Next up – Hemel Hempstead Town
Tuesday, 11th November at Wodson Park, SG12 0UQ.
Herts Senior Cup, 2nd round; kick off 7.45pm.
Admission
Admission (card preferred but cash accepted) – Adults £5, Concessions £2.50.
Printed programme on the gate for £2.
Tickets can be purchased in advance at https://warefc.co.uk/product/ware-v-hemel-hempstead/
The Senior Cup
The Senior Cup is the county’s equivalent of the FA Cup. Most county associations have a similar competition. As a result there was a time when the competition assumed a significant status. Ware’s early victories were received by the town’s inhabitants with great joy. Times have changed and this is no longer the case. Matches attract lower than average crowds even up to and including the final. Ware’s last victory in 1954 was watched by 3,000 people, their last appearance in the final in 2008 attracted just a few hundred. It’s a shame but a product of the age we live in. For both Ware and Hemel Hempstead there remains a record of final appearances in each of three centuries, a means to view the development of football in the county.
Ware have the chance to go on and win the cup and become only the second side to do so in three different centuries. The other side? That would be Watford who first won it under the name of Watford Rovers. Hemel appeared in the 1896 final playing as Apsley.
Hemel have won the competition eight times whilst Ware have taken the title five times.
The match
In the circumstances outlined above both sides may well field sides drawn from their wider squads. In any event the game still offers the opportunity seeing a Step 4 club take on one from Step 2.
There will be no replay or extra time. In the event of a draw the match will be decided by a penalty shoot out after 90 minutes.
The winners will be at home to either Welwyn Garden City or London Lions in the next (and quarter-final) round.
Previous Meetings
Including games when Hemel were playing as Apsley we have been drawn to meet each other twelve times in this competition. We have met twice in the final with Apsley winning in 1906 and Ware taking the honours in 1922 in a second replay. We have also met twice in the semi-final where the honours were even again, a win for Ware coming in 1903/4 and for Apsley in 1928/9. The remaining eight meetings have also been shared equally, the last being a second round match on 14th November 2023. That ended in a 4-1 win for Hemel Hempstead.
Match officials
We are pleased to welcome as referee Rikki Woolford and the two assistant referees Jide Ogunba and Jacob Emanuel.
