BBC suffer the impact
So, Alex Scott is interviewing a bunch of experts at the Impact Arena ten minutes before the FA Cup 2nd Round tie between Alfreton Town and Walsall. Volunteers are removing black sheeting that has protected overnight from a harsh frost. Alex is standing next to the FA Cup trophy, or maybe it’s a replica. The players are warming up in the background, ready for their big day against the giants of Walsall (it’s not often you hear that reference). Then, with less than ten minutes to kick off, the referee calls it off. Time for soup and tea, suggests an Alfreton fan. Still, it means Alfreton Town are in the 3rd Round draw for the first time. Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports reported sometime after the scheduled kick-off that there were no goals so far! They were right.
Proper non-League clubs
Congratulations to Mangotsfield United, Sporting Bengal United, Kensington & Ealing Borough and Long Eaton United. They are the only non-League clubs with all the letters of non-League in their
name. Long Eaton United achieved this with only 15 letters – extraordinarily, the six unused letters spell Ditton, a club in Kent. However, Golcar United deserve a mention for having all the letters, even though they only have one ‘e’ and one ‘n’.
Are you sitting comfortably?
It was the FA Cup 2nd Round week. As Leyton Orient fans sat down on their Chesterfield sofas to watch the televised tie against non-League giants Chesterfield, they may have feared the worst. Indeed, the crooked Spireites, currently running away with the National League, won 1-0 and now take the Yellow Brick Road to Watford. There’s a picture for you of Chesterfield’s left half. Meanwhile, Eastleigh, a team from nearer the South Coast rather than the East Coast, beat Reading 2-1 and have a tie against the Barnet v Newport County replay winners. Maidstone United also defeated Football League opposition, overcoming Barrow, and now face Stevenage or Port Vale.
Unlucky threes
We featured the fortunes of a few clubs associated with the number three a couple of weeks ago. It was not so lucky for Horsham as they lost in the FA Cup for the second time this season by a 3-0 margin. After Barnsley fielded an ineligible player in the 1st Round, Horsham gained a bye to the 2nd Road despite losing 3-0, but, in the 2nd Round, Sutton United also proved too strong, winning 3-0 as well. The ruling about ineligible players in the FA Cup differs from the lamentable EFL Trophy that League One and League Two teams contest alongside the Under 12 sides of clubs like Manchester City. Most League One and League Two teams field their reserve teams if they can, but if they field an ineligible player, the EFL forces them to go through to the next round for another miserable game in front of 300 people. Maybe I misread my notes there; they are pretty illegible.
Ghosting in at the far post
Fakenham Town play in the Eastern Counties League. They are nicknamed the Ghosts. Fakenham Town’s bizarre badge first attracted
my interest in the club. It’s a black silhouette with a dismembered head, caused either by a two-handle saw or, less likely, a football scarf with a serrated edge. The Ghosts are mid-table in their division, although I couldn’t help noticing that their reserves, also in mid-table, play Loddon United. I can reveal that I was the star striker for a club with one letter different to Loddon United. Of course, every London United supporter remembers my extraordinary goal-scoring feats when I played for London United at the age of 8—another fake.
Deal or no Deal
Deal Town moved into the 4th Round of the FA Vase with a 2-0 victory at Lingfield in a weekend when the cold snap in England caused the postponement of several FA Vase ties. It wasn’t a big deal when Penny headed back across the Lingfield penalty area, but Aaron Millbank was on hand to smash home the loose ball past penalty-saving Jack Webb-Olley. The win gives Deal Town a home tie against Cobham. Deal Town fans undoubtedly celebrated by sinking a beer or two, unlike their neighbours at Dover Athletic, who would have sank port to celebrate such a victory.
Burger wars
Horsham travelled to Sutton United in the FA Cup. Sutton currently
play in League Two. Which burger do you think is best? The Isthmian League burger from Horsham on the left or Sutton United’s burger.
And there’s no ampersand
Hats off to Bedfont. Although the club is simply known as Bedfont FC these days, they were, for a few years, called Bedfont and Feltham FC after Feltham merged with Bedfont. They reverted to Bedfont in 2021, but why ‘hats off’ to Bedfont? They shunned the dreaded ampersand,
using the word ‘and’ to join two clubs. I really should have known this two years ago.
Hector’s nous
Meet Hector, who is a rather special dog. Hector visited his 100th non-League ground last week. Here is Hector taking in a game at Jeunesse Esch. You can follow @nonleaguedogs on Twitter or Instagram. I wonder if he has ever been to Barking’s ground or Leeds, perhaps. Maybe he should visit Dulwich Hamlet as they play at Dog Kennel Hill. That’s all from me this week. Ciao. Or is it chow?
