The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON
Second Round Qualifying
Saturday 30 September 2006
Winning clubs will receive £3,750

 

Hinckley United are hoping a successful FA Cup run will be a fitting tribute to defender Matt Gadsby who tragically died during a match less than four weeks ago.

The Leicestershire club have launched a memorial fund to raise money for Matt's family after the 27-year-old collapsed on the pitch during a Conference North game against Harrogate Town at the start of September.

Hinckley only resumed their fixtures last weekend, but are aiming for a fruitful FA Cup campaign which begins on Friday night against Moor Green.

Club spokesman Dave Riche, who is organising a number of fund-raising events over the coming months, believes the rest of the squad are desperate to do well for their former team-mate.

"The players have said they want to win the League now for Matt, but if we could have a good FA Cup run and raise the profile of the memorial fund then that would be fantastic," Riche explains.

"Everyone at the club has pulled together over the past few weeks because obviously it was a real shock what happened. Thoughts about football went out of the window and the first thing everyone was thinking about was his wife and eight-month-old daughter and how they would cope without him.

"So straight away we set about raising funds and we have reached £10,000 already, which is great. The club initially set a target of £25,000, but from a personal point of view I would like to raise much more than that to help provide for his family."

Riche is hoping he might be a lucky omen for Hinckley this season in the FA Cup, having worked at Nuneaton Borough last season during their fairytale run to the third round where they took Premiership Middlesbrough to a replay and swelled club coffers by more than £250,000.

"That just highlighted the magic of the FA Cup," he says. "It was a dream come true for everyone involved and I saw first hand what it can do for a non-League club.

"If we could do the same at Hinckley this season it would be terrific and also help provide a fitting legacy for the memory of Matt."