Lostock Gralam FC ready for Cheshire Amateur Cup semi final

Having won through four rounds to reach this stage, the Grey Lambs welcome Birkenhead-based Mersey Royal FC to the Park Stadium on Saturday with a place in the final at stake.

Victory would see them face either Stockport Georgians or Ashville FC in the trophy, but standing in their way is a side that is currently unbeaten in Division One of the West Cheshire League.

Lostock will also go into the game having not played in the league since February 5 due to weather-related postponements but despite the untimely break, Jones still believes his team arrive in “peak form” and the chance of silverware will shake off any rustiness his team might feel.

“It’s an enormous match,” he said.

“We’re within touching distance and to get to a final would be a huge statement of how far the team has come over the last four or five years.

“We’ve stepped up training a little bit from an intensity perspective just to keep the boys ticking over as best as we can.

“We’ll go in confident although we’re against a top side in Mersey Royal.”

Jones also considers playing at home to be a huge advantage in the crunch fixture due to the differing surfaces both sides play on.

“I think playing in front of home fans definitely gives us the edge – we’ve actually only lost two games here all season,” he said.

“Royal are a side who predominantly play on a 3G surface, so they’ll have to adapt to our grass pitch which could prove tricky.”

In the Cheshire Football League Premier Division, too, Lostock are still in with a chance of further silverware.

They currently sitting 12 points behind leaders FC St Helens but crucially, they have three games in hand.

And although they face a gruelling stretch of five games within a fortnight in the near future, Jones believes his side are “100% in the hunt” for the title, claiming “we have the strongest squad in years at our disposal.”

Kick off for the semi-final match is at 2pm.