Athletic target cup-final place

Andy Liddell: Features in a strong Latics reserve side.

ATHLETIC are parading many of their big guns tonight as they bid to win a place in the final of the Manchester Senior Cup.

Manager John Sheridan plays eight professionals against Bolton Wanderers at Leyland (7.0). Vastly-experienced players like Andy Liddell, Danny Whitaker and Stefan Stam are joined by young professionals Lewis Alessandra, Kelvin Lomax, Kieran Lee, Dale Stephens and Josh Bell.

While Sheridan is looking to win through to the final, the prime reason for playing so many senior players is to give them much-needed match practice.

As Athletic aren’t entered in a reserve league, those players on the periphery of the first team have lacked competitive action. Indeed, tonight is only the club’s second reserve-team fixture of 2009, though the cold weather has obviously prevented friendlies from being arranged.

The top two teams from the group contest the final of the Manchester Premier Cup and a win for Athletic would see them play either Bolton or Manchester United in the final.

Team (from): Bell, Rowney, Lomax, Lee, Esdaile, Stam, Liddell, Stephens, Brooke, Alessandra, Whitaker, Kilcourse, Ollerenshaw, Cowan, McCall, McGrath.

Athletic loan goalkeeper Jan Budtz got home on Saturday after the club put out an unusual appeal for a North East-based fan to give him a lift home.

The bizarre request came about after the temporary transfer of the Dane was completed after Hartlepool had left for Milton Keynes on Friday afternoon.

Athletic chief scout Graham Brown had an M1 rendezvous with the team coach to bring Budtz to Boundary Park.

As Budtz had no transport back to the North East after Saturday’s game, Athletic put out an appeal and one Durham-based supporter volunteered to be his chauffeur.

However, in the end he was not needed as a friend of Budtz came to the game and was able to take him home.

Athletic are reminding season-ticket holders in the Leesfield Developments Rochdale Road Stand they must act fast to transfer to another part of the ground for next month’s home game against Leeds United.

The club has allocated the whole of the stand to the visitors so season-ticket holders must relocate to another part of the ground, but only half of the 830 fans have done so.

With tickets now on general sale, chief executive Alan Hardy says those who have not already exchanged their tickets must do so quickly to avoid disappointment as Athletic have just under 6,000 available for their own fans for possibly the season’s most attractive home fixture.