Next Up! Stags face Hedge End Town in 3rd round Cup action

£5 entry, FREE BURGER & SOFT DRINK for the first 100 tickets purchased from the ticket office.

AFC Totton will continue their Southampton Senior Cup campaign with a 3^rd Round tie against Southampton Saturday Football League (SSFL) Premier side Hedge End Town at the Snows Stadium on Tuesday 22 February, kick-off at 7:45pm.

Manager Wes Skinner’s self-styled HETFC were the beneficiaries of a bye in the 1^st Round and then triumphed 5-3 at Chamberlayne Athletic in Woolston to book their date with the Stags. The draw originally had the match taking place at Hedge End but an agreement was reached between the two clubs to switch the tie to the Snows Stadium to accommodate a midweek game under the floodlights.

Hedge End, who began life as a boys’ Southampton Tyro League team and entered men’s junior football in 2002, are one division above Durley – who Totton eliminated by a scoreline of 13-0 in the previous round – and they will be wary of suffering a similarly heavy defeat against the semi-professional Stags.

Skinner’s team are going very well in the league this season. Their 2-0 win at Hamble United on Saturday was their 10^th consecutive league victory, in a run that includes a 9-0 mauling of Ryde Saints on the Isle of Wight, and they currently sit 2^nd in the table behind Tendown Athletic on goal difference but with two games in-hand.

HETFC won their first trophy in men’s football in 2008, when they beat Nimbin 3-2 in the final to lift the Ron Vallance Plate. And in 2013, they were crowned Champions of the SSFL Senior 1, making them the first team from Hedge End to win the division in 125 years.

In addition to the Hedge End Town first team that will take on Totton, there is also a Reserve team that competes in SSFL Junior Division 1. The club’s home colours are black-and-white striped shirts, with black shorts and socks.

THE HITMAN & HISH: Shaquille Gwengwe was among the goals against Durley in the 2nd Round of the Southampton Senior Cup.

HEDGE END TOWN – LAST 5 MATCHES (All Competitions)

Sat 15 Jan        Fleetlands                               H        Hampshire FA Trophy                 L     0-2

Sat 22 Jan       Chamberlayne Athletic       A        Southampton Senior Cup          W    5-3

Sat 29 Jan       Hedge End Rangers           H        SSFL Premier                                  W    2-0

Sat 05 Feb       Warsash Wasps                  H        SSFL Premier                                  W    3-1

Sat 12 Feb        Hamble United                     A       SSFL Premier                                W    2-0

By Ben Rochey-Adams

Image courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography