The semi-finals of the Up A Ladder Cup get underway this weekend with two interesting games for two very different reasons.

 

Blunsdon -v- Hatherop: Kick Off 14:00 at Blunsdon Recreation Ground

Blunsdon Recreation Ground will be the setting for our first semi-final as Hatherop make the trip to Blunsdon this Saturday afternoon with the hosts looking to keep their League and Cup double winning season on track.

Blunsdon won the Premier Division title this year with an impressive 15 wins and 1 draw scoring an amazing 62 goals, whilst only conceding 13 all season.

Hatherop on the other hand had a tricky start to the season and only picked up their first points in their 6th game of the season where they overwhelmed Priory Vale 8-2 at home.

During their early season losses, they only lost those games by a single goal or two, including a very narrow 2-1 defeat to their semi-final opponents Blunsdon.

Blunsdon did show their class in the return fixture at Blunsdon Rec, where they put in a commanding performance to run out 7-0 winners, after leading 5-0 at the break.

Blunsdon will likely be seen as firm favourites going in to the fixture and with the Premier Division top goalscorer, Lee Toomey in their ranks, they will fancy their chances of making it to the final.

This cup run is likely to be a final swansong for Hatherop who are thought to be folding at the end of the season. They will want to go out with a bang and would love for their last game to be a cup final to remember.

Are Blunsdon the clear favourites everyone thinks, or can Hatherop pull off a huge win to take them through to the finals?

Head over to our twitter feed to place your vote

 

Down Ampney -v- Chiseldon: Kick Off 14:00 at Broadleaze Park

The second semi-final in the Up A Ladder Cup has two sides from Division 1 ready to battle it out for the other cup final spot.

Down Ampney finished the season in 3rd place narrowly missing out on the runners up spot as they finished with 29 points, which was 1 point behind Sportz Central.

Down Ampney have had some curious results over the course of the season. They managed to take apart the division winners, and their semi-final opponents, Chiseldon, with an emphatic 6-1 victory. Yet the game prior to this win, they lost to 3-2 to a Lower Stratton side that finished 8th in the league.

Inconsistency appears to be an appropriate word when describing Down Ampney this season.

Their final game of the season was the away fixture against Chiseldon and a win there would have confirmed them as the division runners up. Unlike earlier in the season, Chiseldon were in much better form and Down Ampney were unable to overcome the champions and ended up losing the game 1-0.

Division 1 winners Chiseldon have had a very strong season, winning the league 10 points clear of their nearest rivals.

They also topped their Cup group beating Division 1 side Nationwide 3-0 and Premier Division Nalgo by an impressive 7-3 scoreline.

Interestingly, Down Ampney faced Nalgo in the quarter finals and managed to scrape through to the semi-final thanks to a 5-4 win on penalties, after the game ended 1-1.

Both the teams have beaten each other this season, so this should be the game of the weekend and a very difficult result to predict.

Cast your vote on our twitter page and let us know who you think will get the upper hand and make it through in to the finals of the Up A Ladder Cup.