Rochdale sides battle it out for pride of Lancashire

Arguably the two best amateur teams in Rochdale go head-to-head in The Lancashire FA Sunday Trophy Final at Leyland on Wednesday night (25 March) as Copperpot face local rivals Littleborough.

Both sides are chasing the title in Rochdale's Premier Division of Sunday morning football but Wednesday night on the luscious surface at Lancashire FA headquarters will be all about the prestige of winning a trophy that more than 150 teams throughout the North-West entered back in September.

Both these sides have won the trophy before with Copperpot the most recent winners back in 2006. Littleborough have to go back to 1997 for the last time they lifted the county cup but they will go into the game as favourites following their recent 3-0 victory over Pot in domestic action just three weeks ago.

No matter which 22 players take to the field they will know each other’s strengths and weaknesses inside out. The players have locked horns on many occasions, particularly in local cup finals, but the key to this game is likely to centre around Copperpot’s ability to deal with Littleborough’s aerial power.

In their semi-final victory over Preston side AFC Lostock Hall, Littleborough were far and away superior to any aerial ball in the opposing penalty area and indeed they scored all four of their goals that night via this route. In order to cope with the danger Copperpot will need to ensure central defenders John Luker and Wayne Jopson are fit because if not the likes of Littleborough’s 6-footers Stuart Shepherd, Bill Williams, Krystian Liptrot and Ben Fielding are more than a handful for any defence. The return from injury of Michael Barker would provide a boost for Pot but he remains a doubt ahead of the game.

As well as carrying an aerial threat Littleborough also have the potential to play through their opponents. In centre-forward Brett Baxter they have somebody that can hold the ball up and bring others into play whilst widemen Tim Astley and Lee Kershaw like to get involved as much as possible. Kershaw scored a screaming goal in the semi-final and you can bet that he locks horns with a few of the Copperpot midfield throughout the match.

Copperpot’s strengths centre around their inspirational captain Davey Luker. He missed his sides 3-0 defeat recently through suspension but he will return in the centre of midfield for this game and his personal battle with Stuart Shepherd will decide which team gets a stranglehold on the game early on. Both players play semi-professional football on Saturdays, for Bacup Borough and Bamber Bridge respectively, and anybody that thought Sunday morning football was for blokes who have been out and had a skinfull the night before would certainly change their mind very quickly if they watched these two close up.

Johnny Lomas and Richard Helme will provide the width for Copperpot whilst right-back Phil Prescott is also a useful asset going forward. In attack they rely on the pace of Joe Shelmerdine and Lance Ogunyode but they have failed to score as a side against Littleborough in both of their two league encounters this season and the forwards will rely heavily on the service given to them by their midfield.

It promises to be an intriguing game and spectators are welcome to attend. The venue is Lancashire FA this Wednesday (25 March), kick-off is 7.30pm. A small admission charge will apply.