Westbury United have secured an exciting FA Cup tie that will bring former Premier League star Charlie Austin to Platinum Hyundai Park.
Austin, who scored over 175 goals playing for Southampton, West Bromwich Albion, Queens Park Rangers, Burnley, and Swindon Town, is now plying his trade at AFC Totton, whom United will face in the FA Cup First Qualifying Round on Saturday.
“It’s an amazing draw for us,” said club chairman Phil Hampson. “To get a player of Charlie’s calibre playing at Westbury is fantastic; I think it’s the first time ever that the team has faced an ex-Premier League player. He’s a household name to all football fans, and it would be great to get a big crowd along to cheer the team on.”
The club is turning the day into a big family event with the official launch of their youth sides. The brand new under-7s and under-9s will be mascots for the day, wearing their new kits for the first time, and at half-time, all the youth sides—under-7s, 9s, 12s, 13s, 16s, and 18s—will be introduced to the supporters on the pitch and have a photograph with some of the first team players.
“It’s going to be a massive game and a big day for us,” said Phil. “Totton is in a division above us and has spent a lot of money, but we’ll be giving it a real go; the FA Cup is full of giant-killing stories!
“Saturday will be a great day, and we hope to see as many people at the ground as possible,” added Phil. “We’re hoping Westbury people will turn out in big numbers.”
“It’s a chance for youngsters in the town to see a top, top player. And for them to see that, here at Westbury, we are playing at a really good level. My boys go to watch Swindon a lot; they saw Charlie Austin last season at Swindon, and now they can see him at Westbury. It’s hopefully going to cement in the kids’ minds that playing for Westbury is a big achievement with a really good standard of football. It can hopefully be a catalyst to get young players to want to play here.”
Charlie Austin started his league career at Swindon, where his goalscoring exploits earned him a move to Burnley in the Championship and then on to Queens Park Rangers in the Premier League. He scored 18 goals in the top flight, earning him a call-up to the England squad, but couldn’t prevent QPR from being relegated. He moved on to Southampton, scoring the winning goal against Manchester United on his debut, before going on to play for West Brom, returning to QPR, and finishing his league career last season at Swindon.
“The game on Saturday will also be a chance for people to come down to Westbury if they haven’t been for a while,” added Phil. “Things are really positive all around. We’re playing at the highest level we’ve ever played at; this is now our third season in the Southern League; and the ground looks really good. I’m confident in saying that Westbury United is the best it’s been for 50 years; I think that would be backed up by the clean-up gang team who’ve been here for probably 50 years and are saying it’s the best they’ve ever known it.
“It’s really positive all around; we’ve got a refurbished ground—the club has spent a lot investing in improvements, upgrading the ground, and improving the changing rooms—and we’ve put a significant investment into the youth academy/setup. We started with two youth age groups in January, and now, eight months later, we’ve got an under-18s flagship youth side, which will hopefully feed directly into the first team, and teams at under-16s, under-13s, 12s, 9s, and 7s. It will be a pathway to hopefully see youngsters from Westbury playing for the first team in years to come.
“We’ve got youth pitches at the White Horse Country Park and have spent around £25,000 to get the youth setup off the ground; we are investing heavily and want the youth to be a key part of the club going forward.
“We’re a family-friendly club, and now, as an added bonus, all under-16s are free on matchdays for both league and cup games. Come and watch United and bring your kids for free!”
• Westbury Utd vs AFC Totton is this Saturday, 31st August, kick-off at 3 pm at Platinum Hyundai Park, Meadow Lane, Westbury, BA13 3AF.
