Hednesford Town thrash Rugby to go through in FA Cup
Ruthless Hednesford Town pulled apart Rugby Town to reach the FA Cup third qualifying round.
The Pitmen’s 4-1 victory set up a date with giant-killers Shifnal Town in the next round thanks to a brace from Manny Duku, as well as goals from Elliott Johnson and Rob Stevenson.
The Shropshire side have knocked out three teams from higher divisions already this season and Hednesford boss Steve King is wary of them.
“We’ve got a hell of a game to get through,” he said. “For both clubs that would be one step away from the first round proper.”
Despite three disallowed goals, Hednesford Town are now the highest scorers in the Cup with 17 goals.
In Northern One West, Stafford Rangers lost 3-1 to Avro, conceding three goals in 20 minutes.
Rangers opened the scoring against Avro with Dan Cockerline heading in a James McQuilkin free-kick at 21 minutes.
Avro equalised five minute later and were 3-1 up by half-time. Avro manager David Birch said Stafford “threw the kitchen sink at us” in the second half, but they couldn’t turn things around.
Rangers now sit two points above the relegation zone, having conceded the most goals in the league.
