Will he or won’t he: Rob Bordman is facing a race against time to be fit for Nostell’s Senior Cup final tie with Frickley
Will Nostell Miners Welfare talisman Rob Bordman be fit for the Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup final at the New York Stadium tomorrow night?
That’s the biggest question of the week as Nostell prepare to make history in their first ever Senior Cup final appearance – the club’s biggest game since the Alan Colquhoun days.
Bordman, Nostell’s leading goal-scorer and biggest threat, is in a race against time to be fit for the clash with last season’s runners-up Frickley Athletic.
The striker, whose goals steered Nostell from bottom of the Toolstation NCEL Premier Division and up to 15th in just three months, twisted his knee ligament in a final for St John Fishers last week.
Nostell manager Paul Lines told Non League Yorkshire: “It could be touch and go.
“I was devastated when he told me and I said: ‘I hope this is one of your Rob Bordman jokes’. Obviously it wasn’t.
“He thinks he has twisted his ligaments in his knee so we’re going to have to wait and see.”
The final is a fairytale finish to a season of two halves for the Crofton-based club.
Until the arrival of chairman Simon Turfrey and Lines in November, Nostell were struggling at the foot of the Division.
It took a couple of months to get going, but Lines turned the team around and easily guided them to safety.
The Senior Cup was a distraction until the semi-final victory at Maltby Main which booked their passage to the New York Stadium, the home of Rotherham United.
Lines admits that the final has been a brilliant reward for the club and wants supporters to get behind his team tomorrow night.
Paul Lines admits their Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup final appearance has created a wave of excitement
“The club has broken a hoodoo and we have got there for the first time which is fantastic for all the local community and people,” he said.
“We’re playing at Rotherham United which is a fantastic venue and I want to get as many people there as I can to support the club.
“Getting there has created a lot of excitement. On Twitter and Facebook as well locally, people have been asking about it.
“People have been reading about the final on Non League Yorkshire to Twitter to the Yorkshire Evening Post so there has been a lot of interest.
“Even people from my gym have been asking about tickets and telling me that they’re going to come.
“It is nice and at any level it is nice to play in a final at the end of the year.
“It has been a massive added bonus for everyone and I believe the club can only go forward from this.”
If Nostell want to win the final they face a massive test as Frickley are two leagues higher in the Evo Stik Premier Division.
They can take belief from Athersley Recreation who pulled off the shock of the century to beat Frickley in last year’s final.
By his own admission, Lines and his team have no fear and he believes the pressure is on their opponents.
“I want to go and win it, but it isn’t an easy task,” he added.
“Ultimately it is one game, 90 minutes, man against a man and if you win your own battles, you win the game.
“We go there as underdogs and it is a banana-skin for Frickley.
“Frickley will be feeling it psychologically and we have nothing to lose.
“We have got to the final for the first time ever. What have we got to lose? Nothing.
“We’ll go and give our best.”
The final kicks off at 7.30pm and the referee is Anthony Tankard.