Emirates FA Cup 2019/20 First Qualifying Round

In October 1976, I saw one of the best goals EVER. I was only 10 and I saw it on Match of the Day, not at the ground. But it was one of the BEST GOALS EVER. Birmingham City's Trevor Francis beat about 100 QPR defenders from a throw in that he probably won himself and took himself, then from about 70 yards beat the QPR goalie with a shot that probably burst through the net, through the stand and out onto the Tilton Road. I can still hear Motty's commentary, "That is the best goal that will ever be scored, EVER" - or words to that effect.

Then in February 1979, Trevor Francis signed for Cloughie's Nottingham Forest as the first million pound player. That season Blues beat the mighty Man Utd 5-1 in the First Division. It wasn't far off their only win, but after Francis departed Blues went on a run in which the team rose from 22nd to finish as high as 21st, a mere 9 points away from retaining top flight status.

Arguably, Francis had a better end to the season. On 30th May in Munich he scored the winning header in the European Cup Final as Forest beat Malmo 1-0.

First Qualifying Round: 7 September 2019

Lutterworth Town FC versus Hednesford Town FC

I was expecting to reminisce about Paul Gascoigne rather than Trevor Francis. More on Gazza later. I certainly wasn't expecting to be transported back to one of my boyhood sporting heroes (Trevor Francis, Ian Botham, Alex Higgins, Leighton Rees) at Lutterworth Town's Kong Park ground.

But there it was behind the bar. What's that? Only Trevor Francis' signed and framed European Cup winning Forest shirt! I've got his autograph, and this was definitely the same.

So what about Gazza? The most personal memory I have of Gazza in the FA Cup is trying to get to the pub in time for kick-off in the 1991 Spurs-Arsenal semi-final. April 1991. I was living in Scotland where the words "Match of the Day" were automatically followed by the phrase "except in Scotland". Me and a couple of mates (let's call them Bazza and Twazza) drove out to the Fife coast to benefit from its geography. The pubs in the coastal fishing villages were doing a roaring trade in being able to receive the signal of English terrestrial telly.

Match of the Day Live, except in Scotland, except in Fife.

We just about made it, if memory serves. Gazza's remarkable free-kick for Spurs v Arsenal. As Barry Davies put it, "Is Gascoigne going to have a crack? He is you know...<pause>...Oh I say! That's almost as good as Trevor Francis against QPR in 1976" - or words to that effect.

Then, of course, Spurs released "When The Year Ends in One" with Chas & Dave, and beat Cloughie's Forest in the 1991 FA Cup Final. The one where Gazza got stretchered off early in the match and was never quite the same afterwards.

Gazza lives not far from Lutterworth. So my latest FA Cup encounter with Gazza was here at Kong Park, Dunley Way where there is a 50 seater stand that was ceremoniously opened by Gazza last year.

Spurs & Forest meet again at Lutterworth Town. Small world ain't it?

Via the magic of Twitter I met Danny from Karter's Cafe in downtown Lutterworth where I enjoyed   an excellent pre-match sarnie. Nice to meet you Danny! (Twitter @karterscafe)

Then it was off to Kong Park for the match, where I stumbled on BT Sport filming for a Lutterworth Town feature to be shown later in the season. I also had the pleasure of company from my Father-in-Law for this one. Let's call him Dezza.

Entry £5, Programme £2, Good post-match BBQ burger £2.50

Attendance: consensus estimate 300, actual 309 (from @official_LTFC Twitter account).

Lutterworth Town (The Swifts) in their orange shirts/black shorts (making their debut at this stage of the FA Cup) were hosting Hednesford Town (The Pitmen) in their magnificently fluorescent bright yellow shirts & shorts. The Swifts were promoted last year to the United Counties League Premier Division (Level 9 EFL/Step 5 NLS). To be up against a Level 7 EFL/Step 3 NLS outfit, The Pitmen, from the Southern League Central Premier Division was likely to be a challenge for Lutterworth.

Hednesford Town, of course, are no stranger to a decent FA Cup run having reached the 4th round proper back in the 96/97 season, losing a tight encounter 3-2 to Premier League Middlesborough.

The first half of this tie ended 0-0 with Lutterworth holding their own and probably having a few more chances (including an early free kick, a few goal-mouth scrambles and a 1 on 1 with the keeper), but Hednesford showing a bit more quality, speed and were able to make use of the full width of the pitch with some good midfield movement and distribution.

On the stroke of half time The Pitmen upped the pressure and had a couple of chances including hitting the post. Overall the first half was pretty balanced with the quality of Hednesford being matched by the endeavour of the hosts.

As heard in the crowd at half-time, "What a day,....sun, beer, football." Fair enough mate - totally agree.

The start of the second half was end to end, but The Pitmen began to take more control of the match as the half wore on. After the hour mark, Kieran Wells struck the first of his hat-trick. Headers in the 82nd and 89th minutes and a decent hat-trick celebration completed the job for Hednesford. The Pitmen were the Kings of Kong Park on this occasion.

It was quite a game with loads of chances, some good end to end stuff, lively crowd banter and, ultimately, that bit more quality from Hednesford Town making the difference. There was a touch of afters at the final whistle due to disappointment and tired bodies & minds, but overall that was a top 90 minutes of FA Cup football.

Thanks (and good luck for the rest of the season) to The Swifts for a warm welcome and for hosting a good afternoon. Thanks and good luck to The Pitmen as their FA Cup journey continues.

Next it's the second qualifying round in a couple of weeks.