The 99th year of the JW Hunt Cup charity football competition was marked with the final at Molineux. John Richards, who has score a few goals on the hallowed turf, was present as a special guest at the game between Dudley.Town and Cradley Town
00:00With Stephen Austin, the chairman of Dudley Town, just before the JW Hunt Cup final.
00:06Are you looking forward to the game, Stephen, against your local rivals?
00:10Absolutely, Paul. You've got to savour these moments. They don't come along very often.
00:15And for us, it's been 18 years since we've played in the Cup final,
00:18and even longer since we've actually lifted any Cups of war.
00:21So, absolutely, we're going to enjoy tonight, whatever happens.
00:25And I know that our lads will do us proud, whatever the result, anyway.
00:28And the JW Hunt Cup, it's a unique Cup, isn't it?
00:31It's played for for charity, the 100th year next season.
00:36Raised thousands of pounds for the Beacon Centre for the Blind, and a few more thousand today, hopefully.
00:42Absolutely, and the committee of the JW Hunt Cup do an absolute sterling job.
00:47They come around the games, the earlier rounds, with the collection tins,
00:52and are always welcome at Dudley Town.
00:54And the money they've raised over the years is absolutely phenomenal.
00:58And it's great that they get rewarded as well for themselves as a committee here at Molyneux for the final.
01:04Yeah, and it's the culmination of your season, the culmination of Cradley Town's season.
01:09You're always looking ahead to the next season, though.
01:12How was this one for you at Dudley?
01:14Again, over the past few years, we've had a year-on-year improvement.
01:19Last year, we finished seventh.
01:20This year, we're joint sixth.
01:23Only three points off the playoffs.
01:26Great running the FA Cup, playing three games.
01:29And good runs in the Birmingham Senior Cup.
01:32And obviously, this one reaching the final.
01:34So, for us, year-on-year improvement.
01:36The squad's improved.
01:38The management team's improved.
01:39And all around, the club is heading in the right direction.
01:43Yeah, and you'll be looking to press on to hopefully make the playoffs next season, I imagine.
01:47Absolutely.
01:48You know, as a bare minimum, the playoffs next year.
01:51But I'm hoping that if this group of lads stick together,
01:54you know, with one or two more additions,
01:57that we'll be challenging for the title next season.
01:59That's what we'd like to see.
02:00Yeah, well, enjoy your evening.
02:02I know you're a busy man.
02:03I'll let you go and get a cup of coffee before the kick-off.
02:07That's cool.
02:08Cheers, Stephen.
02:08Bye.
02:09I'll let you go.
02:39I'll let you go.
03:08I'll let you go.
03:38I'll let you go.
04:08I'll let you go.
04:38I'll let you go.
05:08Richard's Freeman of the City.
05:21You should be Freeman of the Molyneux by now.
05:23Now, this place has got some memories for you, hasn't it?
05:26Yeah, a lot of memories.
05:28It goes back 50-odd years since I first came here to Wolverhampton.
05:33And, obviously, my first trial match was here at Molyneux on this very pitch.
05:39It was a fabulous night tonight to see the final of the JW Hunt Cup.
05:43You know, it's great to see these guys, you know, I've got to ask you this, you've probably been asked a hundred times, have you got a favourite goal that you scored at Molyneux or one that really keeps coming back to you?
05:59Yes, it was probably the League Cup quarter-final goal against Liverpool.
06:06It was during the minor strike.
06:10It was the, I think it was December 1973.
06:14And we beat Liverpool.
06:15They were a top team at the time.
06:18And it was the quarter-final and we won 1-0.
06:20And I scored down at the North Bank end, just over there.
06:23And a left footer, which was unusual for me.
06:25And that really was the sort of, made us believe we were going to get to Wembley that year.
06:30It's changed a little bit since then, Molyneux, hasn't it?
06:33But I imagine it's still got the same pull for you.
