Up For The Cup At HWFC

With HWFC and the FA Cup a part of recent folklore it was a big disappointment to all at the club when the team failed to reach the first round proper of this seasons’ competition. Fortunately the team has performed superbly in the FA Trophy (the non-league version of the FA Cup).

In the last round the Hawks faced a difficult trip to Sutton United who had embarrassed them only weeks before by 5-0 at Westleigh Park. The re-match was very hard fought but Hawks came away with a 2-1 victory and banked £4K in prize money. The reward was another away trip in the next round to local rivals Basingstoke Town on 30th November where they drew 0-0. In the replay Hawks sealed victory by 1-0 with a goal after 11 minutes from Sahr Kabba, which put them in the final 32 teams in the country and starting to dream of a trip to Wembley. In Round 2 Hawks visit the Brighton team Whitehawk.

Just days after the Basingstoke victory Hawks were in cup action again in the Hampshire Senior Cup with a visit to Sholing United of the Wessex League. They knocked the Hawks out of the competition last season. The Hawks have never won this Cup and have often fielded squad players for the competition, but Manager Lee Bradbury likes to win everything and sees this as a chance to win silverware this year.

The squad this season is looking better with each match and after just over a year in charge at the club Mr Bradbury is starting to see the side playing his way. There is a very international feel about the ‘new Hawks’ with players from Guyana, Italy, Sierra Leone, Scotland, Poland, France and the Cape Verde Islands as well England. The common language is football but the presence of all these multi-national players is opening the profile of our club to a much wider audience. I hope to be reporting on further cup exploits in the next article and look forward to meeting many PO9 readers at our matches over the festive season.

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