Next Home Match

Stowmarket Town are the visitors to Stoneylands tonight in the Turners Hyundai Suffolk Premier Cup second round.

Kick off is 7.45pm at Stoneylands, New Road, Long Melford (CO10 9JY).

Admission prices including a programme are £7 or £4 concessions.

Concessions include Senior Citizens (over 65) and schoolchildren.

Deb's Diner will be open and we’ll have Nethergate Craft Lager and Suffolk County Ale on draft in our Stoneylands Bar. 

WEATHER FORECAST: Dry and mild, 12° with a gentle breeze (12mph).

MATCH PREVIEW: Long Melford have enjoyed a lot of success over the years in the Suffolk Senior Cup but since stepping up to Step 5, the Premier Cup has proved to be more difficult. 

The standard of opposition is obviously higher, in recent years Melford have lost to a very good Felixstowe side twice and a young Ipswich Town side whose best player was Monty Patterson – his next game was a World Cup qualifier in Peru! Ipswich also included Jack Lancaster in their team who has done very well since. 

This season the Villagers have another tough draw, against Thurlow Nunn Premier leaders Stowmarket Town. 

Stow have a squad that would be comfortable at Step 3 in the non-league pyramid, so it’s no surprise to see them doing so well at this level and it's surely just a matter of time before they climb up through the leagues. 

We all know what a good team Stowmarket are, but from the Melford perspective there is nothing to lose tonight and sometimes it’s easier to play with that underdog status. 

Last season for example Melford beat the champions Histon in the league and knocked both Woodbridge and Stowmarket out of the League Cup, and this season recently beat 3rd-placed Wroxham.

Confidence is certainly high after four home wins in a row. It will take a Herculean effort to get through to the next round, but the Villagers are capable of causing a surprise.

THE MANAGER'S VIEW: "Midweek cup ties at Stoneylands are always an exciting occasion and tonight is certainly no different as we look forward to taking on the League’s best side, Stowmarket Town. 

We know what we are capable of on our day, and recent performances have given us reason to be confident going into any game, though we also know that we always need to be at our very best and work hard if we are to get the results we yearn, particularly against opposition like tonight. "

(read more from the management team in tonight's programme).