Central host Altrincham Hale at Wright Robinson as they look to progress in the Murray Trophy

Tomkinson will be hoping that his side can continue their strong recent form, with mid-week’s 6-1 win over 11th placed Hollinwood topping off a strong run of form with five wins in seven games since the end of January, scoring 30 goals in the process.

However, with Central just 4 points off the elusive final promotion place in the Manchester Football League Division Two, the team’s attentions have switched to the Murray Trophy.

Winners of the Murray Trophy in 2018, Central have shown their ability in cup competitions in the past and are looking to repeat the feat in 2021/22. This year, with Central already in the second round after winning via home walkover in the first round against Oldham Community, they now face First Division side Altrincham Hale.

It will be a tough challenge for the home side, demonstrating the standard of the division above should they win promotion this season, with Altrincham currently sitting in 9th place of Division One, thirteen points ahead of 11th, and last, placed Wilmslow Albion.

This will be Central’s opposition’s first game since they beat fellow Division Two side Daisy Hill Development 4-0 on the 26th of March to secure their place in the second round of the Cup. Prior to this, Altrincham had been in fairly fine form securing seven points from a possible twelve in their previous four league games as they looked to secure their place in the league for the next season.

However, with just six wins all season and a -23 goal difference, it is clear that Altrincham are surpass-able. Tomkinson will also be hoping that the two week break since his opposition’s last game will leave them with some rust to shake off and fitness to regain, exploiting this with Central’s fast and dynamic playing style.

A significant proportion of Altrincham’s 33 league goals this season have come from one man, with Jack Yates having found the back of the net on 16 occasions so far this season. Thus, keeping Yates marked out of the game will be crucial to Central’s chances this weekend.

To do this, Tomkinson will have a large, fit and healthy roster to choose from, with only Kieran Taylor (broken wrist), Paul Shalobi (anterior cruciate ligament injury) and Denis Jerome (hamstring) out through injury. Despite Tomkinson’s woes of missing three “key players”, he is assured that he has “a squad with enough quality and depth to fill in for the missing players” and that Central “has a squad good enough to complete against any team”, drumming up the anticipation in the dressing room for the upcoming fixture.

Tomkinson stated his ambitions after his side’s positive recent form, saying “We gave been really good at home in recent weeks and it really suits how we want to play, we just have to keep performing as we have done and, hopefully, having the home advantage will help us tomorrow.”

“We have done really well in cup competitions previously. We would like to carry on that tradition. Having a good run will really help keeping the lads together and keep confidence high, which can only be a benefit in any game that you play in, but we know that Saturday will be a tough game against a side in the division above.”

“We have to have the desire to win and a positive attitude, then the ability will come as we know we have plenty of it. If the lads turn up with the wrong attitude or play with no desire, we could become unstuck. They are the things I always ask for from the lads before any game, and Saturday won’t be any different.”

“We would obviously like to get as far as we can. I think we can progress into the next round if we show the characteristics which I previously stated. It is down to the lads to prove how far they want to go really!”

Finally, Tomkinson added that “We always want to test ourselves against better opposition as it allows you to gauge where you are as a squad. We know it will be very tough as all games are, but we are very much looking forward to the game.”

Should Central progress into the Quarter Final of the Murray Trophy, this sentiment will ring true for a second time, as they will face either Moorside Rangers, who currently sit second in Division One, or Boothstown, who currently occupy 5th place in Division One.