Alcester targeting Birmingham Vase success

WHILE promotion is the priority for Alcester Town, joint-boss Matt Seeley stressed they want to go as far as they can in the Birmingham Vase as it’s the only cup competition left available to them.

The Red and Blacks make the trip to Coventry Colliery on Saturday for a quarter-final clash which had to be rescheduled after the game had to be postponed due to a waterlogged pitch on Saturday, 19th January.

Having bowed out of the Smedley Crooke Memorial Charity Cup to Worcester Raiders last Wednesday, the Birmingham Vase is Alcester’s last chance of claiming some silverware.

And Seeley wants to make sure it’s the Red and Blacks lifting the trophy.

“The chairman (Dave Taylor) has stressed promotion is the priority, but we want to go as far as we can in the Vase as it’s our last cup competition left,” he said.

Whether the game gets the go-ahead is a completely different matter but if it does, Seeley will be without a number of key players including Danny Janes, Luke Dugmore, Craig Carter, Callum Burston-Keeley, Reece Hewitt, Callum Debar and Connor Deards.

“It’s going to be a bit of a patching up job but we’ll be able to field a side as there’s plenty of strength in depth,” said Seeley.

Alcester go into the Coventry Colliery clash on the back of Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Midland League Division Three basement boys Shipston Excelsior.

The two sides were locked at 0-0 entering the final 15 minutes as a wasteful Alcester missed a number of golden opportunities.

Alcester managed to break the deadlock through substitute Debar, who then went on to score again, with hot-shot Daniel Carter also netting to complete the scoring.

Seeley said: “It was attack versus defence but we really struggled to find the back of the net.

“We missed around four one-on-one chances, hit the post twice and had a number of shots cleared off the line.

“I said to the boys at half-time that it’s all well and good saying the defence is doing well but sometimes you need the strikers to score to take the pressure off the defence.

"Once we went in front the floodgates opened and it was an easy win.”

Meanwhile, Alcester have bolstered their ranks with acquisitions of Aaron Xavier and Lewis Marston.