The FA Sunday Cup blog

The FA Sunday Cup blog

Tuesday, 28 December 2010

A busy start to the New Year

January will be a busy month for the competition, as the eight outstanding 3rd round ties are due to be played on Sunday 9th January (weather permitting, I'll be at Formby to watch Oyster Martyrs v Huddersfield Irish Centre).

In fact, Merseyside is definitely the place to be on 9th Jan, as six 3rd round games will take place in the Liverpool area that day. Three of them are all Scouse affairs, while another three sides (Irish, Hetton Lyons & Sunderland RCA Barnes) are all having to relinquish home advantage after two unsuccessful attempts to stage the games in West Yorkshire and the North East.

The remaining two 3rd round games are the all Birmingham Festival league clash between Hundred Acre and Kingshurst Sporting Club, while the last two sides from Devon meet at Tiverton Town, where Exeter & District league outfit Wonford United entertain Bluebird United from the Plymouth and West Devon Combination.

Reigning Devon County FA Senior Cup holders Wonford will look to make their home advantage count but will have to keep a close eye on Bluebird's Levi Landricombe whose hat-trick put pay to Wrightchoice in the 2nd round.

The 4th round ties are to be played on Sunday 23rd January.

Sunday, 19 December 2010

2nd and 3rd round review

Despite a substantial thaw a few days before, the weather still played havoc with the Northern half of the draw, as the only game to take place North of the Home Counties was the delayed 2nd round tie between Witton Park Rose & Crown and Queens Park.

Witton had to forfeit their home advantage, due to previous postponements and travelled to West Kirby, where they were beaten 2-0.

Witton struggled to cope with Queens Park’s John Johnson, who opened the scoring on 37 minutes, when he pounced to score from close range.

An ill-timed challenge on Johnson resulted in Queens Park being awarded a penalty just before the interval, which Lee Gibson successfully converted, to give Queens Park a 2-0 lead, which they rarely looked in danger of surrendering.

Comets Sports Club 4 Clumber 4

Comets from the Berkhamsted league successfully navigated their way through a penalty shoot out for the second time this season, as they ousted Clumber from Nottingham.

Comets have a perfect record this season, having won all 13 league and cup games and scoring an impressive 86 goals in the process. Their opponents knocked out last season’s runners up, Magnet Tavern, in round 2, so both sides went in to this game full of confidence.

Comets drew first blood after just six minutes, but Wes Burke equalised for Clumber, with a free kick on the edge of the box mid way through the first half.

Clumber made it 2-1 just before half time, when Burke turned and shot into the corner of the net. Despite the home side piling on the pressure in the second half, it was Clumber who scored next to extend their lead after 75 minutes when Jaylee Hodgson headed in a Cashel Walters cross.

However, Comets clearly have a winning mentality and managed to force extra time with a matter of seconds left on the clock.

Comets regained the lead three minutes into the second period of extra time but a brilliant run by Cashel Walters enabled Jarrod Westcarr to make it 4-4 with four minutes remaining.

Chris Marsh, Stuart Deaton, Alex McCarthy and Nick Jackson scored Comets 4 goals.

Comets scored four successive penalties in the shoot out and Wes Burke, Tremaine Walters and Cashel Walters responded for Clumber. However, they were unable to level at 4-4, when Jarrod Westcarr saw his effort saved.

Comets then hit the post, while up stepped top scorer Jaylee Hodgson to send the shoot out in to sudden death. Unfortunately, the prolific Hodgson could not produce the goods this time and it was Comets who progressed to round 4 and another home tie against Belstone.

Belstone 2 Birstall Stamford 0
Belstone were indebted to the exotically named Denilson Vicente, who with a name like that, would sound more at home in the Premier League, rather than playing his football in the Harrow Sunday Challenge league!

However, his brace of goals was more than enough to send 3 time semi finalists Birstall Stamford packing.

Top Tips Update

It was not a good day for the teams that I tipped to do well in the competition, as Witton Park and Birstall Stamford went out (as reported above) and Hanham Sunday also lost at Knighton Arms from the City of Southampton league.

So, there are just 3 sides remaining from the list of teams I tipped at the start of the season and they are: Hetton Lyons, Huddersfield Irish and Oyster Martyrs.

Postponements for Sunday 19/12

Lobster v Salisbury Athletic - thanks to Ian Porter for this info

Huddersfield Irish Centre v Oyster Martyrs

As far as I know, the above games (and any other postponements) will now be rescheduled for 9th January.

Monday, 13 December 2010

3rd round results & 4th round draw

3rd round results
Comets SC 4 Clumber 4 - Comets won 4-3 on penalties

The Lounge 0 Britannia United 3

Golden Lion 2 Club Lewsey 8

Bedfont Sunday 2 AC Sportsman & Ravensborough 0

FC Tripimeni-Aris 0 Northampton Duke of York 1

Knighton Arms 2 Hanham Sunday 1

4th round draw - games to be played on Sunday 23/1/11 - 13:00 KO:

Lobster or Salisbury Athletic v Mariners or Alder

Huddersfield Irish Centre or Oyster Martyrs v Sunderland RCA Barnes or Sandstone

Eden Vale or Queens Park v Hetton Lyons or Paddock

Northampton Duke of York v Travellers

Comets Sports Club v Belstone

Club Lewsey v Hundred Acre or Kingshurst Sporting Club

Bedfont Sunday v Wonford United or Bluebird United

Britannia United v Knighton Arms

Sunday, 12 December 2010

2nd/3rd round results

FC Houghton Centre 1 Travellers 5

Belstone 2 Birstall Stamford 0

Queens Park 2 Witton Park Rose & Crown 0

Saturday, 11 December 2010

Postponements

Despite the recent improvements in the weather, it appears that it has come too late to save a lot of tomorrow's games from being postponed.

