A SUNDAY morning football match was abandoned 50 minutes in after the rivals realised they had been playing the wrong team.

Bretforton Sports Club, formerly Bretforton Old Boys Reserves, lined up to face Pillar in the Worcestershire FA Sunday Junior Cup only to discover shortly after half-time they had been doing battle with Eaton — the team that had been due to face Bretforton Old Boys.

Sports Club became a separate team over the summer in order to step up to Birdseye Evesham Sunday League Division One alongside serial champions Old Boys.

The two teams still play from the same venue and have the same secretary.

Both teams were drawn at home in the county competition and when Droitwich side Pillar got in touch to request an early kick-off so the players could watch the second-city derby between Aston Villa and Birmingham City the request was mistakenly thought to have come from Eaton.

With no changed kick-off time agreed Pillar cancelled but, with Bretforton still believing the correspondence had come from Eaton, Sports Club took to the field instead of Old Boys.

Worcester side Eaton lined up in their second strip which has no club crest on and the match kicked off with both teams and the match official none the wiser.

The error is understood to have become apparent when a home player made a sarcastic remark about the opposition not being that good for a team top of the table — Pillar currently head McDonald's Worcester and District Sunday League Division One — only to be told they were playing the team third from bottom of that division.

Even though Old Boys did not take to the pitch, it is their fixture with Eaton that is currently listed as abandoned on Evesham Sunday League’s Full-Time FA website.

Sports Club against Pillar is listed as postponed with the matter referred to the Worcestershire FA.

The county association have since said on their website that Eaton and Sports Club have both received walkovers and will progress to the third round on January 27.

Eaton will host New Inn Pershore and Sports Club visit Kempsey Colts United.