Burntwood Dragons vs FC Hanley Academy
Tuesday 22nd March • 7:00pm
Stafford Town FC, Evans Park, Riverway, Stafford, ST16 3TL

TICKETS
Adults £3 • Concessions £1 • U16s FREE 

We will be operating a cashless system across all of our 13 County Cup finals this year. Supporters can pay by card at the turnstiles. No tickets will be sold in advance of the games.

Once again, we have taken the decision to hand all under-16s free admission when attending with a paying adult.

PROGRAMME
All of this season’s match programmes will be digital only, meaning there will be no wastage of printed paper at any of our finals. Spectators will be able to view, read and download a copy of each matchday programme from StaffordshireFA.com.

This means that, wherever you are in the world, you will be able to read the latest edition of the matchday programme right from your fingertips.

VIEW THE PROGRAMME

BURNTWOOD DRAGONS
At Burntwood Dragons and Phoenix Football Club, the club motto is ‘fun, friends, family, football’. Our experienced coaches train our teams to reach their highest potential, to enjoy their football whilst always giving their best efforts. Formed in 1996, this season we are proud to celebrate our 25th Anniversary, with the Club providing a celebrative yellow jersey for all our players.

Teamwork, perseverance, sportsmanship - those are the hallmarks of Burntwood Dragons and Phoenix Football Club. This also epitomises our under 16’s, with several members of the team having been with the club since they were 6 years old. This team really is like a band of brothers and family, not just friends and team mates.

Whatever the result, the lads will give their all and look forward to delivering a great performance on the night.

FC HANLEY ACADEMY
In 2015, a self-management opportunity of 3 brand new pitches via a 30-year lease saw the birth of FC Hanley – an independent group for Grassroot teams.

Our community coaching team now consists of 10 qualified coaches with qualifications ranging from ‘Introduction to Football’ through to UEFA B. 

An average of 85-100 children join us every week and due to demand we now offer 1-2-1 coaching sessions, team coaching sessions and have plans to offer Manager development sessions very shortly.

Our pyramid is one that we are proud of – we embrace children as young as 4 and offer them the opportunity to develop through the ages with differing opportunities along the way.

REPORT
A second successive County Cup Final night and another exciting game saw Burntwood Dragons become the second team to score 4 in claiming a Staffordshire County FA crown.

On a night when Evans Park was buzzing with support for both sides it was Burntwood who took the early lead with an absolute peach of a strike that will certainly be in contention for the ‘goal of the finals’ as a long range strike gave the Hanley keeper no chance as it arrowed into the top corner.

Soon after and the lead was doubled as Burntwood made a dream start and looked well in command in the early stages, Hanley failing to clear a set piece and paid the price when the ball found its way into the net.

All credit to their opponents though and they battled back into the game, looking more threatening and eventually pulling a goal back shortly before half time with a calm strike low into the net after a lovely through ball set up the opportunity.

Hanley ended the half on the from foot but could not summon up an equaliser despite creating a couple of chances to go into the break level setting up an interesting second half.

However, a long range free kick for the Dragons soon after the re-start saw them restore their 2 goal lead. The kick was taken from near the halfway line but took a deceptive bounce off the wet surface and left the Hanley keeper stranded for a 3-1 Burntwood lead.

The Dragons keeper kept out a free-kick destined to reduce the deficit once more but was powerless to prevent Hanley pulling a goal back 10 minutes later to set up a tense last 15 minutes.

Chances came and went for Hanley with a low shot inches wide of the post as close as they came to levelling the game up before Burntwood broke at the other end to add a 4th and effectively end the contest with 5 minutes to go.

Joyous scenes at final whistle as Burntwood Dragons claimed the silverware but all credit to both teams who put on an excellent final for the large crowd at Evans Park.

Our thanks go to all who came to support their teams, to Stafford Town for hosting and to the players for an entertaining evening of football.