I've published a list of ties that I know have already been cancelled but if anyone knows of any other games that are off and would like me to update that list, please email the details to:

fasundaycupblog@hotmail.co.uk

Thanks

Ian

Friday, 10 December 2010

3rd Round Postponements

The following games have been postponed and re-scheduled for Sunday 19th December at 1.00pm:

Wonford United v Bluebird United
Sunderland RCA Barnes v Sandstone
Hetton Lyons CC v Paddock
Huddersfield Irish v Oyster Martyrs
Lobster v Salisbury Athletic - Thanks to Ian Porter from Salisbury for this info

I was going to preview some of the 3rd round games but as two of those matches are on the above list of postponements, I'll wait until next week!

There is, of course, one outstanding 2nd round tie, Witton Park Rose & Crown v Queens Park, which has already suffered three successive postponements (2 at West Auckland Town and last week at West Kirby).

Lets hope it's played soon and that we don't see a repeat of last season's 3rd round game between Wycombe Town and Unity Nirankari, which should have been played on 6th December but was delayed by 2 weeks due to Unity's outstanding 2nd round game against Club Lewsey.

The tie then suffered multiple postponements and was not played until Sunday 31st January, when Wycombe Town ran out 4-1 winners at Flackwell Heath's ground.

However, this game had to be replayed, as it transpired that underage officials had been appointed by the Berks & Bucks FA! So, the two teams met again the following Sunday (7th February) where Wycombe won by an even more convincing score of 10-2.

Thursday, 2 December 2010

2nd round review

I was hoping to feature more games in this round up and to have posted this article earlier but when you have 3 children under the age of 5, you find that spare time is a bit of a contradiction in terms and that even the FA Sunday Cup has to sometimes take a back seat!

Hundred Acre 6 Blue Mugge 4
The 2nd round’s highest scoring encounter saw 10 goals at Noose Lane, Willenhall, a venue which hosted 3 Sunday Cup semi finals between 1983 and 1990.

However, instead of legends like Lee Chapel North, Lodge Cottrell, Marston Sports and Eagle, the protagonists this time around were Hundred Acre of the Birmingham Festival league and Blue Mugge from the Potteries league.

Simon Lamour gave Hundred Acre the lead on 13 minutes, through a long-range strike after a fine solo run. Blue Mugge restored parity immediately through Tim Saunders and began to dominate possession, to the extent, that by half time, they had a 3-1 lead, courtesy of goals from Danny Smith and Shane Reaney.

However, the tie was far from over, as another wonder strike from Lamour only 2 minutes in to the 2nd half, was very quickly followed by 2 close range headed goals from defender Luke Woakes and within 7 minutes of the restart, Hundred Acre had amazingly regained the lead!

They made it 5-3 on 55 minutes when veteran Paul Devlin latched on to Simon Lamour’s though ball and finished well from just inside the penalty box.

Hundred Acre extended their lead on 81 minutes when Paul Devlin’s cross was deflected in for an own goal. Blue Mugge had the last say when they made it 6-4 with a goal scored in the final minute of play.

It is interesting to note that Hundred Acre decided to split their man of the match award between Simon Lamour and their goalkeeper, Nathan Woakes.

In fact, Hundred Acre were so impressed with their Leek based opponents, that after the game, secretary Martin Nugent said: "Blue Mugge murdered us in the first half and could have been ahead by five or six.

"We always knew it was going to be a tough game and for half-an-hour or so they were excellent. But their heads seemed to drop when we pulled it back to 3-3 and we went on to win a fantastic game which was played in a brilliant spirit."

Clumber 2 Magnet Tavern 1
Last season’s runners up, Magnet Tavern fell at the first hurdle, in what was undoubtedly the shock result of the competition so far.

However, it all started well for the Spalding league side, as they took the lead after just 6 minutes. Clumber hit back immediately to level within 60 seconds through Jaylee Hodgson (who is now scoring goals for Northern Premier league outfit Loughborough Dynamo, who are the 4th Saturday side he has been with this season!).

Clumber’s winner came midway through the first period, when Jared Westcarr fired home to earn the Nottinghamshire based side an away trip to Hertfordshire to face Comets Sports Club of the Berkhamsted league.

Belt Road 2 Birstall Stamford 3
This tie gave Cannock Chase league outfit Belt Road the opportunity to
avenge a 5-2 defeat they suffered at home to Birstall Stamford in the 4th
round, back in 2006/7.

Belt Road squandered a 2-0 lead with just 8 minutes left that day but this time, it was Birstall Stamford who threw away a 2-0 lead, although they did manage to get back in to the game and find another goal to squeeze in to the last 32.

Bluebird United 4 Wrightchoice Comm Sports Association 2
Two debutants came face to face at Elburton Villa, where Bluebird United of the Plymouth & West Devon Combination hosted Wrightchoice from the Senior Division of the Reading league.

Bluebird, no doubt inspired by the Sunday Cup achievements of local rivals Lakeside Athletic (2009 semi finalists) scored an impressive 6-3 first round victory away at Ashton but found themselves 1-0 down after only four minutes.

They levelled the score somewhat fortuitously, when the ball ricocheted off Sam Stevens and went in!!

Levi Landricombe scored a stunning volley to put Bluebird 2-1 in front. He then extended the lead with another volley after the break and then put the result beyond doubt when he completed his hat-trick