Mark Stimson is relishing the opportunity to add more silverware to Hornchurch’s trophy cabinet as his side prepare to do battle for the inaugural Pitching In Super Cup.
Saturday sees Stimson’s FA Trophy-winning heroes welcome Warrington Rylands, who lifted the FA Vase a matter of hours before Hornchurch’s triumph on a memorable day at Wembley in May, in a match that will act as a curtain raiser ahead of the new season on August 14.
The Urchins have kept the vast majority of last season’s squad together and Stimson hopes Saturday will prove a perfect warm-up as they target promotion from the Pitching In Isthmian League Premier Division.
“We’ve gone in as favourites in the last two seasons and I expect that again, with the squad we’ve got and what we achieved last year,” he said.
“But it will be a tough old season. There are some very good sides and it’s a tough division but if we can perform like we did last year, we’ll be up there.
“We’re really happy about keeping the squad together, we’ve only let one player go, and we’re not looking too bad.
“The Super Cup is a fantastic idea – two teams who created history not so long ago playing against each other for another cup.
“We’re really looking forward to it. Hopefully there’ll be a good turnout and may the best team win.”
The idea of bringing Hornchurch and Rylands together was spawned by league directors in Wembley’s Royal Box on Non-League Finals Day and swiftly supported by league partners Pitching In – a multi-million-pound investment programme set up by Ladbrokes, with the support of owner Entain.
Having been inspired by Pitching In ambassador Stuart Pearce before their trip to Wembley, the Urchins now hope the FA Trophy feelgood factor will translate into increased attendances as fans return to Bridge Avenue.
“That was one of the main things we spoke about over the summer,” Stimson said.
“We took 3,000 to Wembley – and it would have been more were it not for the [Covid] restrictions.
“If we could get our average gate up to six or seven hundred, which we had for the Dagenham friendly, that would be massive.
“It helps the players and financially would help us add to the squad if we needed to.
“There has been a real buzz around the place and fingers crossed our crowds get bigger.”
The Pitching In Super Cup is the start of a busy weekend for Hornchurch, meanwhile, with an FA Trophy victory parade taking place on Sunday afternoon.
“We’re looking forward to that as it’s been postponed twice,” Stimson said.
“The local people have the chance to come out and see their Hornchurch heroes and we hope plenty of them do so.”
Ladbrokes, with the support of its owner Entain, has launched a multi-million pound investment programme, Pitching In, designed to support and promote grassroots sports.
For more details see: https://entaingroup.com/sustainability/pitching-in/
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