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

2014/15 Round Dates

First Round - 19th October
Second Round - 16th November
Third Round - 14th December
Fourth Round - 18th January 2015
Fifth Round - 15th February
Semi-Final - 15th March
Final - 26th April (provisional)

Details of the entries accepted and the draw for the First Round will be released on the FA's website on Friday 5th September.

Lets hope that the number of entrants has increased by enough teams for a Preliminary Round, which would normally take place on the third/fourth week of September.

Sunday Cup final

A big well done to Humbledon Plains Farm, as they lifted the Sunday Cup for the second time, when they beat Oyster Martyrs today at Blackburn Rovers by 5-2.

Final at Blackburn Rovers

Oyster Martyrs v Humbledon Plains Farm to be played at Ewood Park on 27th April - 2.00pm kick off.

Sunday 16th March

Semi-final results:

Humbledon Plains Farm 4 Hundred Acre 2 AET

Oyster Martyrs 3 Plough FC Wellington 2 AET

I was up at Hartlepool for the Humbledon Plains and Hundred Acre game. Humbledon were in control at 2-0 up with ten minutes to go, when two goals in three minutes (the second an astonishing effort from the half way line!) sent the tie in to extra time. A goal in each half of extra time sent Humbledon in to their third final, where they will face Oyster Martyrs, who also needed extra time in their game to secure their fourth final appearance in six years.