Emirates FA Cup 2019/20 Extra Preliminary Round
I don't like football, I'm a Birmingham City fan. Birmingham City-Nil (credit for the self-depreciation to Jasper Carrott). Ah, Jasper. A comedian in the Boardroom to go with the 11 comedians on the pitch. The team that didn't score a goal during the reign of a Pope. I bought a scratchcard at the first game of the season for the time of the first goal. It said "October". And so it goes on...
Just to be clear, Birmingham City. The Blues. Not The Villa. That's very different. I think The Villa had a couple of good years in the eighties, but my recollection of that is rather hazy. No, I'm a Blues fan.
BCFC. Winners of the Atari Soccer Six in its first 2 years. Winners of the League Cup in 1963 and in 2011 (in those relegation-filled, financially-ruinous glory days). Winners of the Associate Members Cup / Football League Trophy in 1991 and 1995 (in those relegation-filled, financially-ruinous glory days).
But not winners of the FA Cup. You may have seen Blues lose the 1956 FA Cup Final in the recent most excellent Bert Trautmann biopic "The Keeper". Manchester City won the FA Cup that year, again, 3-1. Even with that broken neck. Even the second time I watched the film.
Not winners of the FA Cup. Never. Not ever.
Barry Fry, Blues manager during a period of relegation-filled, financially ruinous glory-days, took to pissing in all 4 corners of Fortress St Andrew's to rid the club of the gypsy's curse. Of course it worked. It may have attracted some sort of replacement curse, but that's the way it goes I suppose.
Could there be a similar solution to the FA Cup curse? No, of course not. But here's the deal. I aim to attend a game in every round of the 2019/20 Emirates FA Cup, obviously culminating with Blues winning the final on Saturday 23 May 2020. You heard it here first.
Extra Preliminary Round: Sunday 11 August 2019
"What's an Extra Preliminary Round?" said Mrs Sweet FA. A good question. I obviously didn't know the answer, but www.thefa.com provided the helpful guidance that "the extra preliminary round consists of teams from Step 4-6 of the English football pyramid, with the lowest-ranked sides nine tiers below last season’s winners, Manchester City"
So now I know. The Extra Preliminary Round started on Friday 9 August and will finish over the next few days when all of the replays have taken place. With 173 ties to choose from (which generated 568 goals) how to choose a match to attend?
Erith and Belvedere FC versus Peacehaven and Telscombe FC.
Could there be a fixture with a greater reverence towards the letter 'e'? Could it also be that it was a fixture quite close to where I happened to be on that given Sunday? Whatever the reason, the decision was made and it was off to Park View Road, home of Welling United and, since 1999, Erith and Belvedere FC.
Erith and Belvedere FC versus Peacehaven and Telscombe FC.
Could there be a fixture with a greater reverence towards the letter 'e'? Could it also be that it was a fixture quite close to where I happened to be on that given Sunday? Whatever the reason, the decision was made and it was off to Park View Road, home of Welling United and, since 1999, Erith and Belvedere FC.
Erith and Belvedere (Southern Counties East League Premier Division), established in 1922. Peacehaven and Telscombe (Southern Combination Premier Division), formed in 1923 by a merger of Peacehaven Rangers and Telscombe Tye. The Deres versus The Tye.
Entry £8. Programme £2 (but sold out). Good quality bacon roll £2.50.
Attendance somewhere between 200 and 300 (my unofficial guess. Sorry if it's wrong).
(Update 12/8/19 - official attendance 133)
(Update 12/8/19 - official attendance 133)
"C'MON PEACEHAVEN" was a mightily impressive vocal from a gentleman at the front of the main stand, to accompany kick-off. This impressive vocal performance returned periodically during the match, occasionally varied to "C'MON THE HAVEN".
It was 1-1 at half-time. That's one ball lost over the stand and one ball lost onto the A207. In terms of goals though, 0-0 at half time in a pretty balanced first half which The Deres probably just shaded.
Second half - different story. Lots of goalmouth action. The Tye upped the tempo and 10 minutes into the second half, Mikey Lloyd put the visitors ahead with a cracker from the edge of the box.
15 minutes before the end, an equaliser from The Deres. Another well struck shot from the edge of the box with Arthur Feudjiro providing the finish. Then a spot of handbags as the teams tried to speed up and/or slow down the restart. The ref seemed to do a decent job of calming things down.
