Haverhill Borough relishing AFC Sudbury clash in Suffolk Premier Cup
Haverhill Borough celebrate winning the Suffolk FA Sunday Trophy following their 5-4 victory after extra time over Lavenham in the final at AFC Sudbury. - Credit: Archant
Haverhill Borough never expected to be rubbing shoulders with AFC Sudbury on a competitive stage, according to one of the driving forces behind the club, writes Nick Garnham.
Borough will do just that tomorrow evening when they visit the King’s Marsh Stadium in the first round of this season’s Omni Freight Services Suffolk Premier Cup, kick-off 7.45pm.
It will be the club’s first appearance in the competition for the county’s highest-ranked clubs – and it is a draw they welcomed.
Garry Brown, who is both Vice-Chairman and Secretary, has been involved since the early days after the club formed under the banner of Haverhill Sports Association in 2011.
The club, who changed their name to Haverhill Borough in the summer of 2013, finished third in Division One of the Thurlow Nunn League last season to win promotion to the Premier Division and a place in the Premier Cup.
Brown said: “We set the club up because we wanted to provide another outlet for players in the town.
“We didn’t ever expect to get promoted to this level but we did so because of the efforts of the players and management team last season.
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“It is a nice draw for the club because we are fairly close geographically and our former keeper, Paul Walker, joined them in the summer.
“Paul was exceptional for us last season and we were all extremely pleased he got the chance to play at a higher level. We were very privileged to have him for half a season.
“If we were going to draw one of the bigger teams, AFC Sudbury are the team we would have wanted to draw.”
Borough currently sit 19th in the Premier Division with 13 points from as many matches, after losing 7-2 at Wroxham on Saturday, and will be underdogs against AFC Sudbury, who play two leagues higher in the Bostik Premier Division.
Brown admitted: “It has been a step up in standard this season, but we have been unfortunate that we have had long-term injuries to Jarred Robson (hip) and Tommy Hardwick (knee) who have both missed most of the season so far.”
