MALVERN Town boss Les Jones says getting to a cup final will cap what has been a great season after finishing fourth in the West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division.
The Hillsiders entertain Bewdley Town tonight (Thursday) at the HDAnywhere Community Stadium in the semi-finals of the Smedley Crooke Memorial Charity Cup, with the winner facing either Bromsgrove Sporting or Coton Green.
Winger Lewis Platt (hamstring) is the only doubt for the cup clash as Jones’ side look to push on from Saturday’s 5-2 victory at Shropshire side Ellesmere Rangers.
But Bewdley will fancy their chances after ending their season with 7-0 and 10-0 victories over Dudley Town and Wellington Amateurs respectively.
“It would be a nice way to end the season if we got to a cup final but we understand it is going to be a very tough game,” said Jones.
“Bewdley have been finding the net frequently as of late and ended the season in sixth after finding themselves towards the bottom at the beginning of the campaign.
“They parked the bus when they came to us and claimed a 1-1 draw but we know they will be a lot tougher this time around.
“Bewdley are a confident side right now so we are going to need to be right at it from the start to get a result.”
Four goals from Dave Reynolds, who ended as the league’s top scorer with 51 goals in 39 appearances, and one from Louis Loader fired the Hillsiders to victory on Saturday, but any hopes of claiming second place had already been dashed by last Wednesday’s 2-0 home defeat to Wellington.
Malvern have still qualified for the FA Cup as they finished in the top five, but boss Jones was disappointed to see hopes of a runners-up spot come crashing to an end.
“It’s a season of what could have been because if we had not lost at Gornal Athletic who had only won twice all season we would have been higher up the table,” he added.
“We had more than enough chances to beat Wellington too on Wednesday but once we fell behind we found it very difficult to pull ourselves back into the game.
“However, it has still been a good season as we have qualified for the FA Cup but if we could win the Smedley Crooke it would be a great season.”