Trafalgar target County Cup success

Trafalgar are aiming to complete an impressive first when they tackle Thornaby Meerkats in tonight’s final of the North Riding FA Sunday County Cup, 7.30pm.
Ben Salt, who is missing for Traf, holds up the North Riding FA Sunday Challenge Cup in 2013Ben Salt, who is missing for Traf, holds up the North Riding FA Sunday Challenge Cup in 2013
Ben Salt, who is missing for Traf, holds up the North Riding FA Sunday Challenge Cup in 2013

Liam Salt’s men are the first-ever Scarborough side to enter this competition, making their feat of advancing through to the final at Stokesley even more monumental.

It has been a hard slog for Trafalgar, who will have completed over 500 miles of travelling in the competition this season by the time they return home tomorrow night.

So Salt is keen for all this effort not to be wasted.

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He said: “All the lads are confident going into the game, but it is all about how they step up on the day.

“There is no point in scraping through against teams like Grangetown and the like if you are not going to perform in the final.

“There have been times when we have travelled to these places with just the bare 11, so it would be very frustrating if we wasted all that.

“By the time we get finished we will have done a lot of miles, so getting this far has been a massive achievement.

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“To get players to travel that many miles on a Sunday morning isn’t an easy things to do, though it does get easier the further you get in the competition.”

Salt has doubts over his battling brother Ben, who isn’t likely to be risked, though he is hoping that Wayne Aziz and Joel Ramm both recover from back injuries.

“Losing Ben will be a blow because he gives us that fight, but we do still have a lot of good lads in there,” he added.

“We are lucky to have a lot of senior league players like Lewis Taylor, Wayne Aziz, Joel Ramm, Billy Logan and Jamie Patterson, and it is nice to be able to play them all at the same time, something we can never usually do.

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“We also have attacker Sean Exley back from suspension, which is good news because he is a big player for us.”

Salt is expecting yet another tough test, feeling that the clash against the Meerkats will be anything but simple.

He said: “They will be a tough, physical side, but you expect that with any team from up there.

“It is a tough competition because you are playing against a lot of lads from the Northern League, which obviously makes these teams very strong.

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“I think we have surprised a few this season though, and we’ll be looking to do that once more.

“It would be good to get a good backing up there in Stokesley because they are the local team, so they will bring a few.”