PADIHAM skipper Kevin Hitchon says his side can’t wait for the chance to compete for silverware in the Ramsbottom Cup.

Victory over Ribblesdale Wanderers last weekend booked a final date with defending league champions Settle in the showpiece at Read on Sunday, August 5.

Padiham will start the game as underdogs against a Settle side who have tasted plenty of success in recent years.

But Hitchon believes his side is capable of springing a surprise and securing their first Rammy Cup victory since 2008.

“It is a great achievement to get through and to reach the final,” he said.

“We know we will be the underdogs against Settle but that takes the pressure of us.

“Everyone will expect Settle to win the game and we will go out there and enjoy it and see if we can get the result.

“Settle have lost a couple of league games in recent weeks so they are not unbeatable.

“We are all looking forward to it, none of us have even played in a final before so it is a great opportunity and a great test for us.”

The place in the final was secured with a comfortable seven wicket win over Wanderers with Owen Deakin-Pickard and Callum Clarke both hitting half centuries in a successful chase.

The hard work had been done by the bowling attack with professional Siviwe Gidana, Toby Burrows and Tom Shirtcliffe all taking three wickets.

And Hitchon felt it was a superb all-round display.

“I thought 180-200 was a par score and so the way we bowled gave us a platform,” he said.

“The bowlers bowled very well and I think the wickets were shared around and that set us up for the chase.

“We got home relatively comfortably in the end with Owen Deakin-Pickard and Callum Clarke both making 50s.

“It was a good team performance and we are all looking forward to the final now.”

Before then Padiham’s focus will be on league action. They secured a spot in Section A last season following promotion after two near misses.

The club face Barnoldswick tomorrow in a crunch clash knowing that defeat would see their opponents, currently second bottom in the drop zone, close the gap and suck Padiham into a relegation fight.

But a win for Hitchon’s men would put them in the driving seat to retain their top flight status and that would represent a season of success for Padiham who have brought through a clutch of promising youngsters into the first team this term.

“The league form hasn’t quite gone as we would like it to,” admitted Hitchon.

“We knew this was going to be a bit of a building year, we have a lot of young lads coming into the team. I think there were probably only three or four us over 25 in the team last weekend.

“Those youngsters have been on the fringes of the first team for a while but until this year have not had the chance to play regularly and we just need to develop a bit of consistency. We are not far off being a very good side.

“The guys we are bringing through, the likes of Tom Shirtcliffe, who has really been bowling well this season, they have all come through the juniors at the club and the are all Padiham lads.

Hitchon added: “I think we will have enough to stay in Section A.

“There is a bit of a buffer to Barnoldswick who we play on Saturday.

“That is a big game for us with them winning last week and us losing.

“It is an important game for us to win because if we don’t it will bunch right back up again.

“But we have beaten the likes of Whalley and Ribblesdale Wanderers in the cup and we know on our day we can compete with anyone.”