Shildon’s Durham Challenge Cup Semi Final tie against Consett has been brought forward to next Wednesday after Consett’s players had arranged time off to attend Sunderland’s League Cup Final match at Wembley Stadium on Sunday 2nd March.
While the Northern League and Durham FA had agreed to the unusual arrangement of scheduling the match for Saturday 1st March – unusual because Durham Challenge Cup matches are usually played midweek under floodlights – it appears that Consett, under the impression they had a free Saturday, had given their players permission to arrange tickets for Sunderland’s big day in the capital the following afternoon.
The match has now been brought forward and will take place in the traditional manner, under floodlights, on Wednesday 26th February at 7.30pm, meaning that Shildon’s league match against Guisborough has had to be postponed to a later date.
The mix-up also means that Shildon will now have a free Saturday on March 1st.