FA Trophy: Linnets in it to win it
Readers of this column who are not birdwatchers will now, of course, be able to recognise a linnet at 25 yards. There really is something for everyone in this weekly review (well, maybe not). As for Runcorn Linnets, they go marching (or, perhaps, flying) on to the 3rd Round Qualifying of the FA Trophy after beating North Shields by a 2-1 margin. Lewis Doyle gave the Linnets the lead with a cracking goal just before half-time. Jamie Rainford increased the lead after the break, with North Shields replying in the dying minutes. After two wins on the road in the FA Trophy, Runcorn Linnets now face Ossett United, who needed penalties to get past Sheffield FC. I quite like the no-nonsense name of Sheffield with no need for United or days of the week on the end of their name.
New Salamis reap rewards
New Salamis continued their excellent FA Trophy form with a comfortable 3-0 win over Suffolk-based Coggeshall Town. Coggeshall, nicknamed the Seed
Growers, conceded two first-half goals before Tuafee Skandari ensured victory midway through the second half for New Salamis. New Salamis will not have to face 22 men in the next round, even though their opponents are Hayes & Yeading United. I can recall seeing both Hayes and Yeading back in the 1990s. H&YU like to keep things tight, it would seem, scoring seven and conceding six in their seven league games to date.
It’s not cricket
I noticed that Goring by Sea Cricket Club Football Club are having a tough time in Division 4 South of the West Sussex Football League. Yes, that’s right, they are a cricket team playing football. They should invite a Premier League club’s European imports to their ground to play cricket; there would only be one result. GbSCCFC have some way to go to reach the Premier League of the West Sussex Football League. If they ever get there, they might meet the wonderfully-named Unicorn Bognor Regis, or Nyetimber Pilates (or is that Nyetimber Pirates?). In 2020, Goring introduced a ladies team, which is probably known as GbSCCLFC for short.
No luck
Sholing went top of the Southern League Division One South last weekend with a comfortable 4-0 win at Willand Rovers. The scorer of the first goal was Rob Flooks, but three more goals followed to prove it wasn’t a fluke as they sailed into a 4-0 lead. For those needing a brief geography lesson, Willand Rovers play close to the M5 not too far from Exeter, while the high-flying Boatmen come from close to Portsmouth.
Colour clashes
Three years ago, Millwall faced Sheffield Wednesday. Millwall played in dark blue shirts and white shorts, while Wednesday played in their traditional blue and white stripes and black shorts. Differentiating the teams was, to say the least, problematic. Last season, Brighton played Leeds and changed to a light blue kit that was more difficult to differentiate from Brighton’s colours than their traditional all white. I recall as a young man playing in a Sunday morning game. Our opponents wore red, and we wore blue. The only problem was that we wore red shorts and they wore blue shorts. I found that doing a handstand at corners confused the opposition so much that we won 5-0.
Squires Gate through on penalties
In the FA Vase, one game caught my eye. The encounter between West Allotment Celtic and Squires Gate conjures up a picture of the rolling hills of
perfect English countryside. Well, it does for me. The match took place just outside Newcastle, with the visitors coming from Blackpool. The full-time score was 2-2, but Squires Gate won 6-5 on penalties. The attendance was 105; I don’t know how many of the 105 made the journey from Blackpool, but it would have been a six-hour round trip. Squires Gate now face Cammell Laird 1907 at home. I wonder if the game will kick off just after five past seven.
Cambridge City fire blanks in FA Trophy
Name three teams with Leicester in their name. Yep, Leicester City, that’s one. If you’re reasonably knowledgeable, Leicester Nirvana makes it two, but the third one is tricky. Well, the answer is Hinckley Leicester Road, formerly Hinckley United. In last weekend’s FA Trophy game, the Knitters, as they are known, beat Cambridge City. At the end of normal time, the score was 0-0. Nothing too unusual about that, but then Cambridge City missed their first three penalties to lose 3-0 on penalties to achieve a penalty shoot-out defeat within six kicks. Hinckley now face Nuneaton Borough, a team that may prove tougher than Nunscored City FC, in the next round.
