Bighouse are the first casualty...

Debutants Bighouse from the Wallasey & District league are the first side to withdraw from this seasons competition. Britannia VNC have a walkover in to Round 2.

Hopefully, we will avoid a repeat of last season, when 10 teams withdrew/were unable to fulfil their fixture!

First Round draw

Ties to be played on 16th October, 2.00pm kick off

South Bank (2006) v Hartlepool Lion Hillcarter
Kelloe WMC v Hartlepool Rovers Quoit
St Bees v Stockton Rosegale N&SA
Sunderland RCA Barnes v Dawdon Colliery Welfare
Burradon & New Fordley v Hetton Lyons Cricket Club
Chapeltown Fforde Grene v Dengo United
Lobster v Alder
Eagle Cons v Queens Park
Obiter v West Bowling
Nicosia v Derby Lane Gym
AFC Blackburn Leisure v BRNESC
Sandstone v Eden Vale
Belt Road v Bolton Woods
Hessle Rangers v Canada
Poulton Royal v Home & Bargain
Mariners v St Sebastians
Swanfield v Allerton
Bighouse v Britannia VNC
JOB v Seymour
Salisbury Athletic v Thirly
Hundred Acre v Advance Couriers
Wymeswold v Loughborough Falcons
Loughborough Saints v Clumber
FC Hoskins v Lea Hall Sports & Social
Whitwick Compass 2008 v Bartley Green Sunday
Magnet Tavern v Plough Barfly's
The Beacon Way v Hole In The Wall
Kingshurst Punchbowl v Birstall Stamford
Travellers v R.H.P Sports & Social
Seven Allstars v Hamstead YFC
St Josephs (Luton) v Crawley Green (Sunday)
Rumours v FC Houghton Centre
Club Lewsey v Duke Of Rutland
AC Cadoza v Northampton Duke Of York
AC Sportsman & Ravensborough v Stanbridge & Tilsworth
Highfield Social Club v Houghton Town (Sunday)
St Margarets v Celtic SC (Luton)
Co-op Sports v Britannia United
Belstone v Greengate
Gossoms End v Torrun United
Gadeside Rangers v FC Nirankari
Bari v New Salamis
Sungate v Hammer OGB
Royal Falcons v Comets Sports Club
Falcons v London Maccabi Lions
FC Tripimeni v Upshire
Gym United v Offley Moat
Elm Farm v North London Olympians
CB Hounslow United (Sunday) v Wrightchoice CSA
Barnes Albion v AFC Kumazi Strikers
Bedfont Sunday v AFC Rayners Lane
Dee Road Rangers v Broadfields United
AFC Donsville v Oak Park Rangers
Branksome Con v Goring Rangers
The Lounge v Knighton Arms
Hazelhurst v Ajax LA
Nyetimber Pirates v Fountain Court
C.K. v Kings Tamerton CA
Sporting Bristol v Lakeside Athletic
Efford United Bluebird v All Saints
The Railway Inn v Wonford United
Lebeqs Tavern Courage v Windmill

Oyster Martyrs and Paddock are exempt to Round 2

Number of entries confirmed

126 teams have been accepted in to this season’s FA Sunday Cup. Whilst this still remains a comparatively high figure (the average number of entrants through most of the competition’s history has been approx 100 a season), it is actually the lowest number since 115 were accepted in 2004/05.

2004/05 was the last season not to feature a preliminary round and the FA have notified all club Secretaries to confirm that under the current structure of the competition and due to the number of teams accepted, there will be no preliminary round this season.

The draw for the first round will be published on the FA’s website on Friday 26th August. The first round games will take place on 16th October.

2010/11 Season Review

The 47th FA Sunday Cup season commenced on 26th September, when the preliminary round games were played. This is the sixth consecutive season that the Sunday Cup has had a preliminary round and in each of those seasons, the number of entrants has exceeded 130, which is an impressive increase when compared to 2002/03, when just 90 teams entered. So, despite a worryingly long list of withdrawals, the Sunday Cup is actually enjoying a golden period in terms of the number of teams entering it.

There were only four preliminary round ties but they did take place in some of the competitions heartland areas of Liverpool, the North East and the West Midlands.

Unfortunately, Sandon Dock were the first team to withdraw, when they were unable to fulfil their fixture against Oak Tree Pub.

The other all Liverpool tie featured two ‘debutants’, Eagle Cons and Eden Vale (although Eagle were back-to-back finalists in the 1980’s and Eden Vale were semi finalists in 1997 and 1998).

For me, the first round is one of the most eagerly anticipated dates in the football calendar, as I decide which local side to watch.

In the end, I made the short journey to Thackley, to watch Wharfedale Triangle champions Malt Shovel play West Riding County Cup winners and Bradford Alliance champions, West Bowling. I made Bowling the favourites and they certainly justified this, by taking the lead in the first minute through a penalty.

However, Shovel equalised midway through the first half and only succumbed to an 88th minute winner, which on the balance of play, flattered Bowling.

