The ten results were: Hayes 0 Newport County 1, Islington Borough 9 The Quays 2, East Barnet OG 0 Flamingoes 3 (Women), Old Carthusians 5 Corinthian-Casuals 0, West Wickham 4 Old Hamptonians 0, Lixus United 5 Nice Fridge 0, Hillingdon Saints 3 Stoke Boys 1, Minerals United 1 Driftwood Spas 7, UCL Academicals 2 Honourable Artillery Company 3 and Abbey 3 MTV 3.
That’s 161 games for this season and 5,293 all told.
There was an unmissable "triple header" on offer at Old Parkonians’ ground in Barkingside on Saturday: the AFA Senior Cup Final, a Vets Centenary Match (featuring the clubs that contested the first Senior Final in 1907) and the AFA Ladies Cup Final.
On a warm and sunny morning the EBOG Ladies were out on the pitch practising nearly an hour before the scheduled 11 o’clock kick-off. With no sign of the opposition until 10.55, I had begun to doubt there was going to be a game. But Flamingoes from south London were quickly into their stride and took the lead in the second minute.
EBOG were awarded a penalty soon afterwards but their No.10 didn’t strike the ball particularly hard and the ‘keeper pushed it away. Flamingoes built up a 3-0 lead and the game petered out with players on both sides wilting in the heat.
Next up, on another pitch, was a "replay" of the first ever AFA Senior Cup Final.
Old Carthusians, one of only two clubs to have won both The FA Cup and The FA Amateur Cup, achieved a measure of redress for a 3-0 defeat to Casuals at Queen’s Club a hundred years ago by beating Corinthian-Casuals (the clubs having amalgamated in 1939) 5-0 on Saturday. The OCs played in blue, pink and magenta striped shirts.
Then it was back to the first pitch for the main event, the Senior Final between West Wickham from the SAL and Old Hamptonians from the AFC. There could have been as many as 300 spectators at that game, including lots of mums with children. Wickham were surprisingly easy winners, despite having a player red-carded in the first half.
My original plan had been to go to another final at Yeading in the evening but more than six hours in the sun had taken their toll and a very acceptable alternative was watching the Watford v Man U semi-final, swiftly followed by "Dr Who", on the box. There was another "triple header" in prospect for Sunday, when the temperature was expected to reach 77.
A West Fulham Sunday League Premier Division match, Sporting Wimbledon v Rapid Decline, had been advertised for 10.30 at Dundonald Road and I eagerly set off from Paddington to visit a new ground. When I got there, there were no goalposts. I was early, so there was time to jump back on the tube for Parsons Green.
I didn’t know if there was anything on at Hurlingham Park, where I once won a Civil Service Boys’ 80-yard dash, but found to my unconfined joy that a West End League Sunday Trophy (Morning) semi-final between Lixus United and Nice Fridge had just started.
Two special things happened in this game. Early in the second half, with Lixus 4-0 to the good, one of their strikers sprinted clear of the Fridge defence and was somewhat taken aback to see a little boy of about five in an Arsenal shirt running towards him. He managed to side-step both the tiny intruder and the ‘keeper but in his confusion dribbled the ball off for a goal-kick. Not so much "one on one" as "one on one and a half".
A few minutes later a Fridge player tried to chip the Lixus ‘keeper from 30 yards and the ball actually hit the crossbar twice. The ‘keeper, moving backwards, got a slight touch before the ball struck the top edge of the bar, flew into the air and then came back down onto the bar again. Then it bounced behind for a corner.