Macc the knife
Several National League sides slipped up in the Fourth Round of the FA Trophy. Fans were tearful when Welling United defeated a young squad fielded by National League leaders Chesterfield 2-0 – you could see them welling up near the end. Meanwhile, the win of the day went to Hendon, who won 2-1 at mighty Oldham Athletic. Our ‘Allez Les Bleus’ friends at Bishop’s Stortford had plenty to cheer about. Despite being at the bottom of the National League North, they gained a 6-1 cup win over Aldershot Town, with Kane Crichlow bagging five goals. Six days earlier, Aldershot had faced West Bromwich Albion in the FA Cup. Dorking Wanderers lost 5-0 at Macclesfield. Meanwhile, Bromley and Gateshead needed penalties to get past lower-league
opposition. In all, a lot of shocks.
Hitting the high notes
In the FA Vase, Hilltop went through on penalties after ending their game against Erith Town 2-2 to reach the last sixteen. Meanwhile, Highworth Town won 3-1 at Holmesdale. If readers are still interested in cows, they will be delighted to know that Solihull Moors won their FA Trophy tie 5-1 against Nantwich Town and Jersey Bulls beat opponents with a pig connection, Hamworthy Recreation, in the FA Vase on penalties after drawing 1-1.
Goal mouth
Two clips to take a look at this week, both of which leave goalkeepers scrambling in the back of their own net. I’ll leave you to have your own thoughts on these. Video 1 and Video 2.
The wisdom of taking it to the wire
It’s easy to confuse Alfreton and Atherton, but Dan Atherton, the Warrington Town keeper, is someone to remember. For the second time this season, he scored a late equaliser for The Wire against the Reds of Alfreton Town. After trailing 2-0 to Alfreton Town, the Wire scored through Andre Wisdom’s 89th-minute goal and Atherton’s equaliser to prevent the Reds from climbing into the play-off places in the National League North. You can watch Dan’s goal here.
Sea level
England C will be travelling to Llanell’s Stebonheath Park in March to face Cymru C in what is becoming an annual friendly between the non-League stars of England and Wales. As far as we know, it’s the only scheduled game for England C this season, which is disappointing. Due to Covid, a match against Nepal was cancelled in 2020, and previously, England C faced Estonia Under 23s and Irish Amateurs. In the last game against Cymru C, Ryan de 
Havilland, now with Peterborough United, scored the only goal of the game for England.
Ohm my God, Bosham bash ‘em
In the Premier Sports Southern Combination Division Two, it was top against bottom when Bosham faced Brighton Electricity ,but there were no shocks. Brighton Electricity play at the Withdean Stadium, a ground Brighton & Hove Albion used when they became homeless in the late 1990s. It was always going to be a tough game for Leccy, as they are known, but they didn’t have enough energy to match the league leaders, and it was not a shock when they lost 9-0. Good luck to Bosham, but let’s hope Leccy find some renewable energy and charge up the table soon. Rumour has it that they hope to sign a local superstar player called Jules Watts, known as Mega Watts.
Cross-examined
As reported last week, Wootton Blue Cross faced their reserves in the Bedfordshire Intermediate Cup. A good crowd of 273 turned on Friday night for this game. The game was a close affair until late goals for the first team sealed a 5-3 victory over the reserves. Wootton Blue Cross will face Wootton Blue Cross
Under 9s in the next round.
Needing to pull their socks up
The result of last week came in the Abacus Lighting Central Mids League Floodlit Cup 2nd Round. The unnecessarily ampersanded team from Dearne & District knocked out Mansfield Hosiery Mills by a 7-0 margin. It all added up to a disappointing night in the Abacus Lighting Cup for Mansfield Hosiery Mills.
#Rocknroll
The scoreline that jumped out at me this weekend was the result at Hashtag United, where my FA Trophy adventure began in 2021. After scoring three goals in the first 11 minutes, the visitors, Bognor Regis Town, let Hashtag United back into the Isthmian Premier fixture. The Tags got back to 2-3 when May-Parrott scored when May-Parrott scored when May-Parrott scored. However, the Rocks were hardly solid as a rock in defence but managed to run out 5-4 winners as they remain on the fringes of the play-off spots.
Robins say cheers
The Robins of Ilkeston Town headed to high-flying Worksop Town in the Northern Premier League Premier Division clash. Worksop Town took the lead through Burrow, but the drinks were on Ilkeston with goals from Jamie Walker (surely it should be Johnnie Walker) and L’Varn Brandy, which reminds me, it’s that time of night for a nightcap.
