COUNTY rivals Hereford and Luctonians have been paired for the second successive season in the North Midlands Cup.

Hereford dumped Luctonians out of the competition at the quarter-finals stage last term in front of 1,700 fans at Wyeside.

Again Hereford have been handed home advantage for this preliminary round clash on Sunday, September 2.

The winners of the tie will entertain Old Halesonians in the first round proper on Sunday, November 25.

Organisers have changed the format of the competition to avoid the fixture backlog that disrupted last season's tournament and to try to prevent mismatches.

The cup has been restricted to clubs between Midlands One and Midlands Three, with clubs from Midlands Four and below competing in a new North Midlands Plate competition.