Third Round Draw

Ties to be played on 14th December - 1.00pm kick off

Humbledon Plains Farm v Home & Bargain
Sportsmans v Hetton Lyons
Alder v Chapeltown Fforde Grene
Allerton or The Old Bank v LIV Supplies or Burradon & New Fordley
Black Bull v West Bowling
Campfield v Attenborough Cavaliers
Kennelwood v Queens Park
Pineapple v Newton Aycliffe WMC
Lambeth All Stars v OJM
AC Sportsman v Lebeq Tavern Courage
Crawley Green v Black Horse (Redditch)
St Josephs (Luton) v Wrightchoice CSA or The Windmill
Ajax LA or Barnes Albion v Haunchwood Sports
New Salamis v Thurmaston PWMC
Comets Sports Club or Belstone v Falcons or Priory Sports
NLO v Hammer

Second Round Results

Many thanks to those of you who have confirmed results from this afternoon's games. A big thanks to John Treleven as well for his help in compiling the following results, which covers all 26 games played today:

Custys 3 v Black Bull 5
Thornton United 1 v Alder 2 AET
Cleator Moor 1 v Hetton Lyons 3
Mayfair 1 v Chapeltown Fforde Grene 5
Sunderland RCA Grangetown Florists 1 v Newton Aycliffe 6
Hartlepool Lion Hillcarter 4 v Sportsmans 6                       
Oyster Martyrs 2 v Humbledon Plains Farm 4
Kennelwood 3 Stockton Hardwick 2
King George 2 v Pineapple 3                         
Northallerton Police 2 v Home & Bargain 4
Queen's Park 1 v Hessle Rangers 0
Windmill Kestrels 1v Campfield 1 - Campfield won 6-5 on penalties
Star & Garter 1 v Attenborough Cavaliers 5
Birstall Stamford 2 v West Bowling 2 - West Bowling won 5-4 on penalties
OJM 4 v Gedling Inn 0
Albion 1 v Black Horse (Redditch) 4
Thurmaston PWMC 4 FC Wyvern Arms 3 AET
Nuthall 1 v Haunchwood Sports 1 - Haunchwood won 4-1 on penalties                          
Broadfields United 1 v NLO 2
Queen's Head 1 v AC Sportsman 5
Crawley Green 2 v North Wembley 0
Hammer 4 v Brache Nation 1
Flamstead End 0 v St. Joseph's (Luton) 3
Lambeth All Stars 4 v Emmer Green 1
Lebeqs Tavern 5 v Patricks 1
The Sheaf 1 v New Salamis 5

Postponements
Allerton v Fantail
L.I.V. Supplies v Burradon & New Fordley
Comets Sports Club v Belstone
Falcons v Priory Sports
Wrightchoice CSA v The Windmill
Ajax LA v Barnes Albion

Second round preview

Apologies for just the two game preview. I normally aim to include at least half a dozen games but I just haven't had the time this week to write much more. I'll update the blog tomorrow with the results.

At least two games are scheduled for Sunday 23rd - LIV Supplies v Burradon & New Fordley and Wrightchoice CSA v The Windmill.

Oyster Martyrs v Humbledon Plains Farm
There’s only one place to start this preview and it’s with the tie of the round between last season’s finalists.

Oyster will be desperate to put one over on Humbledon, who deservedly beat them at Ewood Park. What struck me about Humbledon was the way they kept Leighton McGivern quiet. They clearly knew he was the danger man and barely allowed him to have a kick all day.

However, going to Liverpool to face Oyster is a daunting task for any side. Oyster have played in the Sunday Cup since 2007 and have only lost one home game in that time (a cracking game against Huddersfield Irish that I was luck to watch at Burscough).

It will not be easy and I’m sure that Humbledon will have wished for an easier start to the defence of their title! They came through a tough game at Seymour last season and it was this victory which gave them the belief to go all the way. I wish I was going to this game, it’s sure to be an absolute cracker.

