Battle pride at ‘fantastic achievement’

The Baptists won three matches, two of them away from home, before being edged out 2-1 away to Liverpool-based Bethel in the last four on Saturday.

Walsh said: “When you reflect back on it, getting to the semi-final of the National Christian Cup is a fantastic achievement and we’ve got to take all the positives out of it.

“We came off slightly disappointed, but not too down. We were very, very confident, but we were up against a really good, very strong, physical team, and on the day we were definitely second best.

“If we had been really unlucky and played really well, I think we would’ve been even more disappointed. I said to the fellows afterwards ‘we will get stronger as a result of these kind of experiences’.”

Despite missing out on the final, Battle had a great weekend in the north west and they will now resume the task of seeking promotion from ADA East Sussex League Division One.

Third-placed Battle are six points behind leaders Sedlescombe Rangers with two games in hand. The first of their seven remaining matches is away to Icklesham Casuals on Saturday.

See tomorrow’s Battle Observer for a full report on Battle’s game against Bethel.