The road to Wembley starts here as we head to fellow NCEL Premier side Thackley AFC for our FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round fixture, kick off is at 3:00pm.
Blues News
The Blues kicked off the new campaign in disappointing fashion as they were stunned by a second half Pickering come back to lose the NCEL opener 4-2.
Frickley had raced into a 2-0 lead through goals from Jack Varley and Luke Williams but a number of defensive errors after this point allowed Pickering back into the game and ultimately resulted in defeat. This was compounded by a straight red card for Josh Haigh who now starts a 3 match ban in Saturday’s fixture.
But Saturday presents a chance for the Blues to get the result out of the system with another outing in the FA Cup. It hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for the Blues in recent years, who are without a win in the competition since a 3-1 win against Newcastle Benfield in 2020.
Since dropping into the NCEL in 2022, the Blues have excited at the Extra Preliminary round stage in both season, with a 2-1 away defeat at Whickham in 2022 and a 3-1 away defeat at Knaresborough in 2023. Let’s hope for a change of fortunes this time round.
Form (last 5) – DLLWL
League Standing: Pos 15, P1, W0, D0, L1, Pts 0
Our Opponents
Our FA Cup opponents this time around are fellow NCEL Premier side Thackley AFC. Thackley came into the new season on the back of a very strong showing last year, finishing narrowly outside the playoffs in 7th place, and are thought to be a bit of a dark horse this season as well.
They have had a positive start to this season, having backed up a strong preseason with a 2-1 win in their NCEL opener at Dennyfield against newly promoted Beverley Town. The Dennyboys possess a number of dangerous players including several ex Blues with the likes of Ben Bodle, Edson Prata and George Green all within the Thackley camp.
Their FA Cup record is not pretty reading however, with Thackley not winning an FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round tie since a 3-1 win over Durham City in the 2015/16 season. They have proceeded to exit at this stage each season since, their best result seeing them get a replay against Ramsbottom in 22/23 after a 1-1 draw before losing 2-0 in the follow up
Form (Last 5) – WDWWW
League Standing: Pos 7, P1, W1, D0, L0, Pts 3
Previous Meetings
Dennyfield has not been a happy hunting ground for the Blues since dropping into the NCEL, having lost both fixtures played their 2-1 over the last two season. Frickley’s best result against Thackley was in the home match last year as the Blues ran out 3-0 winners thanks to goals from Luke Walker, Keegan Townrow and Rieves Boocock.
Match Details
Come along and grab some cup fever as we make our first away visit of the season. If you’re making your own way their, the address for Dennyfield is below:
Dennyfield, Ainsbury Avenue, Thackley, Bradford, BD10 0TL
Admission prices are £6 for adults and £4 for concessions.
There are still spaces available on our supporters coach which leaves North Elmsall at 12:30 and returns straight after the game. Seats are £10 for adults or £5 for juniors. Give Ian a ring on 07790 569075 if you’d like to travel.
And if you can’t make the game, then why not tune in to the live match commentary on PodBean? We’ll be live from around 2:55pm with full coverage of the game and drop in and give it a listen
Let’s look to start August positively and hope for a bit of a cup run. Hope to see plenty of you there!!
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#forzafrickley
