There’s a real local flavour to the Pitching In Southern League Division One South play-off semi-final as Bishops Cleeve play host to Malvern Town on Wednesday evening.
Little over 20 miles separates the two teams, who finished third and fourth respectively, but for Malvern Town co-manager, Stephen Cleal, it’s even closer to home.
“Cleeve is my village, I’ve lived there all of my life,” he told us. “I spent over a decade at the club as a player and captain, I managed the team for six years and still coach a couple of the junior teams. Oh, and my brother is Kit Man at the club!
“It’s going to be a bitter-sweet occasion; I would have preferred to have faced them in the final, but it is what it is and it’s sure to be a hard-fought and close game.
“I still can’t believe the run that we’ve been on to get here. To go 18 games unbeaten is a fantastic achievement and full credit to the players for what they have done.
“We had a bad run over Christmas and Hoops [Co-Manager, Lee Hooper] and I half-jokingly said after we lost at home to Mousehole on January 4th that we would need to go the rest of the season unbeaten to stand any chance of making the play-offs.
“Well, we did exactly that! The lads have responded fantastically well to the work we’ve done on the training pitch and the momentum has grown and grown.
“We’ll go into Wednesday’s game full of confidence, which is such a big thing in football. In many ways we’ve snuck into the play-offs because the rest of the teams in there have been in and around the leading pack throughout the season whereas we've gradually climbed up the table.
“It’s going to be quite an occasion; we’ll have a large travelling contingent there to support us, as they’ve done in great numbers throughout the season, and the Cleal family will be well represented too!”
For both clubs, history has been made with a highest-ever finish in the football pyramid. Bishops Cleeve have ended each of the last two seasons in ninth place, so this is deserved progress at the end of a campaign that has included many high points, including an Emirates FA Cup victory over former Football League club, Torquay United.
“Being in the play-offs is a career first for me,” said Ethan Dunbar, who was amongst the scorers in Saturday’s 2-0 victory at Cribbs. “I’m really excited for the opportunity and hopefully we can go all the way.
“Malvern are a good team; there’s also the added spice of it being a local derby with plenty of history between the two clubs, so it’s going to be quite a battle, one that we need to be ready for in order to get the job done.
“It’s been an amazing season for us where we’ve done very well from back to front. To be involved in creating history for the club means a lot and is something I’m very proud of. I’m happy with my stats having scored 23 goals, more than I’ve ever done in a single season.
“I know I’ve still got a lot to learn and I’m always seeking to do that, but experiences like Wednesday will really benefit me.
“I’ve been involved at this level for a long time and I’ve got a good understanding of what it takes to be successful. The standards are rising year-on-year and this year has been extremely competitive.
“Going into the season our aim was the play-offs and to be pushing for promotion and here we are. Now we have to make sure that we can get the job done having come this far.”
Wednesday evening’s play-off semi-final fixtures are, as follows:
Premier South: AFC Totton v Dorchester Town | Walton & Hersham v Gloucester City
Premier Central: Kettering Town v Harborough Town | AFC Telford United v Halesowen Town
Division One South: Evesham United v Exmouth Town | Bishops Cleeve v Malvern Town
Division One Central: Berkhamsted v Hadley | Flackwell Heath v Barton Rovers
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