Keeping a Lydd on things
In the FA Vase, Tooting Bec were due to face Newhaven at Chipstead, where they groundshare. Bec’s players and Newhaven’s arrived, the officials arrived as did fans from both clubs, but unfortunately, Bec’s kit didn’t. Consequently, Bec forfeited the tie. Steffan Wells, the Bec chairman, was upset the spotlight fell on him, including in the National Press, having worked so hard to build the club up. It means Newhaven now progress to face Lydd Town in the next round.
Not as keen as mustard
Meanwhile, a Combined Counties Premier Division South match was called off for a different reason. The game between Fleet Town and Alton was called off as there were no officials. Red-faced League organisers were trying to explain why no officials were appointed for the game at the Mustard Seed Stadium. The problem is being put down to a glitch, resulting from a change of fixture dates.
From Hashtag United to League One glory
For the 2020-21 season, I followed the FA Trophy from the first qualifying round, following the winners of each tie to Wembley. I even wrote a book about it – see more here. It all started at Hashtag United, who were defeated 4-1 by Chipstead in the first qualifying round. Since then, Hashtag United have 
gone from strength to strength and are now holding their own in the Isthmian Premier. But what about the teams I met in the later rounds? Bromley, the eventual winners, are now in League Two, while the semi-finalists, Wrexham and Stockport County, are the top two clubs in League One. Are there any non-League clubs that want to invite me to their ground so that success rubs off me?
Brandy snaps
In FA Cup week, L’varn Brandy captured the headlines for Ilkeston Town. His goal ended Heanor Town’s dreams of playing at Wembley in the FA Cup Final. Unfortunately, L’varn didn’t grab a second, which would have made it a double Brandy. Cheers, anyway, to everyone at Ilkeston Town.
Heading in the right direction
Gateshead are the early leaders of the National League, winning four and drawing two of their opening games. Only those long enough in the tooth may remember that the original Gateshead club was voted out of the Football League in 1960. They were replaced by Peterborough United. The Heed are pursued in second place by Eastleigh, a club that has not been in the Football League. However, the next nine clubs are all trying to regain Football League status – they are Barnet, Rochdale, Forest Green Rovers, York City, Aldershot Town, Sutton United, Oldham Athletic, Yeovil Town and Hartlepool. Meanwhile, the bottom seven clubs in the National League have never appeared in the Football League. If Gateshead make the step up, they will set a new record for the longest time taken to return to the Football League. Middlesbrough Ironopolis will be ready to surge through the non-League pyramid to beat that record, though.
FC 41 on 40
We featured FC 41 last week (see Review 114). Could they concede 41 goals in seven games? Well, apparently not. A 3-2 home defeat to fellow strugglers Milton United was followed by a 4-0 defeat to AFC Alsager on Bank Holiday Monday. It leaves FC 41 on 40 goals against. FC41 are not in League action until the 14th of September when they face AFC Crewe. Presumably, they have too many International call-ups this week. FC 61 of Luton have conceded an average of seven goals per game in their first four games. We’ll check back when they’ve completed nine games to see if they have passed 61.
Top 100%er
Of the clubs that still have a 100%, Boro Rangers of the Northern League Division One have achieved more straight wins than anyone else. They are
top of the table with nine wins out of nine, scoring 34 goals, while conceding 10 goals. On Saturday, they faced bottom-of-the-league Tow Law Town, a club with a 0% record, and won 6-2. Can they keep this run going?
Backing away
In the same division as Boro Rangers in seventh spot are Shildon. Shildon have won five and lost five of their first ten league games. Nothing too remarkable about that, but they have lost all five home games and won all five away games. Some sort of record, perhaps. Their club motto is “Inspiring people to be the best they can be”. Maybe charity begins at home would be more appropriate.
Rubbish alert
Jason Anonymous has woken up for the first time this season. “Utter rubbish”, he claims, after last week’s Non-League Review revealed that the Sileby of Northampton Sileby Rangers came from the second letter of six animals. Jason explains that Sileby is a village (with a station) in Leicestershire. The original club was named after Sileby Engineering, a business that moved to Northampton. I guess Jason isn’t going to believe it comes from Super Ingenious League of Eccentric Ball Yodellers.
City slackers
If the word ‘City’ appears in a football club’s name, there’s a fair chance the club will be one of the bigger teams in the country. But maybe that is not so. Ripon City are modestly placed in the West Yorkshire League Premier Division, but what about Sheffield City at the bottom of the EV2 Sheffield & Hallamshire County Senior League Premier Division, propping up teams like Penistone Church Reserves and AFC Dronfield. Meanwhile, Canterbury City hope to rise after a good start in the South Counties East League Division One. We should expect more of Doncaster City in the Abacus Central Midlands League North, while Brighton Electricity can be forgiven for not powering to the top of the Premier Sports Southern Combination Division Two. Next week, we will take a look at Letchworth Garden City Eagles.
Hopping mad
A mention for Richard Worsnip, a groundhopper, who managed to witness four 0-0 draws in August. I wonder how many chants of “Boring, boring”, he heard on his travels. Better luck in September, Richard.
