Match Preview

DO THEY MEAN US? RUSHALL OLYMPIC
This Tuesday (16th April 7.45pm) sees us taking on Vanarama National League North’s Rushall Olympic in the final of The Staffordshire Senior Challenge Cup at The bet365 Stadium. As you will know, this is a repeat of last year’s Final, which we narrowly lost late on 1-0.

Here are the routes of the two teams to the big game:
The Blues

• First round: Hednesford Town 0 Leek Town 3
• Quarter Final: Chasetown 1 Leek Town 3
• Semi Final: Leek Town 1 Stoke City 0

• First Round: Lichfield City 1 Rushall Olympic 3
• Quarter Final: Eccleshall 1 Rushall Olympic 3
• Semi Final: Rushall Olympic 5 Kidsgrove Athletic 2

The True Blue Army will assemble at?
Address: The bet365 Stadium, Stanley Matthews Way, ST4 4EG

We will be playing in our home colours of BLUE, WHITE, WHITE and have been allocated the HOME dressing room.

How much to get in?
Ticket prices are as follows:
£10 for adults
£5 for concessions
U16 FREE when accompanied by a paying adult

No advance tickets, cash and card payments will be accepted (although card payments are preferred) on the gate

Turnstiles will open at 6:45pm, and all supporters are kindly asked to use turnstiles 3-7 located in the West Stand.
Seats for supporters will be allocated in blocks 12 & 13.

Parking will be provided free of charge for all supporters in the main west stand car park.

What are Rushall Olympic known as/nickname(s)?
The Pics

Their website?
https://www.rofc.co.uk/

How are they doing?
The Pics are in 19th place in their league and still need a point to be mathematically safe from relegation after a disappointing 3-0 loss at fellow strugglers Southport at the weekend. On Saturday, Rushall play their last match of the season at home to Warrington Town.

Their gaffer?
Liam McDonald took over in October 2017, after being joining The Pics from Solihull Moors following on from playing career of around a decade in non-league football.

6 Of The Best – six things you probably didn’t know about Rushall Olympic FC

1. Rushall Olympic FC are based in Rushall, a former mining village now forming part of the northern suburbs of Walsall
2. It is reported that the club was founded in the 1893–94 season, and they joined the Cannock & District League in 1895
3. Famous ex-Pics players include Dele Adebola, Liam Lawrence, Zat Knight, Dean Keates, Michael Kightly, and Leon Clarke
4. Rushall Olympic were promoted to the National League North for the first time in their history after winning a dramatic Play Off Final penalty shoot-out against Nuneaton Borough in May 2023
5. Ex-Stoke City defender Wayne Thomas was ROFC’s manager in 2017
6. The Pics play at Dale Lane, which was officially opened on 14th August 1977

Up for the (Staffordshire Senior) Cup?
The Staffordshire Senior Cup was first competed for in 1877–78, and was won by Walsall Town. Organised by the Staffordshire Football Association, it is an annual tournament that is competed for by a mix of clubs from Staffordshire and is open to both professional and amateur clubs, which makes it an exciting competition as there is always a real chance of drawing the likes of Stoke City and Port Vale.
Both professional local clubs can often field a real mixture of youth to first team players in their line-ups, which not only adds to the excitement of games, but gives amateur and semi-pro teams the chance to pit their wits against full time opposition and also possibly play at their stadiums, too.

The competition was originally competed for by teams from some from neighbouring counties. Indeed, in the early days of the competition, you would find the likes of Aston Villa, West Brom, and Wolves taking part (and often winning), but this has been phased out over the years as most County Football Associations now have their own separate Senior Cup competitions. This has had the effect in some years of a relatively low entry for this competition are quite low in some seasons.

From the 2008–09 season, the Staffordshire FA introduced a cut-off point whereby teams lower than level 9 in the English football league system couldn’t compete in the competition, which means that teams below the level of the North West Counties League Premier Division and Midland Football Alliance now compete in the sister competition, the Staffordshire Senior Vase.

It’s not a surprise to know that Stoke City, are the most successful sides in the competition's history with 19 wins and have been runners-up 18 times, whilst The Pics have won it four times (2005; 2014; 2016; 2023). The Blues have won the cup once (1995-96), and have lost in the final 8 times – last season being the latest.

The Blues’ route to the trophy in 1996 saw the following results:

• Leek Town 3 Stoke City 2
• Rocester 2 Leek Town 3
• Leek Town 3 Halesowen Harriers 2
• Bilston Town 0 Leek Town 1
• Final – first leg Newcastle Town 1 Leek Town 0
• Final – second leg Leek Town 4 Newcastle Town 2 (Leek Town win 4-3 on aggregate)