Shifnal primed for one final double shift as they chase a winning treble

Joint-boss Carter is rallying his troops for two showpiece finals on the same – within three hours of each other – seven days after the same scheduling issue in the semi-finals.

They first face OJM Black Country in the West Midlands Moving Forwards Sports Cup in Tipton at 3pm, before a clash with Whitchurch Alport in Telford three hours later. They downed both Sikh Hunters and Allscott on the same afternoon last Saturday.

Carter and Andrew Carrier’s relentless side kicked-off finals week in style by being crowned TJ Vickers Cup champions on Tuesday night after overcoming Alport 2-0 at the New Bucks Head, a prequel to Saturday’s second final.

Carter, who joined the club with Carrier in 2019 and has won promotion to the Midland League in the non-league restructure, argued that West Midlands League bosses did not want to help his team with scheduling for the final.

“We were in contact with the Shropshire FA and they have priority as an existing, recognised competition,” Carter said. “So it’s the West Midlands League that should have moved, but they just dug their feet in.

“I didn’t expect anything else after dealings over the years.

“It has all fallen on deaf ears. Our owner, the chairman Mike Tranter, made a few phone calls but nothing gets done. They’re not interested.”

“All they’ve said to us is ‘it’s not being moved, we’re not moving it, if you can’t fulfil the fixture then pull out’. They really had no interest in helping.”

The joint-boss had nothing but good words about the Shropshire FA, who he said had been ‘absolutely brilliant’ with help and information since they joined the club.

Like in their semi-finals last weekend, Carter’s counterpart Carrier and members of the backroom team will leave at half-time of the first final, but the boss admitted logistics will be more challenging this time around, compared to their home tie last week. Players cannot shower at Tipton after the first match.

The squad of 23 will be stretched again, with Development squad players Kane Taylor and Jimmy Yates set to be involved again. Club captain and left-back Jamal Pinnock, is one of a few away on pre-arranged holidays.

“It’s a shambles, I’ve never known anything like it,” Carter said.

“It would be everything to win them, just for the adversity, what’s happened to us, if we did do it then the way we’d do it, has showed the commitment and togetherness to do something like that.”

Shifnal ticked one of three off on Tuesday night as they beat Alport with goals either side of half-time from Harry Cunningham and goal machine Tom Hill.

“It was a typical final, they don’t usually go the way you want them to be, you have to grind them out,” Carter added. “We didn’t play as well as we could, but we were completely comfortable and in control.

“We went all out for Tuesday night really. We wanted to get that first one, the pressure is off a little bit then because you have one on the board.

“This group of players over the last two years have almost been robbed of success. It would have been a disaster if the group we created and built didn’t win something.”