The sequence started on 6 October with Hamworthy v Newton Abbot in The FA Vase and continued with Poole v Oxford City in The FA Women’s Cup, Edgware v Enfield Town in The FA Youth Cup, AFC Hornchurch v Dulwich in The FA Cup, Bedfont Sunday v Sutton Athletic in The FA Sunday Cup and Tooting v Chipstead in an FA Trophy replay.
Last Wednesday’s FA Youth Cup Second Round Qualifying tie at Edgware Town’s White Lion Ground featured an Enfield Town youngster who had become quite a celebrity after scoring with a spectacular effort from all of 40 yards in the previous round, captured by TheFA.com’s video cameraman.
'Max' was Enfield Town’s skipper and had another influential game in midfield. He was bound to try a couple of long shots: the first missed the Edgware goal by a distance; the second, a free-kick from inside the centre circle, was clutched by the ‘keeper close to the crossbar. But he did score, blasting a penalty high into the net in a convincing 3-0 win for the Towners.
The FA Cup Third Round Qualifying tie at Hornchurch had been brought forward to Friday night to avoid clashing with England’s Wembley match against Estonia and the club must have been happy with a crowd of over 600. Being 25 stops on the tube from Lancaster Gate, changing at Mile End, Hornchurch is definitely in 'The Far East'.
Three years ago, the old Hornchurch had thumped Dulwich 9-0 in the same round, but it was a lot closer this time. Urchins notched an early goal in a whirlwind start before Hamlet put some good moves together to make it into an even first half. They equalised close to the break and were buzzing as play resumed. But they were rocked to concede a quick goal from a penalty and seemed to lose some of their joie de jouer after that.
Urchins were Cup giantkillers in 2003, knocking out Third Division Darlington 2-0 at Bridge Avenue. I was there and it remains one of my most memorable Cup matches. If they can win their home tie with Team Bath later this month, they will be lining up in the First Round Proper once again.
After being part of a crowd of 86,655 at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, I was half of a crowd of two at Hurlingham Park the following morning. Small World edged Nice Fridge 2-1 in the West End Sunday AM League Challenge Trophy and the only other spectator present was a lady on a bench who occasionally looked up from reading her magazine.
The second half of Sunday’s double-header was an FA Sunday Cup First Round tie between Bedfont Sunday and Sutton Athletic, reached via a District line tube from Parsons Green to Earl’s Court and a change to the Piccadilly line for Hatton Cross. It was unbelievably warm for mid-October and the anorak was off early doors. About a hundred people watched as Bedfont went down 3-0.
Last night’s FA Trophy Preliminary Round replay at Tooting, which inevitably went to extra-time, brought me up to 72 games for the season and 5,404 altogether.