This was a nightmare round for the traditionally strong Hull Sunday league, as all of their representatives went out. AFC Blackburn Leisure, Swanfield and Hessle Rangers all lost to North East opposition, whilst West Lee were one of the nine sides to withdraw.

For such a huge fan of the Sunday Cup, I found the number of withdrawals to be particularly disappointing. However, in the current economic climate, the costs of staging a home tie in the competition can be too much for a lot of sides.

The highest profile side to withdraw were two time champions Nicosia. I don’t know the reason for their withdrawal but based on their on the field displays, it was the correct decision, as they were sadly relegated from the Premier Division of the Liverpool Business Houses league.

It was also a disappointing day for the Cumberland FA, as they too watched all three of their entrants crash out.

Probably the unluckiest side were Gamlingay United, who lost despite scoring 5 goals in their home tie against former finalists, FC Houghton Centre.

Eden Vale were drawn away from home in the second round for the third
game running and managed a repeat of their preliminary round result, namely a 2-2 draw, followed by a 4-3 success in their penalty shoot out, over local rivals Home and Bargain.

Debutants Clumber from Nottingham claimed the result of the round, when they beat last season's runners up, Magnet Tavern.

Another impressive result was Queens Park’s victory over Witton Park Rose and Crown, although I’m sure having home advantage sure helped, following two postponements at West Auckland Town.

Another Durham v Merseyside clash saw Kelloe WMC pushed the much-fancied Oyster Martyrs all the way in their match at Coxhoe, only succumbing to the odd goal in 5.

Kelloe went on to win the Durham County FA Sunday Cup. They beat Hetton Lyons in the semi final, ending their 5 year unbeaten run!!

There were no prizes for guessing the result of the third round, as this was bestowed to Paddock who beat legends Hetton Lyons 3-2 in another tie that was reverted from the North East to Merseyside, as the weather played havoc with the northern half of the draw. Highlights of this stunning win can be found on youtube!

After several postponements, Mariners and Alder made (what I believe to be) Sunday Cup history, when they played their outstanding game on Thursday 20th January at Formby, thus becoming the first tie to be played midweek. Mariners triumphed by 4 goals to 1.

I was lucky enough to witness a first half master class from the Sunday Cup’s standout player of this season, Leighton McGivern, as he pretty much took on the Huddersfield Irish defence single handed, as his side, Oyster Martyrs, gained revenge for their defeat in the third round last season.

While high scoring mis-matches can often be found in the earlier rounds, it is unusual for them to occur in the latter stages of the competition. However, Oyster Martyr’s 7-1 fourth round demolition of Sunderland RCA Barnes, was
the first time a side had scored 7 in a last 16 game since Celtic SC (Luton) beat Oakwood Sports 7-0 in 1997.

Home advantage counted for very little in the fifth round, as three of the four teams drawn at home lost. Paddock achieved another quality result by travelling all the way down to Hampshire to beat Knighton Arms of the City of Southampton league by 4-1.

The two Scouse sides dominated the semi-finals, with both Oyster Martyrs and Paddock enjoying comfortable 3 goal winning margins. Paddock recorded another 4-1 win, this time over Comets Sports Club of the Berkhamsted league, Whilst Oyster Martyrs were 3-0 winners against Duke of York at Rushden & Diamonds.

It was disappointing to note that both semi-final attendances were less than 400. In the past, I’ve seen first round games with bigger crowds!

Due to the unavailability of Anfield, the first all Merseyside final was played at Tranmere and I think it’s fair to say that the occasion got the better of both sides, with neither able to recapture the form they had shown in earlier rounds.

A flash of inspiration from star man Leighton McGivern was the difference between the sides, as his strike made up for the pain of 2009, when Oyster narrowly lost in the final to Scots Grey.

Sunday Cup blog
A few weeks after the blog was launched in July, I decided to add a stat counter to monitor the number of visits to the site, in order to make sure that I wasn’t just rambling on to myself!

The results have been very encouraging and I’m delighted to announce that since August, there has been over 4,000 page loads, and 1,800 visitors (of which over 1,000 have returned to the site).

For a Sunday football competition with very little in the way of publicity (outside of the FA website) I’m delighted that the blog has found an audience and look forward to seeing the figures continuing to rise next season!

2011/2012 round dates

The round dates for the new season are as follows:

Preliminary round - 25th September - 2.00pm kick off

First round - 16th October - 2.00pm kick off

Second round - 20th November - 1.00pm kick off

Third round - 11th December - 1.00pm kick off

Fourth round - 22nd January - 1.00pm kick off

Fifth round - 19th February - 2.00pm kick off

Semi final - 18th March - 3.00pm kick off

Final - 28th April - 3.00pm kick off

The closing date for entries is 1st August. The list of entrants and draw for the preliminary and first rounds are usually available several weeks after.

