The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
BUCKINGHAM TOWN 0
HOLBEACH UNITED 6
Cup kings Holbeach United cruised into the last eight of the ChromaSport UCL Knockout Cup with a dominant 6-0 win at Buckingham Town on Saturday.
The Tigers, who are already in the semi-finals of the Lincs FA Senior Trophy, booked a quarter-final with Harrowby United thanks to goals from Mitch Griffiths (2), Joe Smith (2), debutant Cameron Gow and George Zuerner.
That was, despite the Tigers travelling without a host of first team regulars – meaning boss Seb Hayes was forced to field a side that included a mix of first team players, reserves and under-18 talents.
Gow, who signed on dual forms from Peterborough Sports on the eve of the game, scored the pick of the goals with a 25-yard rocket against the UCL Division One high-fliers.
“It was a solid, dominant and complete performance from us,” said Hayes. “We could easily have scored nine or ten goals – which is crazy considering how many players we had missing.
“To be honest, we’d have been very happy to go there and scrape a 1-0. The team was a mix of first team players, reserves and under-18s.
“That’s not ideal, but it was a great day for the club.
“We’ve made no secret of what our priorities are this season – doing well in the cups is our number one aim.
“So, to go there without so many regulars and put in such a great performance is very, very pleasing.
“I’ve been critical of our attacking in recent weeks, but everything clicked going forward on Saturday.
“I thought Callum Davies was quality on his first start in a while. Callum Simmons also came in from the reserves and put in a great 90 minutes.
“Dan Dougill was also exceptional and it was great to see Lewie Harker and Alex Richardson perform well from the bench.
“To see Joe Smith score twice in his first start in attack was also a big positive.
“We now have to focus on league games, but we couldn’t be happier with our cup form.”
Next up for the Tigers is a ChromaSport UCL Premier Division side Wellingborough Town tonight (Tuesday, 7.45pm).
Hayes should welcome back Lewis Leckie, Spencer Tinkler, Matt Warfield and Luke Avis for the trip to the Dog and Duck, which is followed by tricky games against Leicester Nirvana and Eynesbury Rovers.
The Tigers boss added: “We’ll really find out where we’re at in the next few games.
“It’ll be a massive indicator for us. We’ll see if we’re going to be in the top five and challenging, or if we’ll be scrapping to make the top ten.
“If we can’t win the games, we need to make sure we don’t lose.”
Tigers: Drury, Simmons, Jackson, Braithwaite, Gow, Davies, Dougill, Zuerner, Smith, Griffiths, Bird. Subs used: Edey, Harker, Richardson.
Attendance: 38.
