Brad Munn & Lewis McGugan kickstart their 2023/24 Emirates FA Cup campaign overseeing the Blues on Saturday with the visit of Stourbridge FC to Grange Park.

Long Eaton United head into this match off the back of a disappointing 5-0 home league defeat to top of the table Mickleover FC on Bank Holiday Monday.

United only found themselves a goal behind at the break through Sports’ weaving winger Oliver Greaves.

However, a rampant second half saw Greaves double his tally, Ross Durrant unfortunately slice a clearance into his own goal, and Andre Wright secure a brace of his own to solidify Sports’ position at the top of the table.

The Opposition –

From a league perspective, Stourbridge currently sit second in the Southern Football League Premier Central division with four wins, one draw and one defeat from six matches played so far this season.

The Glassboys could only claim one point in their previous match, as Bromsgrove Sporting travelled to The War Memorial Athletic Ground and held Stourbridge to a 1-1 draw.

Vladimiro Granjal Martins Pais put the visitors ahead on the stroke of half time, but the Glassboys’ Luke Benbow helped Stourbridge fight back and secure a point on home soil.

Previous Meeting’s –

After sifting through recent records, the Blues and Stourbridge have seemingly never faced each other in a league or cup competition during the history of both clubs.

The Glassboys spent a lot of their founder years, and the 60-70 years post, competing in Birmingham based leagues, before switching and simply being promoted into West Midlands and Southern based leagues thereafter.

Whereas, United spent many years competing in Midlands and Northern based leagues, thus, despite the 60-mile distance between the two clubs, the difference in level and/or region has meant that this will be the clubs’ first ever meeting.

Subsequently, Stourbridge make their first ever trip to Grange Park on Saturday and will compete against the Blues in the Emirates FA Cup First Round Qualifying for the first time ever.

The Manager’s Quotes –

From a mentality perspective, joint boss Brad Munn was asked whether the switch from league to cup meant there was a different mentality heading into the match, he said: “Switching from league focus to cup focus would have been different if we had been drawn against a team that was not in our league, but seen as Stourbridge are at the same level and in the same section as us, the mentality heading into the match, and what I expect from the players, does not change.

“It almost feels like a glorified league game – the difference is, if you lose a league game then you have 30 odd still to play, but if you lose a cup game then you are out, and everyone forgets about you.

“So, the biggest thing for us now moving forward is that we have to get some sort of positive, and as you can tell at the moment, this is not us, so we just need to make sure that things change as soon as possible.

“The fact of the matter is, with ability or lack of it, the bare minimum for us is 100% attitude and application, and if not, they wont just not play, they will also be out of the squad.

“We know it is going to be tough on Saturday, but it’s a cup game and anything can happen, so we will go out there like we always do, looking to win.”

Match Details -

Long Eaton United vs Stourbridge FC
Emirates FA Cup First Round Qualifying
Saturday 2nd September 2023 – Kick-Off 3:00 pm

Grange Park (Long Eaton United FC)
Station Road
Long Eaton
Derbyshire
NG10 2EF

Ticket Information -

£11 Adults
£9 Concessions
£4 U16s
U16 club members gain FREE entry with membership cards (limited to one member per paying adult)

£2.50 Matchday Programme

The match kicks off at 3:00 pm and we advise all supporters to arrive early to avoid any queues or delays.

Card payments are preferred and accepted at the bar, at the kitchen and for entry into Grange Park – although, cash payments are still accepted!

Car parking is available at the ground and is free, but is of course subject to availability, although there is ample parking available in the surrounding area.

Also, you can see the team line-ups outside the hospitality room or on our official Twitter, where there will also be live updates from the match.