Locks Heath eyeing big cup statement
Locks Heath assistant manager Jon Whitfield is confident his side can make another statement this season by dumping Infinity out of the L4 Teamwear Challenge Cup.
The Hampshire League Premier Senior Division pair face off in the quarter-finals this weekend.
Locks Heath have made incredible strides forward this term and were second in the
HPL Senior table prior to its curtailment.
Heath, rock bottom when the 2019-20 HPL season was null and voided, have taken that form into the supplementary cup and reached the quarter-finals with a 5-1 win at lower division Broughton.
Now Whitfield wants Locks to continue their improvements by inflicting defeat on an Infinity side who have only lost one game to HPL opposition since April 2019 last season’s HPL Cup semi-final defeat to Colden Common.
He said: ‘When you get to this stage in any competition you know you’re going to be coming up against good teams. Infinity won’t be wanting to play as, just like we won’t want to be playing them.
‘We know how hard they are to beat, given that they haven’t lost (in the league) in a couple of years.
‘We’ve got full confidence in the lads that we can go there, put on a performance, and get the win we’re looking for.
‘We know how hard that’s going to be as well, it’s going to be a step up from anything we’ve faced in the past few weeks and the lads are going to have to be ready for that.'
Connor Johnson's quickfire double, along with efforts from Jamie Hall, Ben Chambers and Brad Stone, wrapped up the last-16 victory at Broughton.
Quarter-finals (May 15): Infinity v Locks Heath, Silchester v Headley, Paulsgrove v Liphook, Bush Hill v Moneyfields Reserves.
Semi-finals (May 22): Infinity/Locks v Silchester/Headley, Bush/Moneyfields v Paulsgrove/Liphook.
Final: May 29.