Mayfair v Chapeltown Fforde Grene

Leeds based Fforde Grene have reached the latter stages twice – the 2009 semi-final and last season’s quarter final, where they took eventual winners Humbledon Plains Farm to extra time.

They have played plenty of teams from the Liverpool area, since they made their debut in 2007. They have a perfect Sunday Cup record on Merseyside, winning all four of their games over there and will fancy their chances against their hosts from the Liverpool Business Houses league.

Debutants Mayfair are unbeaten in their five league games and they won 2-0 away at Garston from the rival Liverpool & District league in the first round, so they will be no push over.

First Round Review

Sorry for the delay in updating the blog. Here is a summary of some of the first round games. I've just started working on a preview of round two and I hope to update the blog by next weekend.

Hetton Lyons 8 v Seaton Carew 0
Four time champions Hetton Lyons signaled their intent with an eight goal thrashing of Hartlepool league side Seaton Carew. Connor Winter lead the way with four goals. A brace from Robbie Bird and goals from Jack Pounder and Lee Chapman completed the rout.

Bolton Woods 0 v King George 2

Sunday Cup veterans Bolton Woods of the Bradford Sunday Alliance took on debutants King George from Wakefield in a game that I attended at Thackley.

Both sides keeper’s pulled off a great save inside of the first ten minutes, to keep the game scoreless. King George just shaded the first half but they stepped up in the second half and took the lead on the 57^th minute, when a cross from the left was not cleared by the Woods defence and was rifled home by the King George striker.

A speculative chip in the 82^nd minute caught out Woods 6ft 5ins keeper and secured an away win for King George

 AFC Blackburn Leisure 1 v Windmill Kestrels 3

Goals from Dillon Evans and Matty Jones gave debutants Windmill Kestrels from the second tier of the Liverpool Business Houses league, a two goal lead just after the hour mark in their game against Hull side Blackburn Leisure.

The home side were soon back in the game, after Kieran Barmby was hauled down in the area. Lewis Andrews dispatched the resulting penalty to half the deficit.

Blackburn Leisure’s chances were further boosted on 78 minutes, then the Kestrels captain received his marching orders with a straight red card for a tackle on the opposing captain, Craig Cockin.

Despite late pressure from the home side, it was the ten men Kestrels who scored the final goal of the game, in the 92nd minute, when Warren Jevons secured the victory and passage in to round two.

Aylesbury Combination interest in the Sunday Cup ended in the first round, with home defeats for the leagues two representatives, AYFCS and Two Touch.

AYFCS 1 v Comets Sports Club 4

Comets Sports Club’s record in the Sunday Cup makes them stand out as one of the better teams in the Southern half of the draw. The Berkhamsted side did not enter last year but they reached at least the quarter final stage in 2011, 2012 and 2013. However, despite this fine reputation, they were struggling to raise a side and only had seven players available, two hours before kickoff!

Some frantic phone calling resulted in them turning up in Aylesbury with just 11 players. One sub managing to arrive just before the 2.00pm start. Despite their stressful start to the day, Comets were stunned to take the lead after only 19 seconds of play, when a mistake in the AYFCS defence allowed John Walker the opportunity to score, which he duly took. Two minutes later, it was 2-0 to Comets, when a long clearance from stand in keeper Dan Hartley cleared AYFCS central defenders and the nippy John Walker was again on hand to put the ball in the net.

AYFCS reached the last 16 last season and were fancied to do well again this time. They reduced the arrears later in the first half, to trail 2-1 at half time.

The home side were reduced to ten men early in the second half and Alex McCarthy headed home to restore Comets two goal advantage. Man of the match Chris Marsh put the result beyond doubt, when he scored Comets fourth goal, a few minutes from the end.

Two Touch 1 Brache Nation 2
This was a close game between two evenly matched teams. Brache Nation, from the North Home Counties league, opened the scoring from a 30 yard free kick on 15 minutes.

Two Touch had several chances to level the score. They had a penalty saved and they rattled the bar and hit the post, before finally scoring just before half time.

