Hellenic League Floodlit Cup Final preview

Binfield centre back Gary Smith. Photo: Neil Graham.
Binfield centre back Gary Smith. Photo: Neil Graham.

It’s cup final season as Binfield and Thatcham Town go head to head on Monday night in the final of the 2017/18 Perpetua Press Hellenic League Floodlit Cup.

The final – kicking off at 7.45pm, is at Windsor’s Stag Meadow ground and see’s Roger Herridge’s Moles up against Danny Robinson’s Hellenic League Premier Division champions and FA Vase finalists.

Herridge has already been confirmed as Binfield manager for the 2018/19 season and will see his side go in to the game as underdogs in what will be his sixth cup final as Moles boss.

Team news

Binfield FC's Sanchez Commock. Photo: Neil Graham.
Binfield FC’s Sanchez Commock. Photo: Neil Graham.

Binfield will miss the influential Josh Howell who is out injured while Lewis Leonetti joins him in the treatment room. Kane Fitzgerald is cup tied having appeared in the competition for Bracknell Town, but Sanchez Commock is available.

For Thatcham Liam Ferdinand is cup tied after playing for Bracknell in the abandoned fixture at Highmoor Ibis while according to the Newbury Weekly News Gavin James is fit but Dan Rapley is definitely out.

Build up

The Floodlit Cup Final comes two days after Thatcham Town were crowned Hellenic League Premier Division champions and is one of three they face in May – the others being the Challenge Cup Final against Bracknell and the FA Vase final at Wembley against Stockton Town.

For Binfield it is the final game of the season for the Moles as they look to cap a decent campaign that saw them finish seventh. Herridge’s side reached the Quarter Finals of the Challenge Cup where they were beaten 3-1 by Thatcham.

Speaking to the Wokingham Paper last week, Herridge was focused on not conceding early goals as they have done recently. He said: “I said to the lads on Saturday, let’s make sure we’re switched on and we’re set and we don’t give away anything silly in the first few minutes again and blow me, we’ve let a bloke have a free header from a corner and they’ve gone 1-0 up.”

Predictions

We asked Tom Crocker at the Wokingham Paper and Liam Headd at the Newbury Weekly News how they though the final would go and both have gone for a 2-0 scoreline in Thatcham’s favour.

Thatcham have been far to professional to suffer from a title winning hangover but at Football in Bracknell we reckon Roger is just whiley enough to pinch his first silverware as Binfield manager. A tight 3-2 win for the Moles.

Main image: Binfield’s Gary Smith by Neil Graham.

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