A moving spirit
Although it was FA Cup week, I noticed Dunkirk FC’s result recently above all others. It’s easy to imagine that this club shows a lot of spirit on the football field. Their nickname is the Boatmen, which seems rather apt, given the history associated with Dunkirk. The club crest depicts a man rowing a boat singlehandedly through what looks like an oil slick or, more likely, through the night on a dark ocean. I delved further when I noticed that their opponents on Saturday were Leicester St Andrews. It transpires that Dunkirk come from Nottinghamshire, some 60 miles from any oceans, although, admittedly, close to the River Trent. The result against Leicester St Andrews was a 5-1 win, so we can assume some spirits were knocked back in the evening.
Moth aircraft spotters
Sticking with a military theme, lepidopterists with a keen interest in light aircraft may be tempted to visit Desford, the former RAF base in Leicestershire.
But why lepidopterists? Well, when RAF Desford closed, it was taken over by Caterpillar, the major engineering equipment manufacturer. The football club Desford & Caterpillar surfaced and have started this season well with three wins from three games. They sit at the top spot in the Everards Leicestershire Senior League Premier Division. Their latest win was a 1-0 home victory against Ashby Ivanhoe Knights. Coincidentally, AIK stands for All Insect Killer in the pest control world, but that’s all I know.
Coming unstuck
If one fixture caught my eye this weekend, it was the Cornish derby clash in the South West Peninsula League West between Dobwalls and Sticker. The game took place at Dobwall’s attractively named Lantoom Park. Alphabetically, Sticker’s first three names on the teamsheet were Clapham, Dover and England, which sounds like more of a geography lesson than a football team. On the day, Dobwalls were more wakey wakey, which was not surprising as Billy Coton stars for the club. The result was a 2-0 win for Dobwalls, with goals from Joshua Johnson and Ian Thomas.
All Saints
Helen, Martin, Dennis and Andrew might sound like a group of four people in their 50s or 60s, but they are also non-League saintly football clubs: St Helens Town, St Martins, St Dennis and St Andrews. St Helens hit the headlines last week when striker Liam Diggle bagged a hat trick, scoring the first after just 10 seconds. St Martins have had a patchy start with one point from four league games in the Salop Leisure Premier Division. St Dennis have started with three defeats, including the most recent to St Austell. As for St Andrews, they began with a solid 2-0 win before falling at Dunkirk. And, surprise, surprise, all four clubs have the nickname the Saints.
Easy as ABC
After losing the first match of the season 5-0 at Workington, Ashton United have bounced back with two home wins to find themselves at the right end of the
Northern Premier League Premier Division. On Saturday, they beat Marske United 3-1 with goals from their ABC scorers, Abbott, Byrne and Cusani. The mask seems to be slipping for the losing United, though, as they are now bottom of the division after three defeats in three games.
Going down a storm in FA Cup
Rap star Stormzy is a co-owner of AFC Croydon Athletic. Stormzy was spotted at the FA Cup tie against Horley Town celebrating with the fans after a 1-0 win. The result equals Croydon Athletic’s best-ever FA Cup run. They now head up the Thames to face Marlow in the First Round Qualifying.
FA Cup mugs
732 teams entered the 2023-24 FA Cup. However, after the Preliminary Round replays, 47% of the entrants will have had their Wembley dreams extinguished. One of the replays is a battle of the Ws as Whitley Bay face Whickham. After a 1-1 draw at Whickham, the Newcastle-based club will take their mini-Toon Army to the seaside for the replay. Whickham will be remembered possibly for their 1981 FA Vase win when they defeated Willenhall Town 3-2 in another battle of the Ws.
Wort hogs four in FA Cup
In the FA Cup, the intriguingly named Tadley Calleva entertained AFC Portchester. Despite being 4-0 down at half-time, Tadley Calleva battled away.
They went further behind to a penalty, scored by Lee Wort. However, Adam Hargood, a substitute, pulled one back to make it 1-5. That deficit remained a matter of seconds as Lee Wort scored again directly from the kick-off – it’s worth a watch here as long as you can tolerate some annoying music. The final score was 8-1 to AFC Portchester with four goals for Lee Wort; they now face Didcot Town away.
Crib sheet
Cribbs put in one of the standout performances of this weekend’s FA Cup games with a 5-1 away win at Virginia Water. I always wonder if anyone wades through water at Virginia Water. The result does beg the question, “Where the hell do Cribbs come from?” It would be nice to report that Cribbs come from Bedfordshire, but they don’t. In fact, they come from Cribbs Causeway, which is near Bristol. They were formally the Sun Life team. Sun Life became Axa and then Cribbs Causeway Friends Life FC. Thankfully, they are now just Cribbs, so we can put that one to bed. They now face Swindon Superfoammattress in the next round.