The winning goal came in the 54th minute, when a tap in gave Brache a 2-1 lead. Brache managed to hang on to this lead, despite a lot of pressure from the home side.

The Old Bank 2 v Fantail 3

This all Liverpool Business Houses league clash was a game of two halves. Fantail play in the league’s second tier, which is known as the Championship Division. They are currently top of the table and boast a 100% record from the five league games.

The Old Bank occupy mid table in the Premier Division and would not doubt be wary of the threat that Fantail carried. The game was evenly contested until fantail scored the opening goal through Carl Daulby.

They doubled their lead through a Brad Smart penalty. Buoyed by their two goal cushion, Fantail were in full control for the rest of the first half.

Old Bank came out of the blocks hard early in the second half, as the wrestled the momentum back from Fantail. The home side were awarded a penalty within a few minutes of the restart, which they successfully converted.

Parity was restored, when Old Bank scored their second goal. Both teams had the chances to add to the score sheet and with just two minutes remaining, it appeared that extra time would be required. However, Fantail captain Kevin Pollard had other ideas and he let rip from 25 yards, with a screamer of a shot, which settled the tie in favour of the underdogs Fantail.

Thornton United 3 v Dengo United 2

Thornton United of the Bradford Sunday Alliance were another side who overcame having several key players unavailable (including captain Jerome White) in their game against Liverpool & District leaguers Dengo United.  

After an even but feisty opening 20 minutes, Thornton were penalised for an aggressive challenge and Dengo converted the penalty to take a one goal lead. Thornton replied five minutes before the interval, when a free kick fell to Nath Woodward, whose cool finish drew his side level.

Poor marking from a corner saw Thornton concede a second goal, ten minutes in to the second half. This prompted manager James Marsh to introduce Thackley striker Deroy White, who made an instant impact, when he scored a header from an Andy Tasker cross.

With extra time looming, Dengo’s tricky winger skipped past three Thornton defenders before being taken down to earn his side another penalty. Unfortunately for Dengo, their last minute spot kick was wide and the game went in to extra time, with the sides locked at 2-2.

As both teams had made three substitutions during the ninety minutes, neither of them were able to change things during extra time and both teams cancelled each other out. In the final minute, Thornton keeper Tom Metcalfe launched a long kick in to the Dengo half, which super sub Deroy White ran on to and he scored the winning goal from a tight angle.

Campfield 3 v Poulton Royal 2

Poulton Royal from the Wallasey & District league made the short journey to Litherland Sports Park, where they faced a stiff challenge in the form of reigning Liverpool Business Houses champions Campfield. The Royal defended well for the majority of the game but just fell short of taking the game to extra time, when a shot on goal was only just wide of the target. Jay Thompson and a penalty from Tommy Carroll were on target for the Royal.

Home & Bargain 3 v Millhouse 2

The same two leagues (Liverpool Business Houses v Wallasey) contested this game, which had the exact same outcome, with Home & Bargain just edging through to the next round.

Millhouse scored in the first minute. Home & Bargain equalised from a penalty ten minutes before half time. Millhouse regained the lead early in the second half, which they held until the 85 minute, when two late Home & Bargain goals turned the game in their favour. Millhouse’s goals came courtesy of Perrie Black and Jamie Quinn.

Sunderland RCA Grangetown Florists 2 v North Ormesby 1

RCA edged past debutants North Ormesby from the Teesborough league by the odd goal in three. Lewis Hutchinson opened the scoring for RCA, before Jackson levelled for Ormesby.

Sub Bryan Norton was the RCA hero, as came off the bench to fire home the winner.

Quorn Royals 2008 1 v Gedling Inn 2

Gedling Inn of the Nottinghamshire league won a fiery encounter, as they beat nine man Quorn Royals 2008 of the Charnwood league.

Luke Attenborough opened the scoring for Gedling in the first half. The hosts were reduced to ten men not long after the restart and Gedling took full advantage of the extra man, as Felix Hogg doubled their lead. Quorn pulled one back in the 80^th minute, to make it an uncomfortable last ten minutes for Gedling, but they could not find an equaliser and suffered a second dismissal in the final minute of play.

