THE GAME
- Kidsgrove Athletic v Hednesford Town
- Staffordshire Senior Cup Third Round
- Tuesday 20th January 2026 at 7.45pm
- The Fitzjohn Stadium, Hollinwood Close, Kidsgrove ST71DQ
THE STAFFORDSHIRE SENIOR CUP
The Staffordshire Senior Cup was first contested in the 1877/78 season and the first winners were Stoke City who beat Talke Rangers 1-0 in the final. Since 2008/09 teams lower than level 9 in the English League system have not been able to compete in the competition. Stoke City are the most successful side with 19 wins and historically the non league side with the most wins are Stafford Rangers with 11 wins since the Second World War.
THE PITMEN
Hednesford arrived at the third round stage of this season’s Staffordshire Senior Cup courtesy of a 2-0 win at Bilston Town in the second round, Late goals from Lennon Brown and Jonny Edwards seeing them home.
The Pitmen have won the competition three times, beating Kidderminster Harriers 3-1 in 1969/70, Stoke City 2-1 in 1973/74 and Rushall Olympic 5-1 in 2012/13. They were also finalists in 1992/93 and 2017/18.
THE OPPOSITION
In the second round of this season’s competition Kidsgrove won 5-1 at Stafford Town.
They have won the Staffordshire Senior Cup five times, in 2003/04 when they beat Stafford Rangers1-0, 2006/07 beating Rushall Olympic 6-1 before seeing off Stafford Rangers again in 2008/09 4-3 on penalties after the game finished 2-2. In 2010/11 and 2011/12 they beat Stoke City and Rushall Olympic respectively by 1-0. They were also beaten finalists in 2007/08 and 2015/16.
THIS YEAR’S COMPETITION
As well as the Kidsgrove v Hednesford tie, this season’s quarter finals will see Eccleshall play Hanley and Leek Town play Rushall Olympic while Stafford Rangers or Lichfield City will be at home to Foley Meir or Wolverhampton Casuals.
PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS
In recent Staffordshire Senior Cup encounters the two clubs have met each other three times. In 1998/99 Kidsgrove came away from Keys Park with a 3-1 win while in 2015/16 Hednesford won 5-4 on penalties at Kidsgrove after a 2-2 draw. Last season it was back to Keys Park and another win for The Pitmen on penalties, this time 4-3 after another 2-2 draw.
MATCHDAY INFORMATION
The turnstiles and bar will open at 6pm with admission prices for the game being £10 adults, £6 concessions, £4 for 12-16 and U12s free with a responsible adult. Tickets can be purchased on the gate on the day.
Due to construction work at the ground Kidsgrove can only offer parking for players and officials and ask spectators to park responsibly in the neighbourhood.
