Pickup eyes a repeat for Burnley

After gaining revenge in the Worsley Cup at the weekend, Burnley captain Dan Pickup is hoping for a repeat against Accrington in the Lancashire League.
Dan PickupDan Pickup
Dan Pickup

Following the 64-run win at Thorneyholme Road in the first round of the cup competition, reversing last year’s finish at this stage last term, the two teams will do battle again at Turf Moor on Sunday.

The league leaders arrive in scintillating form having eased past Colne, Great Harwood and Enfield and Pickup acknowledges that they’re the team to beat.

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However, the skipper insists that confidence is sky high following the club’s performances over a double-header Bank Holiday.

“I thought it was a good weekend for us to bounce back with there being two tough games,” he said.

“We had a bit of a scare against Accrington, we were under the cosh early on, but we ended up getting two good wins.

“Both games needed real team efforts to get us through and everybody contributed at some point over the weekend. We grafted and it was really pleasing to see.

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“It was nice to get revenge after they dumped us out in the first round last season. We were keen to put that right and make sure that we went further this time. We weren’t always in control but we showed some really good sides to our game.”

Pickup added: “If you can beat the sides that are expected to be around you then it sets you up well because we only play each team once.

“Obviously Clitheroe won it last year so it was a big thing beating them. It needed a really good performance to beat them at their place.

“Accrington are top of the league at the minute, they’ve won all of their games, so they are the team to beat. They have a lot of decent players so we’re expecting a tough game.

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“But confidence is sky high after the weekend, we’ll obviously pay them the respect they deserve, and it’s another big game for us to look forward to.”

Burnley, who made history in the Worsley Cup when defending their crown on three occasions, were drawn at home to Bacup in the second round, with the tie taking place on May 26th.

“We always prefer a home draw because we are usually pretty strong there,” said Pickup. “We are happy with how the draw has turned out.

“Bacup are stronger than they have been in recent years. They improved last season and they look like they’ve improved again. We would back ourselves to beat anybody at the moment.

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“We’re massively determined to get that cup back. The competition has been good to us, particularly for the majority of the past five years.

“We really value the Worsley Cup and we’ve always wanted to do well in it. When you win it four times on the bounce it’s always going to be tough to maintain it.

“You’re not going to keep winning it forever. But when somebody else has got hold of it it gives you that extra motivation to win it back.”