Nirankari 0 v New Salamis 5

New Salamis campaign got off to a great start, as they thrashed Stevenage side Nirankari 5-0, which is a repeat of the score from their previous encounter in the second round in 2011.

Salamis, of the London based KOPA league, secured their passage in to the last 64, with braces from Steve Velandia, Charlie Georgiou and a Denis Mehmet goal.

Punchbowl Old Boys 1 v Birstall Stamford 5

Birstall Stamford have reached the semi-finals on three occasions but the chances of that happening again this season looked bleak, when they had their goal keeper sent off after just ten minutes in their game against Punchbowl from Birmingham. To make matters worse, they conceded a goal from the free kick that was awarded following the dismissal.

Despite the numerical handicap, Birstall managed to turn the game around, as their ten men scored five unanswered goals to earn a second round home tie against West Bowling from Bradford.

Queens Park 2 Kirkdale 2 – Queens Park won 4-2 on penalties

Queens Park, the sole representatives from the Birkenhead league, needed the lottery of the penalty shoot-out to settle their game against Kirkdale of the Liverpool Sunday league.

Chrissie Barrow and Liam Atherton scored the vital goals for Queens, to take the game go to spot-kicks.

Outstanding first round result

Bar Sol Ona 0 Lebeqs Tavern Courage 3

Lebeqs are now at home to Patricks, who reached last season's quarter-final under their previous name of Branksome Railway.

Second Round Draw

Ties to be played on 16th November - 1.00pm kick off

Custys v Black Bull
Thornton United v Alder
Cleator Moor v Hetton Lyons CC
Mayfair v Chapeltown Fforde Grene
Sunderland RCA Grangetown Florists v Newton Aycliffe WMC
Hartlepool Lion Hillcarter v Sportsmans
Oyster Martyrs v Humbledon Plains Farm - a repeat of last season's final!
Allerton v Fantail
Kennelwood v Stockton Hardwick Social
King George v Pineapple
Northallerton Police v Home & Bargain
LIV Supplies v Burradon & New Fordley
Windmill Kestrels v Campfield
Queens Park v Hessle Rangers
Start & Garter v Attenborough Cavaliers
Birstall Stamford v West Bowling
OJM v Gedling Inn
Albion v Black Horse (Redditch)
Thurmaston PWMC v Wyvern Arms
Nuthall v Haunchwood Sports
Broadfields United v NLO
Queens Head Chesham v AC Sportsman
Crawley Green v North Wembley
Comets Sports Club v Belstone
Hammer v Brache Nation
The Sheaf v New Salamis
Flamstead End v St Josephs (Luton)
Falcons v Priory Sports
Wrightchoice CSA v The Windmill
Lambeth All Stars v Emmer Green
Ajax LA v Barnes Albion
Bar Sol Ona or Lebeqs Tavern v Patricks

1st Round Results

Cleator Moor 2 v Winlaton Commercial 0
Hetton Lyons 8 v Seaton Carew 0
Sunderland Myers 0 v Burradon & New Fordley 3
Witton Park Rose & Crown 0 v Stockton Hardwick Social 1
Sportsmans 2 v Blackhall Hardwick 1
RCA Grangetown Florists 2 v North Ormesby 1
The Old Bank 2 v Fantail 3
Bolton Woods 0 v King George 2
AFC Blackburn Leisure 1 v Windmill Kestrels 3
Home & Bargain 3 v Millhouse 2
Chapeltown Fforde Grene 2 v Lobster 1
Campfield 3 v Poulton Royal 2
Allerton 3 v Thornhill Lees 1
Pineapple 3 v Canada 0
Black Bull 5 v St John Fisher OB 4
Thornton United 3 v Dengo United 2
HT Sports 3 v LIV Supplies 5
Hessle Rangers 3 v BRNESC 0
The Molly 0 v Alder 2
Quorn Royals 2008 1 v Gedling Inn 2
Albion 2 v Hundred Acre 2 - Albion win 4-2 on penalties
Attenborough Cavaliers 6 v AFC Bush 1
Punchbowl Old Boys 1 v Birstall Stamford 5
Sporting Dynamo 2 v OJM 4
Halfway 1 v Thurmaston PWMC 2
Haunchwood Sports 2 v RHP Sports & Social 1
Green Man 1 v Hammer 2
Nirankari 0 v New Salamis 5
AFC Kumazi Strikers 0 v Barnes Albion 1
Flamstead End 2 v Upshire 1
St Josephs (Luton) 3 v Club Lewsey 0
Two Touch 1 v Brache Nation 2
Avon Plate 0 v The Windmill 6

