The fun stops now - boss warns Drayton
Market Drayton Town will put the fun of Tuesday's nine-goal spree with Ludlow behind them at Greenfields tomorrow to tackle the dangerous Lincoln United.
Town's 6-3 extra-time TJ Vickers Premier Shropshire Cup semi-final success hit the first of two targets boss Martyn Davies set for his debut season.
He wanted an end to Town's habitual end-of-season struggle for Evo-Stik First Division South survival and their dismal record in cup contests, particularly at county level.
He said: "The league had to be the priority but I felt strongly that we should be proving just where we stand in Shropshire's pecking order by getting our name on a county cup again.
"Our aim as a club is to attract and promote local talent and being county champions is a very clear demonstration to young players that you're going in the right direction."
Ludlow, a team Davies played for briefly before making his name as Town's record marksman, certainly had one to watch as they led until the 83rd minute at Shrewsbury Sports Village.
With an hour gone, Kieran Dovey had propelled the West Midlands Division One leaders into a surprise 3-1 lead with a hat-trick.
Town's starter for six, after Dovey's first two strikes, was a well-worked effort, culminating in Cohen Bramall's cracking shot across the goalkeeper.
Dovey quickly restored the two-goal deficit, but from there Drayton began to look increasingly dangerous.
Bramall's deflected shot brought the score to 3-2 and full-back Michael O'Reilly scored in similar fashion to bring extra-time.
Within two minutes, Jeff Watkins headed Town ahead. James O'Reilly made it five and Craig Ryan rounded things off late on.
Davies said: "Nine goals, both sides attacking. But I've warned the lads that we won't get away with playing that sort of football against Lincoln.
"We're in for a tough few days because our next game's on Tuesday, at (local rivals) Leek Town – and I don't have to spell out what that means.
"Saturday's great 0-0 draw at Coalville means we're now on 37 points, as many as we managed all last season.
"It means we're pretty well placed for a run at the play-offs – but this division's so tight we're still not safe either."
