FA Cup Preliminary Round

WEST AUCKLAND TOWN v DARLINGTON 1883 - 30 August 2014

Forty minutes before kick-off the crowd is already building at Darlington Road for this tasty cup tie. It is the Darlington fans’ first FA Cup tie since November 2011, and the reincarnated club’s first ever. Darlington 1883 are now a step up from West Auckland, but the home team despatched a couple of Northern Premier League teams last season so they will believe they have a chance here.

It’s the brightest day yet in this year’s Good Cup Run, with sunshine, blue sky and fluffy white clouds, but a stiffish breeze for the players to contend with. The pitch looks firm and lush with only the familiar slopes and undulations to prevent comparison with the proverbial billiard (why not snooker?) table.

Kick-off is delayed five minutes as one goal net does not come up to the assistant referee’s exacting requirements but when the game gets going it is West Auckland who settle quickest. Ten minutes in, an innocuous looking ball finds Knight in the penalty area with his back to goal. A drop of the shoulder and quick turn gains him space and an accurate cross-shot finds the corner of the net, putting West 1-0 up.

Darlo respond well to going behind. A through ball sees the West Auckland keeper race out of his area only to be rounded easily by Mitchell, and when the ball comes across to Armstrong there is only the defender on the line to beat, but Pattinson spreads himself, miraculously blocks the shot and the ball is hacked clear. Next star man Thompson wriggles clear and unleashes a fierce shot that cannons off the inside of the post but fails to cross the line. West are hanging on and get another let off when a cross finds Armstong unmarked at the far post, but he heads over.

West survive to half time; after the initial ten minutes and the goal it has been all Darlo but the underdogs have defended with determination and no little luck.

Within five minutes of the resumption Darlington resume their attacks and Dowson is put through on the right. He shoots powerfully, Lowson parries it onto the post but the ball rebounds inside the six yard box where it eventually falls to Adam Mitchell. With defenders throwing their bodies onto the goal line he manages to find a route through to side foot the equalising goal.

The expected domination from the NPL team doesn’t materialise; they take their foot off the gas and fail to capitalise. After fifteen minutes manager Grey swaps his strikers, but that makes matters worse as they start to play long and narrow.

Slowly West regain composure and regain a share of possession and territory, and look the more threatening; Pattinson has a shot cleared off the line, Knight has a rising effort that clears the bar, and even giant centre half Daryll Hall, up for a corner, gets in on the action with a left foot swinger that shaves the post.

But there are no more goals; honours are shared and it will be a short trip down the road to Heritage Park for a replay on Wednesday night.

OTHER MATCHES ROUND-UP

Of the other five teams in action, there were good away wins for Spennymoor (2-0 at Tadcaster), Marske United (4-1 at Armthorpe Welfare) and Shildon (1-0 at Padiham); but Durham City crashed out 3-0 at Dunston UTS. Once more Bishop Auckland failed to make home advantage count, but survive, drawing spectacularly 4-4 with Jarrow Roofing, and will hope to repeat the previous round trick of winning the replay.

FA Cup state of play: 2 yet to start, 3 through, 3 replaying, 5 out.

Football League Cup Round 2

MIDDLESBROUGH v PRESTON NORTH END - 26 August 2014

The Football league Cup (under its present sponsored guise of the Capital One Cup) makes its debut in A Good Cup Run, and with Hartlepool already having disappeared in round 1 without a whimper 6-2 at Port Vale, only Middlesbrough remain to carry the flag for the locality. After a sound win at Oldham in the last round they once more face League 1 opposition, this time at home, against Preston North End.

Middlesbrough have had a hit and miss start to the season but Preston are going well in their division so this could be a good game. Unfortunately not many home fans seem to fancy it as, despite the attractive £10 entry price, twice as many seats are empty as filled.

The first half starts slow and only fitfully gets above walking pace. Some of the loudest cheers are when established first-teamers get off the bench and go for a jog down the touchline, manager Karanka having adopted the fashionable ‘squad rotation’ approach the this increasingly Cinderella competition.

Meanwhile, on the pitch, the nearest thing to a shot on target occurs when Clayton hits an uncontested drop ball to the Preston keeper with a bit too much elevation. Unsurprisingly it’s nil-nil at half time; the crowd, announced as 10,727 are wondering if even £10 was excessive for this fare.