A big thank you to all of those who have sent emails and text messages with results and information from the various games played this afternoon.

First Round Preview

I was hoping to write a longer preview which would have included more games but sadly, I've run out of time, so here is a small preview of a few of today's games.

Cleator Moor v Winlaton Commercial
The first tie out of the hat pits the sole Cumbrian entrant, Cleator Moor, against Winlaton Commercial of the Tyneside league. This reminds me of another first round game from 34 years ago, when Winlaton West End made the same cross country journey and recorded a 14-0 win at Kendal Bowman! A record score that still stands today. Let’s hope for Cleator Moor (and for the competition in general) that we don’t see a repeat of that score line!

This will be Cleator Moor’s third appearance in the Sunday Cup in six seasons and they have yet to win a game. Sadly, teams from the North West don’t tend to stay long in in the competition and Winlaton reached the third round last season, so I can only see an away win here.

Bolton Woods v King George

Bradford Sunday Alliance side Bolton Woods have been competing in the Sunday Cup since 1991, which makes them one of the most experienced campaigners, as they have only been absent for two seasons in twenty three years. Their best achievement was reaching the quarter final back in 1998, when I watched them lose to Olympic Star, who went on to beat legends St Josephs (Luton) on penalties in the final.

Their opponents, King George from Wakefield, are making their debut in the competition. They certainly warrant their place in the Sunday Cup and have performed well at domestic level (league champions for the last two seasons) and last season, they pushed 2013 Sunday Cup semi-finalists, HT Sports, to extra time in the semi-finals of the West Riding County Sunday Cup.

I’ll be watching this game and I expect a close fought encounter.

Sporting Dynamo v OJM

Hinckley & District leaguers Sporting Dynamo make a return to the Sunday Cup after a four season break. They’ll be hoping for better fortunes this time around, as they didn’t win a game in their previous three appearances and twice lost in the preliminary round, including a 13-0 loss to eventual champions Scots Grey in 2009.

Sporting didn’t lose a league game last season but five draws from their fourteen games saw them draw level with fellow Sunday Cup entrants Albion, who pipped them to the title on goal difference.

OJM are making their debut. They hail from the West Midlands based Warley & District league, the same as Sporting Khalsa, who reached the third and fourth rounds of the Sunday Cup in the last two seasons.

Attenborough Cavaliers v AFC Bush

Two debutants meet in this East v West Midlands clash. The Cavaliers play in the Long Eaton Sunday League. Their opponents play in the Lichfield & Walsall league and according to the FA, they are affiliated to the Amateur Football Alliance, as opposed to a County FA, which is a first as far as I’m aware, for the Sunday Cup. AFC Bush are the first entrant from a Lichfield league since Greyhound 83 made their debut twenty years ago.

AYFCS v Comets Sports Club

Aylesbury based AYFCS made it to the fourth round when making their debut, last season, where they pushed eventual semi-finalists Plough Wellington all the way to extra time. They have a tough opponent in Comets Sports, who are back in the competition after a one season break. Comets were semi-finalists in 2011 and quarter-finalists in 2012 and 2013, so this should be a cracking game.

Four ties have been scratched, due to the withdrawal of Bilsthorpe Celtic, Wymeswold, Phoenix and St Helier.

