AFC Rushden & Diamonds Ladies have been readmitted to the NWFL Plate Final after Roade Ladies withdrew having fielded an ineligible player.
After a close semi-final, which Roade won 2-1, the Ladies thought they would be concentrating on the League. Once the team sheets were checked it was discovered that the player who scored the winning goal for Roade had appeared for Moulton Ladies in an earlier round of the competition and should not have played.
Roade then formally withdrew from the competition giving the Ladies a place in the final.
Head of Community Football David Cockings said:
“We believe that it was an honest mistake by Roade Ladies and at no stage did they seek to gain an advantage from the situation.
“It’s not the way we would have liked to go through to the final, but had we made the same mistake then we would have also withdrawn to preserve the integrity of the completion and our club.
“It’s been an emotional few days for the girls, there were a few tears on Wednesday evening, and they now have to get focused and get ready for the final on Sunday.
“Hopefully we can get as good a crowd at Raunds Town on Sunday morning as the Ladies really appreciated the support they got on Wednesday evening”
A full match preview will appear later on in the week. The game will kick off at 11:30am at Kiln Park on Sunday 14th April, with the game followed by the final of the NWFL League Cup – admission for both games is £3 adults, £1 concessions.
It has also been confirmed today that the Ladies will play their final league game of the season at the Dog and Duck on Sunday 21st April with a 2.00pm kick-off.