If the game needed a goal there was not long to wait. A Boro free kick is awarded on the edge of the Preston box from which Tomlin bends a shot up, over the wall and down into the unguarded side of the goal; it’s so perfect the Preston keeper only moves to retrieve the ball from the net.

You wait 51 minutes for a goal and then three minutes later another one arrives – this time at the other end. Again a free kick starts it, but Preston play it left of the Boro box from where an unchallenged cross eventually finds the net via Jordan Hugill’s head (capping a good performance from the local lad who featured for some years in the Northern League).

Suddenly it’s a goal-fest as only another three minutes elapse before Albert Adomah finally makes his pace tell on the Boro right, getting to the by-line half a step ahead of the full back and crossing hard and low to the near post. Boro centre forward Fewster can’t get put it in but Preston centre half Clarke does the job instead for an own goal.

The game is lively now and after nine more minutes Tomlin picks up the ball just inside the Preston half and drives forward. Despite four opponents in attendance he maintains possession to the edge of the box from where he coolly slots home to give Boro a 3-1 lead.

Preston gamely try to respond and Boro threaten more, particularly when Kike comes on, but there are no more goals and Middlesbrough progress to round 3 to maintain the League Cup state of play as: 1 through, 1 out.

FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round Replays

UPDATE

Bishop Auckland won 2-0 at Sunderland RCA to go through.

Guisborough Town drew at 2-2 Armthorpe Welfare but went out on penalties.

FA Cup state of play: 4 yet to start, 5 through, 4 out.

FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round

NEWTON AYCLIFFE v GARFORTH TOWN - 16 August 2014

Tradition is maintained with a visit to Moore Lane Park, Newton Aycliffe, for the start of the FA Cup. The first game of the season is usually a shirt-sleeve job but today is cloudy with a cool breeze more like early autumn than late summer.

The visitors are Garforth Town from the Northern Counties East League, provide a touch of the exotic, particularly when they line up in a strip of purple (more puce actually) and black.

Newton Aycliffe start well and dominate the early exchanges forcing the tall Garforth keeper into a save and winning a couple of corners. From one of these the ball goes in and out of the box a few times before the diminutive Paul Broom nods a cross into the net for 1-0 lead.

More goals threaten but by the mid-point of the half Garforth have found their feet and are giving as good as they get. Just before half time they get a free kick on the left outside the box; Jason Davis screws a shot into the near post where keeper Jake Johnson makes a bit of a hash of it, allowing it to squirm under him and into the goal.

It could get worse as Garforth press for another, but Newton Aycliffe hang on until the break. On the resumption the home team start well but miss a couple of half chances. Then a poor Aycliffe clearance presents Jason Davis with the ball within 35 yards of goal; he dances through a couple of tackles, steps into the box and slots home a good goal to give the visitors a 2-1 lead.

There is plenty of time left and Newton Aycliffe swap a few players and press hard but without really threatening, in fact as time goes on a breakaway goal for Garforth looks the more likely.

So that is how it ends, and one of my thirteen teams is out of the Cup.

OTHER MATCHES ROUND-UP

Of the other eight teams in action, four played each other with Shildon beating Crook Town 7-1, and Durham City winning 2-1 at Billingham Synthonia. Two other teams progressed with straight wins, West Auckland Town 2-1 at Nelson, and Marske United 7-1 at home to Billingham Town. The remaining two clubs, Guisborough Town and Bishop Auckland, both squandered home advantage giving up 1-1 draws to Armthorpe Welfare and Sunderland RCA respectively.

FA Cup state of play: 4 yet to start, 4 through, 2 replaying, 3 out.

2014-15 Season Preview

This year’s Good Cup Run will have a change of emphasis from taking in a match from every round of the FA Cup and FA Vase, having completed two full Vase runs from qualifying round to Wembley final, and one complete FA Cup run from extra preliminary round to quarter final.

Instead, this season I will be following the fortunes of my closest 13 clubs (all within 25 miles) taking in matches in the four main cup contests – the FA Cup, Trophy and Vase, and the League Cup – to see which is the last team standing.

The thirteen (hopefully lucky rather than unlucky) clubs are, in reverse order of status:

From the Northern League Division 1: Billingham Synthonia, Newton Aycliffe, Bishop Auckland; Crook Town, Durham City, Guisborough Town, Shildon, West Auckland Town, Marske United.

From the NPL Division 1 North: Darlington 1883, Spennymoor Town

From League 2: Hartlepool United

From the Championship: Middlesbrough