Tony Choules believes victory over Wembley in tonight's Middlesex Senior Charity Cup final would see his young Uxbridge side come full circle.
Twelve months ago, Choules’ fledglings took to the field against a Brentford development side and upstaged their loftier opponents to lift the trophy.
The likes of Callum Madigan, Josh Christopher and William Wambeek made a big impression on the Reds boss and he gave the youngsters their chance at Honeycroft this season.
Choules is hopeful they can do the business again next week against Combined Counties Premier outfit Wembley as repayment for his faith in their ability.
“Uxbridge is a great place to be at the moment,” a beaming Choules said. “The youth team reached the first round proper of the FA Youth Cup, the reserves have won their league and we’ve finished 10th after spending some time in the bottom five. The infrastructure is all there now and we don’t need to go out and get loan players because we have the set-up.
“That Brentford night was the start of everything we’re experiencing now at Uxbridge. We’ve come full circle and that night was a massive kick for us. It gave the young players a reason to get their heads down and earn a place. They have carried that on this season and have done well for us.”
Choules will be sharing a drink with Wembley player-boss Ian Bates after the match, who the Uxbridge manager believes has big potential in the dugout.
“Ian Bates played for me at Northwood and he is one good manager,” he said. “He’s going to be a very good manager in the years to come. He’ll have a strategy of what he wants to do and how he wants to go about it. It’ll be a tough match and we’re taking it massively seriously. Winning the game would see us end the year successfully and complete the circle.”
Uxbridge will definitely be without Paul McCarthy after the goalkeeper underwent surgery on an injured hand this week and Rourke Pickford will continue to deputise in goal.
The Reds came close to spoiling Dunstable’s party on Saturday as they were beaten 1-0 by Town, who lifted the Southern League Division One Central title.
Elsewhere, AFC Hayes signed off with a 6-0 defeat at Rugby Town and Northwood ended the campaign with a 3-0 win over Barton Rovers, Nico Muir bagging two and Karl Oliyide also scoring.
