was the home side who looked the more threatening in front of goal with Johns being denied a second by a fine reaction save from Flint, before the goalkeeper was on task once again to keep out Tom Pope’s header moments later.

Richard Duffy’s side began the second half like the first and were awarded once more for their early pressure.

Johns scrambled home his second of the game as Flint was unable to keep hold of the ball in the six-yard box providing the winger with the simple task of finishing into an empty net from a matter of yards.

Pope believed he got Congleton’s third with a towering header at the back post, latching onto a Pete Williams corner, but the linesman’s flag for offside brought a stop to any celebrations.

Crewe Alexandra, despite having large spells of possession, failed to create any chances of significance in the second-half, with Woodcock coming the closest with an effort that fired against Dave Parton’s post in the closing stages.

Richard Duffy: The boys have been magnificent

“Yeah great. If you told me at the beginning of the season we would be in three semi-finals and get to two finals, I probably wouldn’t have believed you.

“The boys have been magnificent, everything we have asked of them they have tried, they’ve worked towards the way we really want to play.

“63 games and we are still going. You see in the 90th minute there, Pete Williams is still pressing their centre-back. The energy in them is something else, you have got to take your hat off to them because there is not many teams at our level that could deal with that [Crewe].”