Banbury pull the plug on Coalville
Banbury United finally managed to play their FA Trophy Fourth Round tie last week. Having misreported in Review 59 that Banbury pulled the plug on Bath when Bracknell Town defeated Bath, it was vital for me to get it right this time. And, on the night, The Robins got it right with a 3-2 win over Cup battlers Coalville Town. Coalville got to the First Round of the FA Cup before losing to Charlton 4-1. The Robins, however, led 2-0 with two goals from Henry Lander, and despite a last-minute goal from the visitors, the Puritans of Banbury now join Bracknell Town in the 5th Round.
Fylde nails top spot
AFC Fylde sit at the top of the National League North. In 2007, they
were renamed Fylde, having been known as Kirkham & Wesham, after winning the FA Vase. They announced their intention to reach the National League by 2017 and the Football League by 2022. They gained five promotions in the ten years and failed to reach the Football League after losing a play-off to Salford City. However, they beat Leyton Orient to claim the FA Trophy in 2019. The Coasters, as they are known, look set to make it back to one step from their Football League ambitions. I just wish I could stop singing Yakety Yak.
Meaty win or a jammy win?
You might think I’ve been waiting for this game, but it jumped out at me when I saw the Isthmian League North Division results. New Salamis entertained Maldon & Tiptree. The home side ran out 2-1 victors thanks to a winner by Harrison Georgiou to push themselves into the top half of the table. Curiously, the Cured Meat Boys, have stopped maintaining their website since their 5-2 win at Maldon & Tiptree in November. Now, Bob Marley playing Jamming has lodged in my head; it’s better than Yakety Yak, though.
Silly conversations
I am in the Philippines right now. I went into a café and asked for black tea. “It comes with honey”, the young lady replied. “Ah”, I said. I
didn’t want honey in my tea. “It’s OK, the honey is in a separate pot”. “Oh, OK”, I replied positively, “just give me the black tea without the pot of honey”. “Sorry, Sir, we only serve black tea with honey”. I took a gamble, bought the tea with the honey, didn’t use the honey, and everyone was happy – all for 50p. I just felt a bit sorry for the bees or, perhaps, she was shrewd and wanted honey with her lunch.
Burnt Cheddar
In the Unisport Somerset County League Premier Division, a match took place on Saturday, which Masterchef should have sponsored. The combatants were Chard Town and Fry Club. Chard Town clearly weren’t burnt out, as they ran out 2-1 winners.
Trophy splits
It’s FA Trophy week again this coming weekend, with 16 teams battling it for a place at Wembley in May. Strangely, the most northerly tie is at Banbury United, who face Gateshead, the most northern team left in the competition, while the most southerly tie is Torquay United against Barnet. The other six ties are squished between those latitudes. If you are looking for more curiosities, 13 of the teams come from the first half of the alphabet. What’s more, two of the three N-Z teams face each other when Southend United play York City. I think we need to support York City as a representative of the north and the second half of the alphabet.
Can Newport Pagnell stop the Vase heading overseas?
Last year’s FA Vase holders, Newport Pagnell Town, are in the last 16 of this season’s FA Vase. This coming Saturday, they face Jersey Bulls
at home. I am just wondering whether the FA Vase has ever been overseas before. In the last Round, the Bulls romped past Romford Town by a 6-0 margin and, before that, proved more athletic than Athletic Newham by winning 5-1. The Bulls have also beaten Fisher, Bearsted, Shoreham and AFC Varndeanians in the competition. Their animal-related ties could only have been better if they had met Cowes Sports on their brilliant FA Vase Cup run.
Muratti Vase
While the Channel Islands is getting a mention, I feel it is time to mention the Muratti Vase, a competition contested each year between Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney. The populations of these islands are roughly 105,000, 62,000 and 2,000, so it’s no wonder that Alderney have an uphill battle when it comes to getting in the final, let alone winning the competition. The competition works by the previous year’s losing finalist playing Alderney to see which team is in the final.
No sarky comments
As it happens, Alderney have not reached the final since 1938, when they lost 3-1 to Guernsey. However, Alderney did defeat Guernsey 1-0 in 1920 to claim the Vase. In terms of winners, it’s a reasonably even contest, with Jersey claiming 56 wins and Guernsey 46. And, for this week’s quiz question. Which island has an operating former London Underground train on it?
