FOLLOWING THE SALTMEN

Hereford Pegasus 3-2 Droitwich Spa

Hellenic League Challenge Cup Final

Sunday 29 March 2026 at Hereford Pegasus FC

Attendance: 612

It was the final that shouldn’t have been, in pretty much every sense.

Spa were there by default having been reprieved from elimination from the competition purely by virtue of the honesty of Tuffley Rovers. The Gloucester side volunteered the information that they fielded a cup-tied player during their 2-1 victory over a weakened Droitwich side and the tie was awarded to Spa.

The venue for the final was just wrong! There is nothing wrong with Hereford Pegasus as hosts of a cup final. The club should be congratulated on continuing the development of facilities at their stadium. The construction of a new prawn sandwich hub will surely be a big hit with visiting dignitaries. And the holes in the trolley shelter roofs are another innovative way of replicating that genuine Old Trafford experience. The success of converting the allegiance of the region’s countless plastic Mancunians remains to be seen. Nevertheless, the staging of a cup final on the home ground of one of the competing finalists is just plain wrong. Cup finals should ALWAYS be played at a neutral ground

Finally, [see what I did there] the game was played on the wrong day. With little more 48 hours between the final and the away trip to top of the table Slimbridge it would only be natural for the forthcoming game to have had an influence on selections and replacements. With the greatest respect to the starting eleven, it would have been a very brave decision to leave the club’s leading scorer and talisman on the bench had it not been for the looming presence of the game which may determine whether the Saltmen can remain realistic contenders for the league title next month.

Not that these matters had any influence on Salt Nation! Spa fans love an away game. All season long, large numbers of Droitwich supporters have travelled, often long distances, to swell the attendance at the host clubs. There have been a few times when Spa support has exceeded the number of home supporters. Yesterday’s final was another such example with Salt Nation visibly outnumbering all comers by a factor of 2-1 among the declared crowd of 612. That is remarkable!

The game itself was competitive. Not a classic but plenty of entertainment. Pegasus opened with a screamer from distance but Spa drew level when a Reiss Taylor-Randle in swinging corner swung in to the far top corner beyond the magnificently attired Pegasus keeper complete with Alice band and interesting ankle jewellery. There followed a period of play where Spa were the better team. Pressure paid dividends when James Lemon was tripped on the corner of the penalty area. Perry Moss calmly converted the penalty and Spa took a deserved 2-1 lead into the half time break.

Absolutely nothing of any interest happened in the second half which finished with our hosts leading 3-2. The majority of the crowd filed out of the ground in an orderly manner and the teams were presented with their respective medals and trophy while a man used the barely audible tannoy to say some silly but mercifully barely audible words.

We headed back to the supporters’ coach and stopped off for a pint in the Castle.

There were some strong performances by the Spa lads. Goalscorer Perry Moss and his fellow wide-man James Baldwin both had strong games, working the Pegasus full backs throughout. Man of Steel, Reiss Taylor-Randle had his most influential game so far, scoring Spa’s opener and winning a couple of crucial 50/50 challenges. But the FTS Man of the Match award goes to Cory Rudd. He and midfield partner Charlie Tilley have been excellent over recent weeks and Cory put in another big performance in the final.

In a surprising development, I feel we should show appreciation to the match officials who managed the game very well. By far the best set of officials we have seen all season.

Congrats again to Pegasus who won fair and square and are deserved winners.

As always, a good day out and the team continues to make us proud, even in defeat.

Next up, we go again at Slimbridge tomorrow evening.

See you there.

Cheers

FTS