First Round

110 clubs have been accepted in to this season’s Sunday Cup. As that is not enough for a preliminary round, the competition will begin with the first round on 19^th October.

Of the 115 teams who took part last season, 45 have decided not to re-enter. There are some big names among them, including; two time champions Nicosia, Seymour and Bedfont, who contested the 1993 final, 2011 runners up Paddock and Plough FC Wellington, who pushed Oyster Martyrs to extra time in last season’s semi-final.

It’s not all doom and gloom though, as 39 sides who did not play last season, have entered this time. Several have played in the Sunday Cup before, the most notable being Comets Sports Club, who reached the semi-finals in 2011 and the quarter final in 2012 and 2013. It’s good to see them back in.

Several teams have changed their name, including Branksome Railway, who reached last season’s quarter final. They are now known as Patricks. The Molly were previously known as The Warden.

Once again, Liverpool County FA (20 teams) and the Liverpool & District league (11 teams) lead the way with the highest number of entrants. All three Cheshire side hail from the Wirral, so 23 of the 110 teams are from ‘Merseyside’. The Liverpool Business Houses league and North Home Counties league are just behind, with 9 entrants each.

Durham are the next best represented County FA with 11 teams. No surprise that interest is high up there, given that six of the last nine champions were from Durham.

I tend to stay fairly local in the first round and the game that has caught my eye is an all West Yorkshire affair between Bolton Woods (Bradford) and King George (Wakefield). It’s been a while since I’ve seen Bolton Woods and King George are making their debut. Besides them, the only Wakefield team to have competed in the Sunday Cup in my 30 years of watching it, were Redoubt, who played one game back in 2005, so King George are a bit of a collector’s item!

A first round preview will appear next month.

First Round Draw

To be played on 19th October - 2.00pm kick off

Cleator Moor v Winlaton Commercial

Hetton Lyons v Seaton Carew

Sunderland Myers v Burradon & New Fordley

Witton Park Rose and Crown v Stockton Hardwick Social

Sportsmans v Blackhall Hardwick

Sunderland RCA Grangetown Florists v North Ormesby

The Old Bank v Fantail

Bolton Woods v King George

Home & Bargan v Millhouse

Chapeltown Fforde Grene v Lobster

Campfield v Poulton Royal

Allerton v Thornhill Lees

AFC Blackburn Leisure v Windmill Kestrels

Pineapple v Canada

Black Bull v St John Fisher OB

Thornton United v Dengo United

Queens Park v Kirkdale

HT Sports v LIV Supplies

Hessle Rangers v BRNESC

The Molly v Alder

Garston v Mayfair

Attenborough Cavaliers v AFC Bush

Bilsthorpe Celtic v FC Wyvern Arms

Sporting Dynamo v OJM

Quorn Royals 2008 v Gedling Inn

Wymeswold v Nuthall

Punchbowl Old Boys v Birstall Stamford

Albion AFC v Hundred Acre

Haunchwood Sports v RHP Sports & Social

Halfway v Thurmaston PWMC

Phoenix v Priory Sports

Flamstead End v Upshire

Nirankari v New Salamis

AYFCS v Comets Sports Club

Willesden WMC v NLO

Green Man v Hammer

St Josephs (Luton) v Club Lewsey

Celtic SC (Luton) v Broadfields United

Two Touch v Brache Nation

North Wembley v FC Houghton Centre

Belstone v 61

Ajax LA v Polonia Reading

St Helier v Wrightchoice CSA

AFC Kumazi Strikers v Barnes Albion

Bar Sol Ona v Lebeqs Tavern Courage

Avon Plate v The Windmill

 

16 clubs with byes to the second round

AC Sportsman
Black Horse (Redditch)
Crawley Green
Custys
Emmer Green
Falcons
Hartlepool Lion Hillcarter
Kennelwood
Lambeth All Stars
Newton Aycliffe WMC
Northallerton Police
Patricks
Queens Head Chesham
Star & Garter
The Sheaf
West Bowling

Two clubs exempt to the second round

Humbledon Plains Farm
Oyster Martyrs