Shifnal players raring to go for Cup derby in front of sold-out crowd

The preliminary round tie, to be played in front of a sell-out crowd of 300 at Shifnal’s Acoustafoam Stadium, has captured the imagination of football fans around the county.

The mouthwatering Cup clash pits Carter and Andrew Carrier’s Shifnal, champions-elect last season before Covid-19 left their dreams in tatters, against West Midlands Premier Division rivals AFC Bridgnorth – who after appointing former No.2 Graham Ward this summer are on a mission for promotion this season themselves.

Carter and Carrier, who hail from the Black Country, were quickly made aware of the scale of tomorrow’s tie and the former is now focused on keeping his players cool.

“It’s a huge game for the area, we found that out with the ticket sales,” Carter said. “Three hundred went straight away and a lot of people had to be turned away.

“No exaggeration – I think we could’ve got 1,000 in. I think that many would’ve sold.

“It is a shame. Players want to play in front of a crowd like that, it’s massive for the area and the club could’ve earned a lot of money from that.”

The Shifnal joint-boss added: “We’ve had over a week now of players constantly thinking of the game. I’ve got to rein them in a bit, they are chomping at the bit.

“We know what we’re doing. We trained last night and had a chat about it. We’ve been in big games before and I know what these players are like. They know how to deal with it. We’ll be ready. There will be nothing silly. We’ll be ready to win that game.”

Bridgnorth boss Ward insists the hosts are clear favourites for the tie and that all the pressure to make the first qualifying round is on Shifnal.

“That doesn’t bother me,” Carter responded. “That’s just mind games from Graham. I don’t get involved in that. My players played with pressure all last season and we dealt with that.

“It’ll just be another game for us. We probably are going in as favourites and I’ll tell the players that.

“I’ll tell them to embrace that. If we are on our game then we win that game.

“If we perform how I know we can then we will win. That’s no disrespect to Bridgnorth, because he’s assembled a great squad there.

“But the belief I’ve got in our lads, I know if we’re on it we will win the game.”

Shifnal goalscorer Tom Hill lit up the extra preliminary round with a stunning overhead kick as Shifnal eased past Chelmsley Town 3-0.

Carter added: “It was a special goal, wasn’t it? He’s capable of that. He’s scored goals everywhere he’s been. He’s just a goal machine. If he could produce something like that again I’d be over the moon.”

“If we can win then it opens up nationally and you potentially get a big club with a big following to earn money for the club.

”It’s all about memories for the players and club.”