Emley AFC go back to the future as they aim to end the season in style by lifting the Sheffield and Hallamshire County Cup.
The Pewits, who celebrated the club’s 120th anniversary with a dinner last weekend, head to Doncaster Rovers’ Eco-Power Stadium to take on Maltby Main on Saturday May 20 (7.30pm).
Emley have a proud history in the competition, winning it eight times. But it is over two decades since they were last in the final, when they lost to Doncaster Rovers.
Emley finished third after a great season in the Northern Counties East League Premier Division and it’s almost a month since their last league game, a 4-1 defeat at Barton Town.
Both league games against Maltby Main ended in draws so the final promises to be a tight affair but chairman Andrew Painten said: “We are all excited about the final and hope the team brings home the cup on Saturday.
“We just missed out on promotion in the league, we lost to Golcar in the League Cup semi-final and so we don’t want to be the bridesmaid anymore. We’d like to be the bride and win the cup!
“We have a long history with this cup having won it eight times and so it’d be great to win it again after so long of not reaching a final.
“Maltby are a good side and we’ve had some good games against them over the years. This season we have drawn with them twice so they have been tightly contested fixtures. I am confident that the lads will do all they can to win.”
Last Saturday, Emley celebrated their end-of-season awards and the club’s 120th anniversary. Painten was pleased to see so many people turn up to the event and having a good time.
Here are the awards in full:
Manager’s Player: Alex Metcalfe
Young Player of the Year: Joint winners Declan Lambton & Iyrwah Gooden
Players’ Player: Alex Metcalfe
President’s Player: Joe Clegg
Supporters’ Player of the Year: Joe Jagger
On the celebratory evening Painten (below, left) said: “For me, I walked into the ground with my dad at the age of 11 and immediately felt a connection to the place. I am now 46 years old and I treasure those first games deeply to this day – not least because of the time I had with my dad.
“With the passing of time and with the perspective of now being a very proud chairman, I think the reasons are probably a little bit different for everyone but mine come down to three things of why this club is special.
“Firstly, we are a village club punching well above its weight; secondly, we are a friendly community which is uncommon, and third, we have a commitment to be better and do better in every way – every day, every game, every season.
“The evening was fantastic on several fronts. We got to celebrate the long and proud history of the club that stretches back over 120 years.
“We got to celebrate a fantastic season that also tantalisingly meant we came so close to promotion, yet despite not achieving that it also shows there is so much more to come hopefully in the next few years. It was a great night where we came together as a whole club.”
