The FA Cup – Weekend Final

Right, I promise that this will be the last time that I mention the FA Cup for the time being, but here’s a brief round-up of what happened this weekend overall. The surprise that the BBC had been hoping for happened at Plainmoor this afternoon, when Torquay United came from a goal down to win a very entertaining match against Yeovil Town by four goals to one. Yeovil, of course, were celebrated giant-killers whilst they were a non-league club but today they were completely outplayed by a Torquay United side that will almost certainly now see the odds against them winning the Conference this season slashed. The other non-league sides playing today were somewhat less successful. Gainsborough Trinity were beaten 6-0 at home by Hartlepool United, whilst Forest Green Rovers raced into a two goal lead against Rotherham United before being pegged back to a 2-2 draw.

As I mentioned briefly on here yesterday, there wasn’t enormous amount to get over-excited about, though a couple of the goals that were scored were out of the absolute top draw. I already mentioned Altrincham’s goal against Millwall in their 2-1 home defeat – an outstanding pre-planned move from a free-kick which ended up with the ball being lashed in off the far post from a very tight angle. I still haven’t been able to find a video of it online, but I’ll put it up as soon as I do. Running it close in second place was Nigel Brake’s magnificent free kick for Horsham against Maidenhead United yesterday afternoon. They went on to beat Maidenhead (who are a division above them in the Conference South) 4-1. I have a certain amount of affection for Horsham because its my parents’ home town (though I’ve never lived there myself), so I was pleased to see them through to the Second Round. The BBC were trumpeting Rushden & Diamonds’ 3-1 win against Macclesfield Town as being “The Shock Of The Round”, which reeked of them trying to create a story where, in all honesty, one didn’t really exist. Mid-table in the Conference isn’t really that much different to mid-table in League Two. The best result of the round from a non-league team came at Edgely Park, where Ryman League side Staines Town came from a goal behind to hold Stockport County of League Two to a 1-1 draw. Admittedly, it did require a pretty horrendous mistake by the Stockport goalkeeper Chris Adamson, who spilt Mark Nwojeki’s shot for Marc Charles-Smith to level things up.

Fortunately, the Second Round draw, which was made this afternoon, and this was a considerably more interesting draw than the one that had preceded it. It’s difficult to pick out a “tie of the round” from those that were pulled from the hat. Oxford United, who thought that their stay in non-league football was going to be a short one but are finding it to be more difficult than they thought it might be (they’re twelfth at the time of writing), are at home against Southend United. Burton Albion, who hilariously held Manchester United to a draw in the Third Round a couple of years ago, will be fancying their chances of getting there again after having been drawn at home to League Two side Barnet. Horsham have got the reward that their First Round performance deserved with a home match against Swansea City. Torquay United, this afternoon’s surprise package, have another home tie against Cheltenham Town or Brighton & Hove Albion (who needed a last minute goal to draw 1-1 at Whaddon Road yesterday). Finally, Harrogate Railway, who caused a minor surprise by beating Conference side Droylsden 2-1 yesterday, have a home match against Mansfield Town, who are fourth from bottom in League Two. There could be some very interesting stories to come in three weeks time.

Eastbourne Borough 0-4 Weymouth

Sometimes you get the feeling before you even leave the house that it’s not going to be a good day. A quick check of the internet had confirmed that “planned engineering works” were adding an unnecessary half an hour to an already tortuous journey (how can a twenty mile journey take an hour and a half in this day and age?) and, added to that, Eastbourne play in red, which is always going to temper my support for them somewhat. On paper, this was a fixture with a bit of spice behind it. Eastbourne Borough were unbeaten in all competitions this season and sit at the top of the Conference South, whilst Weymouth spent heavily to get into the Conference in the first place and almost bankrupted themselves in the process. They’re still there, but in 17th place – uncomfortably close to the relegation places. A clear out in January got rid of most of their most expensive players (and a manager, Gary Hill, who curiously lost interest when it became apparent that the money had run out), along with an enforced tempering of expectations on the terraces.

Priory Lane is not an unattractive place to watch football – almost entirely covered and with two bars, one of which was pleasingly empty more or less constantly. They are also the owners of the world’s best scoreboard. The people of Eastbourne had turned out in numbers, too (estimates before the match had put the expected crowd at around 1,800 to 2,000 – in the event, 2,700 turned out). In the first half, Eastbourne dominated and should really have gone in at half-time a goal up, but the crowd was strangely quiet (this happens a lot at matches like this – the majority of the crowd either don’t want to sing or don’t know what to sing, and the atmosphere suffers accordingly – there were periods during this match when you could have heard a pin drop during open play). Matt Crabb had two chances well saved by the Weymouth goalkeeper Stewart, but there was something ominous about all of this – Eastbourne were having the majority of the possession but looked relatively blunt going forward. Weymouth were largely pegged back in their own half, but looked more dangerous when they did manage to get forward.

The turning point came eight minutes into the second half, when Weymouth brought on Jefferson Louis. Louis (who some of you may remember from an old episode of “Match Of The Day Live when, after an FA Cup match between Oxford and Swindon, Louis was caught on the dressing room camera bounding across the screen naked in a manner that revealed a frankly prodigious appendage) ran onto the pitch for a Weymouth corner, straight into the penalty area and headed the ball home with his first touch. In all honesty, Eastbourne didn’t have much to give after that. They still had just about the majority of possession, but were maddeningly bereft of the incisive pass that could cut a whole in a reasonably solid Weymouth defence. It was, I guess, the difference between being semi-professional and professional – Weymouth were that bit better organised, and their players were marginally better disciplined. The final score, however, was something of a travesty – a hat-trick in the last nine minutes from Stuart Beavon made the game safe for Weymouth, although by the time of the fourth goal I had done something that I only very, very seldom do. I’d left the ground early was already safely (and warmly) tucked up in the bar watching the results coming in from elsewhere. Brighton’s last minute equalizer at Cheltenham Town, a point for St Albans and news of AFC Wimbledon’s 1-0 against AFC Hornchurch were something of a consolation for what felt like a bit of a wasted afternoon.

Elsewhere, the FA Cup First Round was something of a disappointment, thanks in no small part to the draw itself, which was a very poor one. Rushden beat Macclesfield (though this hardly registers as a “surprise”) and Barrow held Bournemouth to a draw and Staines Town got a draw at Stockport County. The interest to be had was in the details. Altrincham may have lost 2-1 against Millwall, but their goal (which I will definitely be posting up on here when I can find it) is a contender for “Goal Of The Season”. Likewise, Nigel Brake scored from forty yards as Horsham made it two Sussex teams in the second round with a 4-1 win over Maidenhead United in front of an impressive crowd of nearly three and a half thousand. I will be be looking with interest to see how many of them are back for their next Ryman League match. All eyes will now be on the recently relegated Torquay United, who are playing out a somewhat peculiar role-reversal against the former non-league giant-killers Yeovil Town live on BBC1 at lunchtime.