Tenbury Town 2 Woofferton 1

WOOFFERTON will pumped up for next week’s HFA Burghill Cup final against lower-graded Bromyard FC, insists player-secretary Dave ‘Magnum’ Thomas.

Steve Chadd’s men were feeling blue after last weekend’s HFA Junior Cup semi-final heartache but they will want to be back on song for next Wednesday’s final at Westfields in Hereford.

“It will be hard to go straight from a semi-final defeat to a cup final against Bromyard,” admitted Thomas.

“We are still in another cup semi-final but the upcoming final is very important. We have to make sure we have all our players available and pumped up and hope that next Wednesday is our day.”

Mark Boucker haunted his old club with a 25-yard wonder strike in the dying minutes of extra-time in an absorbing tie at Palmer’s Meadow last Saturday.

Boucker said he feared a penalty shoot-out defeat before his unstoppable shot bounced in off the crossbar to send Tenbury Town into their first-ever cup final.

“I know Danny Gower and Simon Bradley are good at penalties and I didn’t fancy our chances of beating them in a shoot-out,”said Boucker, who played for Woofferton at under-16 level and had a season at senior level for the villagers.

Just four minute s of extra-time were remaining at Palmer’s Meadow when Boucker picked up the ball around 30 yards from Woofferton’s goal.

“I just hit the ball as hard as I could and, luckily, it struck the underside of the crossbar and went in,” he said.

Thomas said wastefulness in front of goal had cost Woofferton.

“In extra-time, Tenbury Town’s striker told me that we should be thrashing them and I agreed with him,” said a dejected Thomas.

“We should have taken our chances but Tenbury’s goalkeeper Steve Sumner saved a lot of shots. We could have been playing until tomorrow and I still don’t think we would have won.”

After a goalless 90 minutes, Town broke the deadlock just 15 seconds into extra-time when Chris Patton picked up a ball down the right and drilled a low shot past James Robertson.

But Woofferton, who play in Division One – one tier above Town in the Herefordshire League – hit back strongly.

The villagers deservedly drew level through Simon Bradley’s well-struck shot with 10 minutes of the tie remaining. But

Woofferton are also pushing for the top-two in Herefordshire League Division One.

“We have won five out of the last six matches, so we have been in good form,” said Thomas.

“Tenbury Town are not a bad team. Ashley Botwood’s got a very low centre of gravity and holds on to the ball and Steve Sumner played very well in goal.

“Danny Gower had a few chances for us but Steve Sumner did very well to save them. Other goalkeepers in our league wouldn’t have saved those shots.”

Town face the winners of the other semi-final, between Fownhope Reserves and Orleton Colts, which is being played this Saturday.