Lee Radford throws support behind Lock Lane ahead of Challenge Cup tie
Photo: Allan McKenzie / SWpix
Castleford coach Lee Radford will present the playing shirts to the Lock Lane amateurs ahead of today’s huge Challenge Cup tie with League 1 Rochdale.
The Tigers suffered a surprise home defeat by Salford in the opening match of the new Super League season. They will now throw their support behind their amateur neighbours, led by Lee Radford.
Lock Lane are expecting over 1,000 fans to cram into their tiny ground for the third round tie. They will have the whole town behind them following a shock win under failing floodlights at Oldham.
Paul Crouch’s men believe their National Conference League hopes have been given a huge boost by this surprise Betfred Challenge Cup run – both in terms of profile for the club and its surrounding fanbase; and the obvious financial windfall.
A club like Lock Lane need to raise £5,000 a season simply to fund a team bus for away games. By reaching at least round three where they will enjoy a capacity crowd at home; and sold out hospitality space, Lock Lane will have pretty much covered this already.
Challenge Cup run helps Lock Lane massively
For lifelong clubmen like Couch, who has spent 30 years in various roles at Lock Lane, and chairman Mick Wildey who has given four decades of support to the club, it is a spell in the limelight that has made all the years of graft worthwhile.
Crouch told Love Rugby League: “As an amateur club it helps our season massively.
“I’m hoping it is going to be something special and something that a lot of people will remember. And keep supporting us through the National Conference League season.
“This Challenge Cup run has lifted the profile of the club enormously but the league is our bread and butter and we need to hit the play-offs rather than just survive.
“We’ve a stronger group of players now and this Cup run has given them massive confidence.”
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As he did in the build up to their surprise win at Oldham, Couch has moved to keep the pressure off his players ahead of the visit of their latest League 1 opponents.
He said: “I’ve drilled into our players that there is no pressure on us because we are not expected to win.
“We are expected to roll over but these players won’t do that. We’ve done our homework and I’m pretty sure Rochdale will have done the same.”
There will be plenty of familiar faces in the Rochdale camp, with head coach Matt Calland having faced Lock Lane several times while in charge of Rochdale Mayfield. His assistant Gary Thornton coached many of the current Lock Lane players during his spell at Castleford’s Under-19s.
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