Malvern Town currently play in Division One of the Southern League, and are about to kick off their domestic league season.
When it comes to winning trophies, football teams can either win league titles or cup competitions. Cups often come with the most excitement, knock-out games offer a unique thrill. What’s more, cup competitions offer smaller clubs like Malvern Town the chance to immortalise themselves and take on the best in the country. How are Malvern Town’s hopes for domestic cup success this season? Read on to find out.
Malvern Town’s Form
The league season hasn’t kicked off yet, but Malvern Town did play a number of pre-season friendlies to practice tactics and ensure the players remained fit and ready. These friendlies don’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things, but they can serve as a useful barometer for where the team is at and what we can expect from them when the real stuff starts.
Malvern Town played a total of seven friendlies, recording four wins, two losses, and one draw. The team’s biggest win was an away victory over Brimscombe and Thrupp, a game in which Malvern hammered the opposition by six goals to nil.
Malvern Town fans will no doubt have been elated at this result. It came in the last friendly game of the off-season and will have left supporters excited for what was to come in the season ahead.
The FA Cup
One of the world’s oldest and most famous football competitions, the FA Cup sees hundreds of teams around the country fight for progression and strive to reach the final. It’s an enormously popular competition both here in the UK and around the world. It attracts massive viewing figures and sees plenty of live betting odds across all of its many games.
Malvern Town’s first competitive game of the season came in the form of an FA Cup Preliminary Round, which is where teams from the lower divisions battle it out to secure progression.
Malvern were drawn against Warwickshire-based Rugby Town and travelled to Rugby Town’s Butlin Road stadium for the first leg of the tie. The home side were up by two goals after just eight minutes, but Malvern Town were back in the game after a Rugby Town own goal. However, a quick-fire Rugby Town double saw the home side go into the break 4 – 1 up.
The second half saw a remarkable turnaround. Goals from Harry Clark, Lewis Platt, Alex Bell and Matthew Turner turned the tables and Malvern Town were cruising 5 – 4 up with just seven minutes of regular time to play. However, a dramatic 96th-minute equaliser from Rugby Town’s Fitzharris levelled the game, and the rollercoaster first leg finished at 5 – 5.
Three days later, the second tie took place at Malvern Town’s Langland Stadium. Rugby Town opened the scoring in the 38th minute with a penalty, but Malvern Town responded to go into the break all square. The remainder of the game was poised at 1 – 1 until a 95th-minute winner from Rugby Town’s Kolodynski sent Malvern Town crashing out of the FA Cup.
Who Will Win This Year’s FA Cup?
While Malvern Town cannot win a domestic cup this season, they will certainly kick on and do their best in the league, and supporters can still watch and enjoy what is set to be a thrilling FA Cup competition.
It’s hard to see anyone but Manchester City lifting the cup this year. Fresh off the back of a historic treble, the team have strengthened and will be looking to surpass the achievements of last season, if that’s even possible.
Conclusion
Malvern Town will have hoped for a better run in the FA Cup, but there’s always next season to look forward to!
