BLACKBURN Eagles came out on top in this astonishing 14-goal thriller after surviving a gutsy Whalley second fight back.

Eagles must have thought they were already in the next round after cruising to a 6-0 lead just after the break -- but Whalley changed their keeper and changed the outlook of the match.

In fact, Shomi Malik who came out from between the sticks grabbed the first goal to launch the fight back that took Whalley to within two goals of the Eagles.

However, it was fitting that Matt Haworth grabbed the goal that finally killed off Whalley when he stroked home his fourth and Eagles eighth of the game to open up a third goal gap.

It was Haworth who grabbed the first goal of the game after Whalley had looked liked scoring with Mark Frankland and Gary Micallaf both going close.

Tricky winger Jamie Holden fired home to make it 2-0 and undo the could work done by Whalley central defenders Joe Cross and William Henderson.

Anthony Nield made it 3-0 with a low left foot drive that Malik was unlucky not to keep out and Jordan Sutcliffe made it 4-0 after Del Rowe played the ball back into his path.

Haworth grabbed his second just before the break after some more good work by Holden.

There seemed to be no sign of a Whalley comeback after the break when Nield grabbed his second of the game with a low drive from just inside the area.

Whalley then re-shuffled their pack and put Ashley Higson in goal and pushed Malik up front who immediately popped up with a goal.

The excellent Frankland then showed a great piece of individual skill to out-pace three defenders to fire past Michael Green.

Eagles appeared to stop Whalley in their tracks when Haworth completed his hat-trick with a simple tap-in after good work from Rowe.

But Whalley had other ideas and the hard-working Micallaf played his part in Whalley's third goal when his shot was too hot for Green to handle and Thomas Keighley was on hand to roll the ball over the line.

Frankland scored his second of the game after connecting with a low ball to make it 7-4 and Micallaf scored with the sweetest of volley's to close the gap even further.

With the game finely poised, Howarth scored Eagles' eighth with a cool finish at the near post after latching on to Nield's long free kick. Sutcliffe wrapped up the win with a great long range lob.

HYNDBURN AND DISTRICT LEAGUE UNDER 12s Accrington Lions Cup: Whalley Juniors 5 Blackburn Eagles 9 WHALLEY JUNIORS: Shomi Malik, Thomas Keighley, Tom Wallbank, Joe Cross, William Henderson, Chris Hanra, Teddy Foster, Gary Micallaf, Sean Ronnan, Mark Frankland and Ashley Higson BLACKBURN EAGLES: Michael Green, Chris Newell, Jamie Holden, Matt Haworth, Anthony Nield, Daryl Hall, Jack Barnes, Del Rowe, Jamie Gardiner, Jordan Sutcliffe and Matt Connelly. Subs: Max Eggleston, Jack Fielding, Jack Barnes and Omar Mithagre