Alcester hoping Birmingham Vase tie finally goes ahead
ALCESTER Town will hope it’s a case of third time lucky when they make the trip to Coventry Colliery in the Birmingham Vase on Saturday.
The quarter-final clash has already been postponed twice, with a frozen pitch bringing an end to the tie getting the go-ahead last weekend.
That came after a waterlogged pitch stopped the fixture taking place on Saturday, 19th January.
Due to county cup games taking priority over league games, it means Alcester’s originally scheduled Midland League Division Three clash against league leaders AFC Solihull for this Saturday has now been postponed.
AFC Solihull, though, are in Birmingham Vase action anyway as their clash at Village FC also fell foul of the weather last Saturday.
Town joint-boss Matt Seeley said: “It’s really frustrating because we just want to get this game played and secure a place in a cup semi-final.
“We were quite surprised it was called off on Saturday.
“I don’t know if they [Coventry Colliery] did not give the pitch long enough to thaw out, but hopefully it will get the go-ahead this weekend.
“As the county cup games take priority, we don’t want it to keep being called off so that we end up with a fixture backlog towards the end of the season.
“We’ve got a big squad just in case that ever happens but it’s always hard to get players out of work to commit to a lot of midweek games.”
Seeley is expected to welcome back Luke Dugmore (holiday), Callum Debar (holiday), Craig Carter (foot) and Connor Deards (hip) to the squad.
New signings Lewis Marston and Aaron Xavier are also set to feature.