Photos from the final

This is a photo of the Cowshed end at Prenton Park, taken during the warm up

More warming up in the Wirral sunshine, with the Johnny King stand in the background

Oyster Martyrs warm up in front of the impressive Kop stand, which proved to be a lucky omen for them, as they scored the game's only goal at that end of the ground

The FA dignitaries are introduced to both teams, staring with Paddock

Paddock defend an Oyster free kick on the edge of the 18 yard box. Oyster danger man Leighton McGivern is closely marked (he is the only blue shirted player in the D)

Paddock now on the attack with a free kick of their own in front of the Cowshed end

Paddock keep possession despite the close attention of the Oyster defence and midfield

Quarter Final Photos

The following ground and action photos were taken on the 20th of February at the 5th round game between Mariners and Duke of Yorkwhich was played at the Liverpool County FA ground at Walton Hall Park

As you can see, the LFA ground boasts an impressive stand and floodlights. They very kindly offered to stage the game for free, as a reward for three of their sides reaching the quarter finals. The LFA drew lots to decide which side would play there and Mariners name was drawn first - however, thats where their luck ended, as they lost 2-1 to Duke of York

There are two identical grounds at Walton Hall. The near side is used more frequently than the ground furthest away, which is used for Liverpool Schools FA games. Photos of the various Liverpool School sides adorn the club house and I managed to pick out a young Steven Gerrard and Steve McManaman amongst the many successful teams

Mariners of the Ormskirk and District league (wearing the Barcelona FC replica kit) depend a Duke of York corner.

This time it's Duke of York from the Northamptonshire Combination's turn to defend a Mariners corner, at the opposite end of the ground

This photo perfectly illustrates the flat, wide playing surface of this ground. The pitch is in very good condition, bearing in mind the awful winter weather we had that caused so many postponements.

FA Sunday Cup photos

I bought a digital camera at Christmas and decided to take some ground and action photos from the Sunday Cup games that I've been to this year.

Being somewhat of a technophobe and possessing only the most basic of photography 'skills', it's taken me until now to get around to uploading them from the camera, deciding which photos to use and updating the blog with the results!

Having found it to be a refreshingly easy and straightforward process, I will endeavour to take more photos next season and include some in the match report for that game.

The following photos are from the 3rd round game between Huddersfield Irish Centre and Oyster Martyrs, which was played on the 9th of January. Oyster won 5-3 and gained revenge over the Irish who beat them at the same stage in the previous season.

I'll add some more photos from other games (including the final) shortly.

This photo is of the main stand at Newton FC, on the Wirral, which is where the fixture was played, following two postponements in West Yorkshire.

Oyster dangerman Leighton McGivern (Green and White Hopes, No 10) ran the Irish backline ragged in the first half. In an extremely impressive display, he was simply unplayable and his performance is as good as any player I have seen in over 25 years of watching this competition.

Leighton McGivern (standing furthest on the left) lines up the direct free kick which will give Oyster the lead after just ten minutes of play. McGivern had recently signed for local Conference North outfit Vauxhall Motors and has scored 10 goals for The Motormen since January.

Taken a few seconds later, following McGivern's wonder strike which flew past Graham McLachlan in the Irish goal.

Oyster manager, Richie Rooney (stood on the touchline), is an interested specator, as Oyster soak up some late Irish pressure.

The Final Verdict

Oyster Martyrs deservedly won the Sunday Cup at Prenton Park with a close fought victory over their local rivals Paddock.

After a largely uninspired first half, where chances were restricted to long range free kicks, the game belatedly sprang to life in the 75th minute, when a throw in from the left was headed on at the near post and found prolific marksman Leighton McGivern, whose low shot nestled in to the bottom left hand corner of the goal. You have to feel sorry for Paddock keeper Robert O’Connor, whose view of McGivern’s shot was obscured by his own defenders, thus giving him no chance of making a save.

Oyster came close to doubling their lead two minutes later, when a vicious shot from Graham Rooney was turned over by O’Connor. A header from Oyster Captain Tony Rendell, from the resulting corner, was headed off the line, as Oyster went for the kill.

Paddock’s best effort came with only 5 minutes remaining, when after a short spell of pressure, a shot from the edge of the penalty box sailed just wide of the Oyster goal.

A crude attempt to win a penalty from Paddock’s semi final hero Jamie Henders in the dying minutes was deserving of a yellow card. However, referee Russell Booth resisted booking the big target man for his blatant dive!

For years now, I’ve wanted to travel to Merseyside to watch two Liverpool teams lock horns in this wonderful competition. Sadly, neither side was able to recapture the form that has between them, seen off the likes of Hetton Lyons, Huddersfield Irish Centre and Duke of York.

This was the first time I have watched Paddock and I feel they gave a poor showing of themselves today. I’m sure they are capable of better. As for Oyster, I have seen them 5 times over the past few years and I know they can play a lot better than I saw them yesterday.

Perhaps I’m being harsh on both sides, after all, the chance to play in such a final only falls to a small number of players and the occasion is bound to effect even the most experienced and skilful of players.

Man of the Match: Leighton McGivern

Attendance: 1,105

Oyster beat Paddock to lift Sunday Cup

A goal from Leighton McGivern late in the second half was enough to hand the FA Sunday Cup to Oyster Martyrs in a crowd of 1,105 at Tranmere Rovers this afternoon - full report to come later...