And that was that. A few more chances came and went, but the full-time score remained 1-1. Replay on Tuesday at The Tye's Sports Park.
Thanks to the teams for a good game, the crowd for a good atmosphere, the Park View Road staff for a good afternoon and the Gentleman of Vocal Excellence for "C'MON PEACEHAVEN".
Extra Preliminary Round Update: Tuesday 13 August 2019
I wasn't able to attend The Tye versus The Deres replay on Tuesday night. My daughter preferred, strangely, to stick to her original birthday party plans. Nonetheless, I was glued to Twitter (memories of watching footy live on Ceefax...) as the drama unfolded at The Tye's Sports Park.
Who doesn't love a penalty shoot-out? I guess the answer to that is Peacehaven & Telscombe FC (The Tye) and all of the other teams that were knocked out this week after extra time and pens. There's always next year (as I've often said to myself sometime between early November and early January). In the meantime, "concentrate on the league" would seem to be the appropriate conclusion.
It was 5-3 to Erith & Belvedere FC on penalties after a 90 minute 1-1 draw with Arthur Feudjiro continuing his prolific FA Cup streak to equalise for The Deres after 73 minutes following an early Josh Marshall finish in the first half for The Tye.
The Deres through to the actual preliminary round and an away match-up with FA Vase holders (so no strangers to Wembley), Chertsey Town FC of the Isthmian League South Central Division.
The Curfews at home to The Deres. That'll be level 8/step 4 of the English Football League pyramid at home to level 9/step 5. I suppose we know who should win, but hey....The Magic of The Cup...?
It all kicks off again next weekend: The Actual Preliminary Round. Bring it on!!
I was brought up on non-league. Despite being the claret and blue ying to your blue and white yang (I too recall a couple of good years back in the eighties, and a couple more in the nineties for that matter) it is non-league that has always underpinned my love of the beautiful game.
ReplyDeleteThe son of a father who spent much of my childhood involved in non-league, from sponge man (or physio to use the modern vernacular) to various other match-day roles, he was always there every Saturday, not to mention mid-week too. This world clearly had a huge influence on my teenage years (mid-70s to mid-80s), just as now writing this in my early fifties, it is clear it has had a huge influence on me ever since.
The Midlands has always been a hotbed of non-league with so very many grounds to visit. With my dad it was primarily Moor Green at their old Hall Green ground (now merged with Solihull Borough to form the high-flying Solihull Moors), Sutton Coldfield Town at Coles Lane and latterly former FA Vase winners Halesowen Town.
It is Sutton I have the best memories of though: The Match of the Day theme tune being played over the tannoy directly from a vinyl record spinning on a turntable in the small office below the stand. I vividly remember huge tea pots being ceremoniously carried to the changing rooms in readiness for the half time whistle. Balls flying over the corrugated iron fence into the neighbouring brook and wonderful hot-dogs and hot soup from the kitchen “hatch” during evening games in the depths of winter. On the subject of food, this was also where I have my earliest recollection of eating Walkers crisps in the old clubhouse – for the record; chicken flavour, still their very best. I used to walk around the pitch selling raffle tickets during the first half of games, and then collected the corner flags after the match. I remember dad bringing them home over the closed season to give them all a lick of paint; Dulux on hard wood, no PVC in those days.
Then there were the matches. Lots of home games of course, but it was the away games that provided most adventure just as they do today. I remember jumping over the school wall on a Wednesday lunchtime to be met by my dad at the wheel of what seemed like a getaway car, just so we could make it to Kings Lynn for a mid-week fixture. And Dartford away just after New Year in the driving rain.
And then a couple of fixtures that this blog particularly reminded me of. Firstly, Welling United away on the ground where this match was played, sometime in the early eighties. Quite an adventure going south of the river, all the way from Birmingham. And secondly, Kettering Town away in the FA Cup fourth qualifying round. Kettering were a comparatively huge team at that time, and victory would have meant getting into the first-round proper with the prospect of drawing a league team. We lost of course, and such giant killing dreams were lost for yet another year.
So, enjoy the journey to Wembley, it should be a blast. Forget football with the big boys (or your club, equally) and embrace the joys of the lower leagues. The football might not be as good, but the pies are nicer, not to mention cheaper, and the welcome invariably warmer.