Locks Heath unhappy at having to play Portsmouth FA and Southampton FA cup ties against Wessex League clubs in space of three days

The Hampshire Premier League club travel to holders Moneyfields in the semi-finals of the Portsmouth Senior Cup on Tuesday.

Forty eight hours later, they take to the road again - this time at Alresford in the second round of the Southampton Senior Cup!

Locks were initially due at Alresford last Thursday, but that tie was rained off.

‘It’s annoying,’ remarked Locks boss Dave Fuge. ‘It’s a bit harsh if you ask me.

‘We’ve got to play Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. We’ll cope, but I don’t know how strong some of the teams will be.’

Asked if a different date couldn’t be found for the Alresford tie, Fuge said: ‘Apparently not. We complained about it but were told we’d been given the requisite seven days notice, so we have to play.

‘I’ve got four or five missing for Tuesday and I know two of those that can play aren’t available for Thursday.’

Locks are in good form, having not lost any of their last 11 league or cup matches in normal time. Their only loss during that run was a penalty shoot-out exit at Eversley & California in the Russell Cotes Cup.

They also shocked Moneyfields’ Wessex League Premier rivals Fareham, knocking them out of the PSC on spot-kicks at Cams Alders after a 0-0 stalemate.

That was Locks’ second spot-kick win in three PSC rounds this season, having previously beaten lower division Paulsgrove Reserves after a 2-2 draw.

‘It was a deserved draw (at Fareham),’ remarked Fuge. ‘We did hold our own on the night.

‘To do that at Moneyfields we will need every player to be a nine out of 10, we can’t just have four or five performining.

‘In our league, you can afford a couple to have an off-day but not when you’re playing teams like Fareham and Moneyfields.

‘I coached a lot of the Moneyfields players when they were at USP - Callum Glen, Jordan Pile, James Franklyn. I signed a few of them.

‘It’s good to see that they’ve gone up a level this season and held their own.’

Locks didn’t play last weekend, meaning their last outing was a 0-0 HPL stalemate at Stockbridge.

Fuge was happy enough with a point, bearing in mind he had to play injured striker Jordan Whiteley in goal as all of his keepers were unavailable!

Tuesday’s game is the first of two cup semi-finals for Locks against Moneyfields in nine days - they face Moneys reserves in the HPL Cup at Cams Alders next Wednesday.

The winners of the PSC semi face either Gosport Borough or Petersfield Town in a Westleigh Park final.

The winners of the HPL Cup semi, meanwhile, face either Meon Milton or Sway in the final.