League champs Rye seek cup glory

The Macron East Sussex Football League Division One champions will face Division Three side Sedlescombe Rangers II in the Hastings & District FA Junior Cup final tonight (Monday).

The match will be played at The Pilot Field, home of Hastings United FC, with a 7.30pm kick-off.

Rye manager Shane Ridgers said: “We’ve got some players who have been involved in finals and have played at grounds like that, but we’ve also got some players who haven’t experienced anything like this so it’s good for the club that we can go there as a unit and enjoy it all together. It’s a whole new thing for Rye.”

Rye will surely go into the matches as favourites given that they are nine points clear at the top of Division One with 15 league wins out of 18, whereas Sedlescombe finished fifth in Division Three.

Sedlescombe have enjoyed an excellent run in this competition, though, beating Division One sides Northiam 75 and Crowhurst (the only team to beat Rye in the league this season) en route to the final.

“We’ve got to make sure we take nothing for granted,” continued Ridgers. “As we’ve said all season, we can compete with the best sides, but we’ve got make sure our work ethic is right.

“They (Sedlescombe) will want it and sometimes underdogs will come out on top when they put a shift in. We’ve got to make sure we match or better their workrate.”

Apart from the cup-tied Sammy Foulkes, Ridgers has a full squad to choose from and admits he does face some selection headaches.

“There’s going to be some unhappy people, which is a shame, but I will get them involved in some way so that everyone’s getting a little bit of a taste of it,” added Ridgers, who expects Adam Hurley to be fit despite struggling of late with a thigh injury.

Rye will be hoping the Hastings Junior Cup is part two of a potential treble because they are also through to the Robertsbridge Charity Intermediate Cup final.

That match, against Division Two champions Bexhill AAC, will be played at the same venue on Monday May 1, again with a 7.30pm kick-off.

“Whoever’s not involved in this one, I will try and get them more involved the following week,” said Ridgers. “But our objective is to win both the games so I’ve still got to be quite ruthless with my selection.”

Rye Cricket Club would like to congratulate Rye Town FC on its success this season. The agreed usage of the Sidney Allnutt Pavilion by Rye Town FC has been a success, and Rye Town players and members were due to paint the changing rooms at the weekend.

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