SUDDENLY it seemed all so pointless. Burnley United's spirited challenge came to an abrupt and sickening end when substitute Damien Hartley suffered a double fracture to his leg just three minutes from time.

Hartley had been on the pitch barely a minute when he challenged for a 50-50 ball which resulted in a nasty break to the tibula and fibula.

United's players were led from the field of play but they had already decided there was no point playing on following the horror injury to their likeable team-mate.

By that stage United were 2-0 down and more or less out of the cup.

Their thoughts clearly with their team-mate, it would be understandable for them to forget about their second half fightback before conceded that killer second goal.

But United did themselves proud against a side who had already completed the league double and were lying second in the table.

United had the worse possible start -- and a first half performance they could easily forget.

On a freezing night, United were caught cold and conceded a goal after just two minutes when centre back Adam Tong fired home from close range after Trevor Mason's corner was flicked on.

With a reluctance to push forward, Charnock Richard bossed the proceedings with livewire Kevin Allen causing all sorts of problems up front.

Thankfully for United, centre back Martin Brown was in fantastic form while fellow defender and captain Craig Whittaker was as cool as ever under pressure.

What few chances fell their way United failed to take. Shortly after Charnock's goal, Leon Barnett's crossed from the left but Rodriguez failed to connect properly and his shot was blocked while he poked the follow up wide.

Charnock Richard on the other hand had plenty of options going forward and Andrew Taylor, Allen and Nicholas Vosperall went close.

United's Brown underlined his solid display at the back with a wonderful sliding tackle on Taylor when it appeared the striker had a clear run in on goal.

After the break it was a different story as far as United were concerned and there was more urgency about their play.

With confidence seeping through the team, Brown then made a fine break out of defence and only a last gasp tackle to deny him a clear run on goal.

The out-of-sorts Rodriguez then spurned another great chance when Whittaker's long ball was missed by the last defender but the big striker unfortunately stood on the ball.

Charnock Richard showed how dangerous they were on the break and for once, Allen evaded the challenge of Brown who crossed for John Sanderson who fired wide.

Rodriguez finally showed his true ability when he picked up a loose ball on the edge of the area and fired in a low shot that Barry Edge palmed around the post.

United should have drawn level from the resulting corner when Darren Whittaker's deep cross was headed back in to the danger zone by Gizon but Geochagan headed over from close range.

The Burnley team were made to rue the miss as immediate afterwards Charnock Richard won a corner and Andy Roberts vollyed home from close range.

Charnock now had their tails up again and Allen fired in a shot that crashed against the bar before Sanderson had a shot scooped off the line by Heffernan.

With time slipping away, Hartley was given a run out but his, and United's, cup run was brought to a horrendous halt.

It started badly for United and ended up considerable worse.

LANCASHIRE AMATEUR SHIELD SEMI FINAL

Charnock Richard 2 Burnley United 0

BURNLEY UNITED (3-5-2) Manager: K Rodriguez

Booked: Geochagan (26)

Subs: Akbar for Wilson (62), Hartley for Brown (86)

CHARNOCK RICHARD (4-4-2) Manager: G Randall

Scorers: A Tong (2), A Roberts 75)

Subs: Sanderson for Taylor (62)

REFEREE: L Mitchell (Lytham)

Ratings

Burnley United

Tex McGinty (keeper) Not that many saves to make but was still beaten twice...6

HMartin Brown (centre back) Excellent display of power, pace and skill. Excellent first half tackle summed up display. Looked dangerous breaking out of defence...8

Craig Whittaker (centre back) Cool as you like on the ball and distribution was excellent. Went forward when he could...7

Matt Scaife (centre back) Not as eager to get forward as his fellow team-mates. Solid performance and stuck to the task...7

Darren Whittaker (right midfield) Worked hard throughout the game though finally ball was sadly lacking...6

Craig Heffernan (left midfield) Quiet first half but perked up after the break and ran at defenders...7

Leon Barnett (centre midfield) Popped up all over the place and improved as match went on...7

Scott Gizon (centre midfield) Another who had quiet opening but got stuck in after the break...6

Ian Geochagan (centre midfield) Booked early on and was lucky to stay on pitch. Missed United's best chance...6

Kiko Rodriguez (striker) Disappointing from the big man. Showed one glimpse of his quality but was out of sorts...5

Aidy Wilson (striker) Put himself about in the first half and covered a lot of ground but did not have a shot on goal...5

Subs

Enab Akbar (striker) Pacey striker did not really get in to the game...6