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PICTURE: Old Windsor and Frontline Reserves go head to head for a place in the East Berkshire League Cup Final tomorrow - the Semi Finals tie is played at Eton Wick F.C. with a 3pm kick-off.
Old Windsor manager Darren Wareham has explained there will be no excuses when his team bid to reach the East Berkshire League Cup final for the second successive season this Saturday.
The Os conceded a lead to lose to Singh Sabha in an enthralling Final last season, and standing in their way from a repeat appearance at the 1878 Stadium in Burnham is Frontline Reserves. The Semi Finals tie takes place at Haywards Mead, the home of Eton Wick F.C. tomorrow (3pm ko).
Wareham is confident Old Windsor has the talent to go one better this time around, and believes his team to be in good form ahead of the Semi Finals.
He said: “It’s another big game for us and they just keep on coming thick and fast. The team we’re playing against are a very good side, they’ve got a lot of decent players who can hurt teams. We’ve played their first team a couple of times this year and they’re also very good on their day, they can beat anyone. We are aware that we’re going to be in for a tough game and it’s going to be a challenge, but one we are looking forward to.”
Wareham continued: “It’s really important for us to reach the final in this competition because everyone knows what happened last season, winning 2-1 with 25 minutes to go in the final only to end up losing it. It was a disaster for us as a Club and this is a competition that we really want to win this season, go one better than we did before.
“We’ve definitely got the team and the squad to do it. I feel like the form that we’re currently in is very good. We’ve always had decent form going into big games, which we’ve been lucky with, and this year is probably no different.
“We had an indifferent result against Iver Heath away from home where we weren’t quite at it [lost 2-1]. We were missing some key players but I don’t like to make excuses, it just wasn’t good enough on the day. It’s a massive pitch over there and we just fell short on the day.
“The week after we got back at it against KS Gryf and gave them a good beating [won 4-0]. I felt like it didn’t matter who we played on that day we would probably beat anyone. Hopefully we can take that into this game and give Frontline a real good game.
“We’re all excited for it, we all love big games and big occasions. We’ve got some players that like to deal with big occasions and big games. They’re all up for it and ready to go, so no excuses.”
Despite being the lowest ranked team left in the competition, and having to overcome numerous setbacks just to reach the Semi Finals stage, Frontline Chairman, Imran Bhatti, is confident this his Reserve team can cause a huge upset tomorrow.
He said: “It's been a very challenging season for the club with a lot of set backs. A long list of injuries and the lack of availability have returned mixed results but, amongst all this madness, we’ve managed to reach the Semi Finals stage.
“With the blessed month of Ramadan starting this week, the club are excited at the opportunity of playing against a well drilled Old Windsor side who have a prestigious history in this completion.
“We started out with no real ambition but have earned our place and enjoyed every moment of getting this far. Despite being the lowest ranked side we have a strong belief that we can cause an upset and beat Old Windsor. Regardless of the outcome, we’re going to enjoy the afternoon and experience.”
Bhatti added: “The challenges of this season have made us a very unpredictable side, which means on a good day we can easily overcome any team. The club are excited to have reached the Semi Finals and provided we stick to our game plan we'll be enjoying Saturday evening's Iftar (breaking of fast) looking forward to the final.”
Saturday 25 March
League Cup Semi Finals
Britwell v Sandhurst Town (played at Eton Wick FC 12.30pm)
Frontline Reserves v Old Windsor (played at Eton Wick FC 3pm)
Premier Division (2pm)
KS Gryf v Chalvey Sports
Division One (2pm)
FC Baylis v Reading Tigers
Cressex v Braywood Beavers
Stoke Poges v AFC Reading
To enter the East Berkshire Football League ahead of the 2023/24 season, or for further information about the league, or an entry form for the upcoming season, please email the team at contactebfl@gmail.com
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