Cheshunt win at St Albans
The seventh stop on my trail from Hashtag United to Wembley took me to St Albans City. In the 4th Round Proper, St Albans City from the National League South were drawn at home to Cheshunt in a Hertfordshire derby. I had seen Cheshunt stand up to a physical Bishop’s Stortford side in the last round, winning 4-3 on penalties after a goalless game. In this game, Cheshunt excelled. Reece Beckles-Richards scored a cracker to put the Ambers one up after 49 minutes (see that goal here at 4′ 40″). Rowan Liburd, Cheshunt’s tall number 9, followed this with two well-taken goals to seal an impressive 3-0 win. Were the Ambers’ fans happy afterwards? They certainly were! Read the full report here.
4th Round Overview
15 of the 16 FA Trophy 4th Round ties took place on Saturday, with the Stourbridge v Guiseley tie delayed until Tuesday night. Of the 15 ties, five were won by the lower-placed teams. Additionally, two higher-placed teams, Boreham Wood and Halifax Town, needed penalties to overcome the lower opposition of Maidstone United and Alfreton Town, respectively. The most comfortable win was Wrexham’s 5-1 win over Folkestone Invicta, which was contested unfortunately in an empty stadium.
Brave Larks beaten at Stockport
We’ve been rooting for Larkhall Athletic in this year’s FA Trophy along with many others judging by the number of well-wishers on Twitter on
Saturday morning. The small Somerset club had a dream tie at Stockport County and performed with great credit despite going down 3-0. Two first-half goals sunk The Larks, but they battled to the end and left with many admirers in Greater Manchester. And, it’s where I will be heading for the next round as Cheshunt, the last team out of the hat, face Stockport County.
Hats on, hats off, hatful and hattricks
While on the subject of hats, there are more hat topics to cover this week. Stockport County are nicknamed The Hatters. Presumably, Stockport County v Luton Town would have been a feisty game in the battle of the hats. Still, I expect they have decided to beret the hatchet. If you didn’t find that a fascinator, maybe, I should stop taking the pith and put on a hard hat. Moving on, it’s a dunce’s cap for me too. I never knew all the words of Ilkla’ Mooar Baht’at. As Mr Ringworm kindly pointed out, a hat is essential on Ilkley Moor; otherwise, worms and ducks will eat you after your death on the Moor. So, now you know, As for hatfuls, Wrexham were this week’s big scorers, although Morpeth Town v Boston United produced seven goals. Finally, Solihull Moors’ striker, Robert Dallas, achieved the only 4th Round hattrick – no prize guessing what hat he wears with the Dallas connection.
Head on the block results
So, how did my two predictions do this week? Well, Tonbridge Angels beat King’s Lynn on penalties. However, Solihull Moors ran out 3-0 winners against the team I tipped, Southport. Mr Dallas will be pleased to know that his hattrick means £30 is winging its way to Football for Humanity. I’ll be choosing a game in the 5th Round for my Head on the block prediction as usual in February.
Needham Market win at Yeovil
Yeovil Town rightly has a reputation for being giant-killers in the FA Cup, but on Saturday, they were ‘giant-killed’ themselves. Needham
Market from Suffolk came to Somerset and won on penalties after holding the National League side to a 1-1 draw. Ben Fowkes equalised just before half-time for Needham Market, but the real drama came during the penalty shoot-out. Grant Smith, the Needham Market keeper, saved three penalties, scored one himself as the visitors beat Yeovil Town 8-7 on penalties.
The 5th Round draw for Cheshunt and others
Last out of the hat was Cheshunt, the team I am following. They face a tough trip to Stockport County. Needham Market’s reward for their win at Yeovil is a home tie with National South high-flyers, Dartford. Having been drawn away, Morpeth Town had to travel south, but not too far as they face York City in the 5th Round. There is an all-Kent tie when Tonbridge Angels face Bromley from the National League. Wrexham has the tie of the round with a home game against Boreham Wood. In the other three ties, two old League sides, Halifax and Notts County come together while Solihull Moors will travel to the winners of the delayed Stourbridge v Guiseley tie. Finally, Spennymoor Town will have a long journey south to face Dagenham & Redbridge. However, we have to wait 25 more days before the 5th Round action takes place.
