Ultimate dark horses Handsworth Reserves have no fear going into the S&HCSL League Cup Final against huge favourites Swinton Athletic.
That’s the message from head of youth Chris Short ahead of the final at Wombwell Main on Wednesday night (kick off scheduled for 6.30pm).
A Handsworth victory would certainly be remembered for years as ‘unbeatable foe’ Swinton last lost a County Senior League fixture in April 2019, but Short says the young Ambers are not intimidated by their opponent’s impregnable record.
“We were asked if we had gone and watched them (Swinton) and done our research and the simple was answer to it was ‘no we didn’t go and watch and no we haven’t done our research’,” Short told Non League Yorkshire.
“We know what players we have available and we know who is unavailable due to work commitments and we’re going to go out and give it our all and hopefully put on another good show for our club.
“Hopefully that will get us to where we want to be.
“I think if we won it would certainly be up there (with the best Handsworth Reserves wins ever).
“I can’t think of anything going back a decade from a reserves point of view that would get anywhere near it if it does happen (and we beat Swinton).
“Yes we are playing one of the best County Senior teams around and yes they are unbeaten (in two years), but if we do turn up I’d say there is a chance (we can win).
“We have to go in with that belief that there is an opportunity (to win) and we have always said we want to play the best and be the best and on Wednesday night we are playing the best.
“It would be a massive upset (if we won).
“Any bookies would have them bang on favourites, but massive upset or no massive upset we will literally do as I said before, we will play our way and we’ll see where it takes it us.”
Regardless of the outcome of the Final, Division One side Handsworth’s road to Wombwell has been remarkable.
Handsworth won Group B despite facing four Premier Division outfits. They then dispatched higher league Oughtibridge and Ecclesfield Red Rose 1915 in the knockout stages and Short can’t speak highly enough of the club’s players.
“I don’t think it is a massive shock what we have achieved,” he said.
“I think we were always underdogs and that certainly won’t go away for Wednesday night. That’s obvious and clear.
“From our point of view we trust the system and we do believe in the players that we bring through.
“They’ve taken it (the League Cup) by the scruff of the neck and gone for it.
“We’re proud as punch with them.
“It is an outstanding achievement to get where they have and they’re not much more they can do to make it anymore outstanding.
“Anything we do now is beyond where hand on heart we expected to be.
“It means everything to the lads first and foremost.
“We have done the club proud and it shows our development and from our point of view it has always been about development and trusting our players and the system.”
Wednesday night will conclude the two-month-long competition which reached its current crest of a wave on Saturday when 400 people watched the semi-final between Dodworth Miners Welfare and Swinton.
The turnout was beyond the league’s wildest expectations and Short agrees the League Cup has been a fantastic advertisement for County Senior football.
“The League have run the competition well in difficult circumstances and they have put everything behind it,” he said.
“It has been brilliant for the County Senior League and it has had a lot of coverage thanks to yourself which has showcased the league to new people.
“It has been enjoyable. We have all had an horrendous 16 months with the pandemic and to finally get doing something we all love and have healthy competition it has been good for everyone’s mental wellbeing.”
If you have enjoyed reading Non League Yorkshire over the past few months, please consider making a donation to the not-for-profit organisation NLY Community Sport which provides sport for children and adults with disabilities and learning difficulties. CLICK HERE to visit the JustGiving page. There is a video at the bottom of the page showing our work.
NLY Community Sport, run by James Grayson and Connor Rollinson, has always had combatting social isolation at the top of our objectives when running our Disability Football teams.
Our work is playing an important role in reintroducing our players, who have disabilities and learning difficulties, back into society.
We have six teams, a mixture of Junior and Adult teams – Nostell MW DFC, Pontefract Pirates, Selby Disability Football Club and the South Yorkshire Superheroes (Barnsley) – across Yorkshire.
We have enjoyed great success over the past three years. Several of our players have represented Mencap GB in Geneva, including Billy Hobson from Selby and Greg Smith, whose story is quite inspiring.
You can learn more about the organisation HERE and on our Facebook page.
Watch the video below to see highlights from our three years as an organisation. The video was produced for our players at the end of March to remind them of good memories from the last three years.