Knockout football is on the agenda tonight as Mike Ford’s Evesham United travel to Bromsgrove Sporting for their Worcestershire Senior Cup quarter-final clash.
The Robins disappointingly began 2023 last week as they were beaten by 14th-placed Bishops Cleeve away from home.
Frustrated by the result, star forward Kyle Belmonte believed that the best team won on the day.
“They did deserve to win because they just defended with their lives,” said Belmonte.
“It was like their lives were dependent on it as they kept throwing their bodies at it – they stopped one of our open goals and were working very hard in defence.”
This opinion was shared by manager Ford as he said: “We are our own worst enemy as we give the ball away too often – we allow the opposition to have some hope in the game.
“We just keep allowing the opposition into the game and there are no excuses from me, Bishops Cleeve deserved to win the game today.”
This result saw the Worcestershire-based side slip to eighth in the league table with a trip to Hamworthy United on Saturday their next match of domestic football.
Before that, Evesham travel to Bromsgrove Sporting, a step-three team, tonight for their quarter-final match in the Worcestershire Senior Cup.
Just 24 hours prior to the clash, The Robins saw striker Owen James depart the club for Bedford Town, something that will affect Evesham immediately.
“With losing Owen [James], I feel we’ve got no choice but to change ahead of tonight,” shared Belmonte.
“Dan Griffiths is still injured so I think we are going to have to bring in new faces in these positions.
“The gaffer has his ideas, his plans, and he sticks by them – he’ll implement his style with the new players, and this is what needs to happen.
“I know the gaffer wants to have a good run in this competition – I don’t know whether he is going with a strong side or not, however.”
Despite the challenge ahead of them, the 23-year-old attacker is excited for the better quality of opposition to see how his Evesham side compares.
“It’s something different as we get to play against a Step 3 side so we can see where we are – we haven’t been great recently, we’ve been under par, but our style of play isn’t going change.
“We are still going to get on the ball because anyone can win on the day.”
