Saturday 5th August 2023
EMIRATES F.A CUP – EXTRA PRELIMINARY ROUND
WESTFIELDS v COGENHOE UNITED
Allpay Park,
Widemarsh Common,
Hereford.
HR4 9NA
KO 3-pm
The Cooks make a trip into the unknown on Saturday afternoon as they kick off their F.A Cup campaign at Hellenic League Premier Division side Westfields. We of course go into the game on a high after winning our first two league games of the season, while Westfields only got their Hellenic campaign underway on Tuesday night where they fought back from 1-3 down to newly relegated Cinderford Town to snatch a late point. Trailing 2-0 half-way through the first half, Matt McDonald reduced the arrears before the break. A penalty for the visitors made the evening even worse for Westfields, but the majority of the 202 crowd went home happy after Ben Stoneman hit a late double to make the final score 3-3.
Pre-season was a real mixed bag for our hosts on Saturday, having won their first four before losing the last four, although it must be pointed out that they moved from lower to higher level opponents in that sequence. Chepstow Town were beaten 4-0 away, while Cwmbran Town away saw a 4-2 victory. Two successive 3-0 away wins followed at New Dales Vale and Cheltenham Saracens before finishing off with four games at AllPay Park. Alvechurch won the first game 1-0 before they faced Cardiff Met University in the final of the Herefordshire F.A Senior Invitation Cup where a late winner gave the visitors a 2-1 win. Boldmere St Michaels defeated them 4-3 with two late goals for Westfields making the result far more respectable while they rounded things off with a 0-4 defeat against Stourport Swifts.
Last season saw Westfields finish in very respectable sixth place in the Hellenic Premier Division and I’m sure they will be looking to improve upon that this time around, while for clubs like us the F.A Cup is a very welcome distraction and the opportunity to make a run that could boost the coffers and make simply surviving as a club just that little bit easier. Should the scores remain level at 90 minutes tomorrow, then the two sides will meet again at Compton Park on Tuesday night.
