THE GAME
- Hednesford Town v Lye Town
- Birmingham Senior Cup Quarter Final
- Tuesday 3rd March 2026 at 7.45pm
- Keys Park Stadium, Keys Park Road, Hednesford Staffordshire, WS12 2DZ
THE BIRMINGHAM SENIOR CUP
The Birmingham Senior Cup was first contested in the 1876/77 season and the first winners were Wednesbury Old Athletic who beat Stafford Road 3-2 in the final. It is the oldest county cup competition that is still active and the third oldest in the world. Aston Villa have won the competition the most times with 20 wins followed by Birmingham City with 13.
The rest of this season’s Quarter Final games are:
- Leamington v Coleshill (to be played 31st March)
- Stourbridge v Tamworth (to be played 18th March)
- Redditch United v WBA (to be played 18th March)
THE PITMEN
Hednesford arrived at this stage of this season’s Birmingham Senior Cup courtesy of a 2-0 win over Tividale at Keys Park in the second round, Jonny Edwards adding to an own goal opener and then a 2-1 home victory over Burton Albion thanks to a brace from Montel Gibson.
The Pitmen have won the competition three times, beating Burton Town 2-1 in 1935/36, Stourbridge 2-0 in 2008/09 and Sutton Coldfield 4-1 in 2012/13. They were also finalists in 1993/94 and 2017/18.
Following an inactive Saturday Hednesford retained their spot at the top of the NPL Premier Division thanks to Hebburn’s 2-3 defeat at Ilkeston. Hebburn and FC United are both a point behind The who have 57 points with all three teams having played 31 games.
THE OPPOSITION
Lye play their football at step 5 in the Midland Football League Premier Division after being relegated after a season at step 4 in the NPL Midland when they finished in 20th place.
They have reached the final of the Birmingham Senior Cup just once, in 1979/80 losing 0-2 to Nuneaton Borough and reached this stage of the competition this season by beating Wolves in the second round 3-2 (Matt Saunders 2, Luke Sidaway) and Coventry Sphinx 2-0 in the third round (Elliott Ball, Leo Gouveia).
On Saturday Lye should have visited Tividale but the game was called off due to a waterlogged pitch. This left Lye in ninth place in the league table with 43 points from 25 games. Away from home they have won six, drawn three and lost five games scoring 29 goals but conceding 32.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
The two sides used to meet regularly back in the 1970s and 80s in the West Midlands (Regional ) league. From 1975 to 1984 they played each other 18 times, Hednesford winning six times, Lye four with eight draws. They have also met in various cup competitions:
- 1973/74 FA Trophy Lye 2 Hednesford 1
- 1979/80 FA Cup Lye 1 Hednesford 0
- 1983/84 Birmingham Senior Cup Lye 1 Hednesford 2
- 1989/90 FA Cup Hednesford 0 Lye 2
MANAGER’S THOUGHTS
MATCHDAY INFORMATION
The turnstiles, club shop and ticket office open at 6pm with reduced admission prices for the game at £6 adults, £4 concessions, £1 U16s and U10s free although everyone under 16 must be accompanied by an adult. Tickets can be purchased via the Fanbase app in advance or from the ticket office on the night.
If the scores are level after 90 minutes the tie will be decided by penalty kicks.
Parking is still available at the Dunelm/Sunflex Site for £5 (proceeds go to charity). Food and drink available at the stadium at the bars, self-serve bars (BoltBar) on the ground level and a burger van. See more information on matchdays here.
