Do Or Die For Leam
Leamington FC play Hungerford Town in their final game of the season, in front of their own fans and it's a game with a lot riding on it, especially when you take into account the structure of the play-offs, as the team that finished higher in the league gets to play at home for both the semi-final and the final.
To set the scene: Hungerford sit 3rd in the league, knowing that finishing 3rd guarantees them a home play-off semi-final and if they win, they have a chance of finishing 2nd, ahead of Redditch which would guarantee them both a home semi and a home final, should they get there. The lowest that Hungerford can finish is 5th, should they lose to Leam and Hitchin win, which would mean that they'd play away in both the play-off semi and final.
As for Leam, they currently sit 5th, the lowest play-off spot. A win would take them ahead of Hungerford, who are two points ahead, which means that Leam would secure a home semi-final if Hitchin fail to win. A draw would guarantee that Leam finish 5th, so would have to travel to Redditch and then either Hungerford or Hitchin. But, and this really is the crucial bit. A defeat for Leam, coupled with a win for either Kettering or Weymouth, both of whom have relatively simple fixtures and sit three points behind the Brakes with a superior goal difference, would mean that Leam are stuck in the Evo-Stick Premier for another year.
For Leamington, not reaching the play-offs really isn't an option. You can tell speaking to the fans, the players, everyone around the club wants promotion. They really want promotion. And they deserve promotion. The club is such a well run, lovely, well-supported club and the team on the pitch have turned in a lot of superlative performances since the turn of the year, with only two defeats in seventeen since Valentine's Day. Loan signings Sam Austin and Courtney Baker-Richardson have been revelations, but in truth the Brakes' good form has started at the back, with central defensive pairing James Mace and Jamie Hood forming a top partnership and right back Richard Taundry playing as almost a deep-lying playmaker.
There are so many excellent players at the club, who clearly care about the club and will always give their all. Midfielders Joe Magunda and Jack Edwards always give 110%, left back Connor Gudger and keeper Tony Breeden have been almost ever-present for Leam when fit, and top scorer Ben Mackey has the strength and finishing of a striker well above this level.
And off the pitch, Leamington deserve it as much as on. Everyone at the club is lovely, there are so many welcoming and genuinely likeable people across the club that have always made us feel welcome and part of the club. This is a club that cares, and that thoroughly deserves to be the level above where it is.
And there is every chance that Leamington will make the play-offs. A draw at home to a Hungerford side who have already secured promotion is far from an impossible task, and with Hood and Mace back in defence, Austin, Taundry and CBR all fit, giving Leamington lots of options to play with.
In any case, it's a huge game for Leam, as they look to secure promotion.
FA Cup Semi-Final
There's not a lot happening in the Premier League tomorrow. Unless City lose to Stoke then the top four race is all but over, Villa are already relegated, Chelsea and Bournemouth have nothing to play for and we're treading water ahead of our European semi-final, but should still beat a Newcastle side desperate for points.
However, the FA Cup Semi-Final is more than worth watching. I mean, mostly because they're announcing the new Doctor Who companion, but the game itself has some interesting subplots. Everton are in dire straights, a floundering Premier League season and Roberto Martinez on the cusp of being sacked after being wiped aside by their biggest rivals in midweek. This is the biggest game of Everton's season, almost certainly the biggest game of Martinez's reign.
And likewise, Manchester United's season is hanging by a thread. Knocked out of both the Champions League and the Europa League, the latter as a result of being outclassed by their biggest rivals, and looking like a Champions League place for next season is out of reach, United's season hinges on the FA Cup, so Louis Van Gaal also needs to show that he can bring trophies to Old Trafford, since United haven't won a trophy since Sir Alex retired (and no the Community Shield doesn't count).
The question remains whether either of these managers can be saved by winning the cup, as the Premier League performances and results for both have been below what was required. For Everton to not even finish in the top half, and for United to not make Champions League represents a step backwards for both clubs, and unless they can produce concrete proof of achievement, and the FA Cup would certainly be that, both managers will struggle to keep their heads off the chopping block in the summer.
Everton and Man United. Can't they both lose?
Really though, there's not a lot to preview here. United should win. Easily. They have a superior team and are in better form. Everton are a shambles at the moment, whereas United are looking pretty decent at the moment, especially now that most of their team is back from injury and LVG has remembered that players play best in their preferred positions. Unless Lukaku does what he did in the quarters and produces a couple of moments of magic, Everton will be sunk.
The Hard and Fast Section
- "It's now or never" says Ranieri. He's not wrong.
- Villa become more shambolic by the day.
- Murray will play in the Davis Cup. If fit.
- Origi could play again this season. Pleeeeeeease.
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