Match Preview

After Saturday’s well earned (fully deserved) point at Staveley on Saturday, Thackley are in County Cup action on Tuesday night when they take on Northern Premier League side Ossett United. Formed in 2018, an amalgamation of both Ossett clubs, Town and Albion, this will be Thackley’s second meeting with the rather sweetly nick named ‘Sheepicorns’. Their first meeting was in a pre season game at the beginning of last season.

This is Ossett United’s second season under their new name in the North West Division of the Northern League and they are finding things a little hard going at present. They are currently eighteenth in the table with twenty points from twenty five games. Last Saturday they were beaten 1-0 by Marine at Ingfield in front of very nearly 400 spectators. They were given a bye in the first round of this competition and beat Garforth Town 2-1 in the second round a couple of weeks ago. Garforth had progressed to the second round at the expense of Eccleshill United, although beaten by the ‘Eagles’ they were put through because their opponents had played an ineligible player.

Thackley come to the game after an excellent workman like performance at the weekend against top of the table Staveley. They were not fortunate enough to get a bye in the first round and had to beat Knaresborough Town to progress to the second, in which they were drawn at home to Campion. Scoring six on the night (Asa Mitchell 4), they won that one very comfortably.

The winners of the tie are unaware of their semi final opponents as the draw for that round has yet to be made. Both Harrogate Town ( Barnoldswick Town 3-1) and Farley Celtic (Halifax Town 2-1) are already through, the remaining two places are yet to be decided, the winners of Goole v Guiseley and this game.

Thackley will be hoping to capitalise on last Saturday’s performance and approach the game with a certain amount of confidence. With a place in the semi final at stake both teams will be looking for the victory and of course there will be a winner on the night.