bb17nov00

ATHLETIC are on FA Cup red alert as they prepare to face non-league Hednesford Town tomorrow. The Conference side have set their sights on a first-round shock and Andy Ritchie will warn his men to guard against complacency. Form and logic point to an Athletic victory at Keys Park. They have won four of their last six matches, while third-from-bottom Hednesford have conceded 40 goals in 18 league games. Yet, notoriously, the cup is no respector of reputations. And the part-timers have nothing to lose by going for Athletic's jugular. "We have to get our minds absolutely right," stressed Athletic boss Ritchie. "Hednesford will be pumped up for it and we have to compete with them. "It's just like any other game in that we need to prepare properly and get it right during the 90 minutes. We did that at Stoke last week and it paid off. "But it's even more important against a non-league side. I have watched Hednesford myself and they will get right in amongst us and make life hard."

The 11 players who ended Athletic's 1-0 win at Stoke are certain to begin tomorrow's game, which is not under threat from the wet weather. Tony Carss has been carrying a slight groin strain for two weeks, but he has again received the all-clear. That is a relief for Athletic as their midfield has already been disrupted by a knee injury to Neil Adams. Mark Allott, who did well on the right-hand side at Stoke, steps in for the winger, giving Athletic plenty of scope for attack. Matthew Tipton — scorer of five goals in six games for the reserves this season — is brought in as additional cover.

ATHLETIC (probable): Kelly, Rickers, Garnett, McNiven, Innes, Allott, Duxbury, Carss, Eyres, Corazzin, Dudley. Subs: Miskelly, Jones, Salt, Boshell, Tipton.

Anyone who fancies a pint before the match I will be in the Cross Keys near Keys Park. Give me a ring on 0777 577 5786. Gary.

Ritchie fears potential upset

Oldham's clash with Hednesford has come at just the right time as the Conference club are still reeling from last week's 5-1 defeat at Nuneaton. The Staffordshire club have not won in the league since October 21st and that was courtesy of an injury-time winner in the 4-3 win at Boston. In all, Hednesford have won just four of their 18 Nationwide Conference games this season, a record that sees them lie third from bottom of the non-league's top flight, so naturally Oldham are red-hot favourites to advance to the second round. However Andy Ritchie is having none of that and is preferring to err on the side of caution, saying: "The FA Cup is littered with casualties and you can bet on it happening again this season. "Anybody who thinks our tie is going to be a walkover should forget it because you can rip up the form book in these one-off games. "The spirit of the underdog has been known to cause many an upset and even though we've done our homework, we must match them for effort and desire because you can bank on them having plenty of that." Hednesford had effort and desire in abundance when they took on Middlesbrough in the third round in 1997. They led 1-0 at the Riverside before Ravanelli and co bounced back to win 3-2, with the help of an own-goal, on their way to a final defeat to Chelsea.

Weekend of cup draws

A reminder to fans that tomorrow sees the first-round draw for the tournament formerly known as the Auto Windscreens Shield.
As well as hopefully being in the hat for the FA Cup second round on Saturday evening, the Latics will be keeping a keen eye on the draw for the competition that gets underway next month with a new sponsor and new name, following Auto Windscreens' decision to withdraw their backing of the tournament. There has been a delay while new sponsorship is being confirmed, but the Latics will be hoping a change of sponsor brings a change of fortune for the club in the tournament. Oldham never won a match in the competition in its Auto Windscreens' guise, going out on the golden-goal rule in each of the last three seasons. Many regard it as a second-rate competition, but at least in years gone by it did give all second and third division clubs the chance of a showpiece day out at Wembley. With the national stadium under redevelopment, even that privilege has been denied this year although the prospect of a potential trip to Old Trafford will be a significant incentive for many clubs. The draw will be broadcast simultaneously on Sky's Soccer AM programme and Talksport radio at 10:30am tomorrow with first round games scheduled to be played in the week beginning Monday, December 4th.

Official Oldham Athletic Web Site

LEAGUE LAUNCH LDV VANS TROPHY

The Football League today concluded a major agreement with LDV Vans for the title sponsorship of the Football League Trophy, the annual competition for Second and Third Division clubs. The four-year deal is the largest sponsorship in the competition's history and it will now be known as THE LDV VANS TROPHY.

For the very first time the competition will be extended to include eight teams from the Nationwide Conference. The draw for the first round will take place on Saturday at 10 am on Soccer AM (Sky Sports One), where regular presenters Tim Lovejoy and Helen Chamberlain will be assisted by Noel Gallagher and Primal Scream's Mani.

In announcing the deal The Football League's Chief Executive David Burns said "I am delighted to welcome LDV to The Football League's team of sponsors, this deal will help us to further develop a competition which has been very successful for our smaller clubs. I am also very pleased that we have been able to include eight Conference teams for the first time, I'm sure their involvement will capture the imagination of real football supporters".

Steve Miller, Marketing Director for LDV added, "LDV have a successful history of working with The Football League and for several years we were the proud sponsor of the Sherpa Van Trophy. Today we are delighted to be bringing the cup back home, with the launch of The LDV Vans Trophy".

Hednesford v Oldham preview

Hednesford are expecting a large crowd for their FA Cup first round match against Division Two side Oldham at Keys Park, but do not expect a sell-out. Youth development officer James Thomas said: "Our capacity is 6,000 but we won't get this as the weather is likely to be bad. "Our average crowd is just under 1,000 so something around 3,000 would be good. A big gate for the match would give the club a real boost." Hednesford, who are struggling near the bottom of the Nationwide Conference table, have a full-strength squad to select from for the game.

Difficult encounter

Oldham boss Andy Ritchie is expecting a tough game. The Conference side boast former Latics defender Neil Pointon in their ranks and Ritchie knows he will make sure the tie is far from easy. Ritchie said: "They may not be doing particularly well in the league but I don't think that counts for anything because this is a one-off. "We must go into the game with the right attitude or we could end up on the end of a defeat." Oldham will be without midfielder Neil Adams, who sustained a knee injury in last week's 1-0 win over Stoke.

Total Football Network

Hednesford Town v Oldham Athletic

Hednesford are expecting a large crowd for their FA Cup first round match against Division Two side Oldham at Keys Park, but do not expect a sell-out. Youth development officer James Thomas said: "Our capacity is 6,000 but we won't get this as the weather is likely to be bad. "Our average crowd is just under 1,000 so something around 3,000 would be good. A big gate for the match would give the club a real boost.'' Hednesford, who are struggling near the bottom of the Nationwide Conference table, have a full-strength squad to select from for the game.

Oldham boss Andy Ritchie is expecting a tough game and he will be without midfielder Neil Adams, who damaged knee ligaments in last week's 1-0 win over Stoke and is expected to be out for at least three weeks. Ritchie said: "They may not be doing particularly well in the league but I don't think that counts for anything because this is a one-off.