After Tuesday’s loss vs Irlam, 1874’s attention turns to Saturdays FA Cup Preliminary round tie versus Handsworth F.C who play their football in the Northern Counties East League Premier Division, which is the same level as 1874.
On Saturday, it will mark the 251st appearance from midfielder and club captain Matt Woolley. At training on Thursday, Club Media Officer Matt Waters caught up with Woolley ahead of tomorrow’s game.
Woolley began by reflecting on the Irlam game by stating “We don’t just become a bad side overnight. He continued, “We didn’t play as well as we should have on Tuesday, however the score line flattered the game in the end. One bad result doesn’t make us a bad team so we take confidence from our good start into this game.”
With 1874 and Handsworth F.C having no previous meetings, Woolley revealed it needs a strong performance to deal with them as somewhat of an unknown quantity. He explained, “We don’t know too much about them but we’ve prepared right and it’ll be a big occasion so hopefully we can get it done and get over the line.”
Woolley, 1874’s record appearance maker, revealed it’s a huge honour to play for the club and also to wear the armband. He said, “It’s a huge honour to be captain of this football club. I feel like the players respect me, but it’s a team game and we have to make sure we get the win and we have a great opportunity to do so against a team at our level.”
Tomorrows opponents beat Thackley Town in emphatic style in the last round securing a 4-1 victory to set up our preliminary round tie.
Team news for 1874:
- Sam Hind returns to the squad after being away on holiday
- Taylor Kennerley is unavailable
- Mark Jones, Matt Russell and Ryan Mitchell all face fitness tests before the game
- Tony Aghayere could also return to the side however we are still awaiting FA clearance
You can see 1874 take on Handsworth F.C on Saturday at Townfield, Barnton with a 3PM kick off time.