RUGBY Town will be looking to repeat their giant-killing heroics once again when they welcome Hednesford Town to Butlin Road in the second qualifying round of the FA Cup on Saturday.
Valley pulled off an unlikely 4-2 triumph at Southern League Premier outfit Redditch United in the previous round, recovering from a 2-1 deficit with ten men to dump a side two levels above them out of the competition.
This weekend’s opponents are long-standing foes of Rugby, with the two clubs having met 37 times previously, including 16 games in Southern League competitions between 1985 and 2010.
Having battled their way through a tricky FA Vase tie against Ingles at the weekend, winning 2-0, Town were then beaten in the league at Oadby on Tuesday night.
And boss Carl Adams will be demanding a massive improvement from his side on Saturday if they are to bank a further £9,000 to add to the more than £11,000 of FA Cup prize fund they have already accumulated.
Last weekend’s Vase win, thanks to goals from Romario Martin and Daniel Kavanagh, has earned Rugby a first round proper fixture in the competition at Midland League Premier Division side Boldmere St Michaels, with the game scheduled for Saturday, October 13.
The 2-1 midweek defeat at Oadby saw Town slip down a further place to sixth in the United Counties Premier table and once more they struggled to penetrate the opposing defence in the absence of in-form striker Danico Johnson, who will also miss Saturday’s big cup game as he completes his three-match ban for his sending-off at Redditch.
One potential stand-in could be Martin, although Adams may choose to pair up Charlie Evans – a hat-trick hero in the previous round – with Simeon Tulloch who returned to the Valley squad at Oadby having missed the Vase success.
Valley face further cup action next Tuesday when Leicester Nirvana visit Butlin Road in the first round of the UCL League Cup.
