Battle reach national semi-finals

A 4-2 victory at home to Community Solutions Burnley last weekend has set up a semi-final away to Liverpool-based Bethel on Saturday March 29.

Battle manager Gary Walsh said: “For the first time I am starting to believe we can (go all the way). Last week it was all a bit of a pipedream, but I said to the fellows ‘we ought to dare to dream’.

“Getting this far was way beyond our expectations at the beginning of the season, but now we’re only one game away from the final.

“These kind of opportunities come along so rarely and it just captures your imagination. It makes you feel like you’re playing in a proper professional competition when you’re travelling so far.”

Walsh praised the support Baptists received during their quarter-final win at Battle Recreation Ground on Saturday when Dean Boyd and Zac Fawcett scored two goals apiece.

“The support we had was absolutely fantastic,” he added. “It was like having an extra man. It just lifts the players and their performance goes through the roof. We kind of had a gameplan and the fellows just put it into action perfectly. They played their hearts out.”

See tomorrow’s Battle Observer for a full report on Battle’s quarter-final victory.