PREVIEW: Evesham United vs Stratford Town
Saturday 26th September 2026 – Isuzu FA Trophy 3rd Qualifying Round
Evesham United welcome near neighbours from Warwickshire, Stratford Town, to the Spiers and Hartwell Stadium on Saturday, with both sides hoping to bounce back from their FA Cup 2nd Qualifying Round exits last weekend. The Bards, as Stratford are known, lost narrowly away to Worcester whilst the Robins were eliminated at Redditch United. The FA Trophy offers both clubs another tilt at Cup glory.
Stratford Town have played at their current level, the Southern League Premier Central division, for over ten years, although this season has been a struggle for them thus far. They have yet to record a league victory and have gathered only three points from their opening 8 games. Their most recent defeat was last Tuesday, losing 3-2 at home to Bromsgrove Sporting. They currently lie in 21st place in the league, with only pointless Stamford keeping them off bottom spot.
The FA Trophy, open to clubs playing in Steps 1-4 of the National League system, equivalent to Tiers 5-8 of the overall English League structure, has its showpiece final at Wembley. Both the Robins and the Bards will have that great incentive in mind as they go head-to-head on Saturday. There’s nothing quite like knock-out football!
Match Preview: Nick Hadley
