MILLBROOK manager Macca Brown previews today’s Cornwall Senior Cup final against Helston Athletic:

“I think it’s the most prestigious cup competition you can win in the local game and I have made no secret of that fact to the players every single season when we embark on another challenge to try and win it, so I’m delighted to have got the final and think it’s a brilliant achievement for the club.

“For Millbrook, I believe it’s only our third final, I think Matt (Cusack) has more Senior Cup final appearances himself than Millbrook do, so that says it all really in terms of what it means to the club to get there and having never won it, it would be incredible to make history for the club.

“I said to the lads before the semi-final that there’s probably a lot of people that don’t expect a small village club like Millbrook to really be competing in finals of competitions like the Senior Cup.

“But the lads wearing the shirts should be – and they know that. 

“They’ve achieved some amazing things here in the last few years, and the new lads who have come into the squad this season have really brought into that, but for me this would be the icing on the cake.

“Helston – I think it was meant to be really, after everything that happened last summer. I spoke with Matt quite a bit at the time he left Parkway and at one point it looked like we maybe on the same side, so to fast forward several months this was probably inevitable. “Helston are a good side, they’ve probably got the most talented individual players in the league and Matt is moulding them into a good, cohesive team which is something they probably lacked last season and he’s doing a good job, because that’s not easy.

“They do things quite differently to us as a club, but I have no problem with that and that’s the beauty of the game at this level that two such different outfits can face off in such a game.

“Many of their players have come down from clubs at a higher level and they have the ability to win games on their own.

“Our strength, on the other hand, is really as a team and we certainly don’t have to financial resources to cherry pick the best players around, so we try to develop them.

“We obviously know Tom Payne and Rikki Shepherd really well and I’d like to think they’re an example of that. We know the ability they both have and they can hurt us in different ways if we don’t take care of them, they’ve already both scored against us this season after all!

“I’m pleased they’ve got the chance to play in such a big final as well, I know first hand how committed they are as players, football is high on their priority list and you get what you deserve and they deserve the big games.

“It’s a shame they couldn’t have done it with us over the years, and covid may have impacted that opportunity, but they were both incredibly loyal to me and Millbrook, playing for nothing for so many years until they were finally tempted away last summer.

“Obviously I hope they don’t win it this season, but they both know what I think of them and I want nothing but success for the pair of them – after this afternoon of course!”