FA Cup 2014-2015

just got the hunch that this year we're gonna get a lot more surprises than usual. The financial aspects in football boards now mean some teams are out of synch with the league they play in, to better and worse effects. Could be quite a few non-league teams in Round 3 ...

due to the draw at least 4 will make it to the 2nd round
good chance of a non league team getting to round 3
Its what the FA cup is all about

I also would guarantee that Basingstoke will make a hell of a lot more noise that the Warrington lot though

fingers crossed ...
noticed that the cancelled league match was a fairly local derby v Maidenhead Utd!

Warrington through, well done lads, that was a proper hard fought FA cup game
Its why i love the game

Loved watching that. Cant wait till tomorrow now. 

Basingstoke 1-1 Telford
conditions were not good , with every kick of ball an inch of water was smashed into the air

awaiting Kray JR to find out why their game was called off

FA Cup: 2014/2015 - Saturday FIRST ROUND RESULTS



Non-league Chester & Dover beat league teams



(Half-times in brackets)


Barnet FC 1 - 3 Wycombe (1 - 1)
Barnsley FC 5 - 0 Burton Albion (2 - 0)
Basingstoke 1 - 1 AFC telford utd (0 - 1)
Bromley 3 - 4 Dartford (1 - 0)
Bury FC 3 - 1 Hemel Hempstead Town (1 - 1)
Cambridge United 1 - 0 Fleetwood Town (0 - 0)
Cheltenham 5 - 0 Swindon Town (2 - 0)
Crewe Alexandra 0 - 0 Sheffield Utd (0 - 0)
Dagenham & Red. 0 - 0 Southport (0 - 0)
Dover 1 - 0 Morecambe FC (1 - 0)
Eastleigh 2 - 1 Lincoln (1 - 0)
Gillingham 1 - 2 Bristol City (0 - 1)
Grimsby 1 - 3 Oxford United (0 - 2)
Hartlepool Utd 2 - 0 East Thurrock United (1 - 0)
Luton 4 - 2 Newport County (1 - 0)
Postponed - Mansfield - Concord Rangers -
Northampton 0 - 0 Rochdale (0 - 0)
Oldham Athletic 1 - 0 Leyton Orient (1 - 0)
Peterborough 2 - 1 Carlisle Utd (1 - 1)
Plymouth Argyle 2 - 0 AFC Fylde (1 - 0)
Port Vale 3 - 4 Milton Keynes Dons (2 - 2)
Southend Utd 1 - 2 Chester FC (1 - 1)
Tranmere Rovers 1 - 0 Bristol Rovers (0 - 0)
Walsall FC 2 - 2 Shrewsbury (0 - 1)
Postponed - Weston Super Mare - Doncaster Rovers -
Yeovil Town 1 - 0 Crawley Town (1 - 0)
York City 1 - 1 AFC Wimbledon (1 - 1)

Shocking from a football league side really mate. I went up with the players on the coach and it was called off at 1.30 when we were not far from the ground. One of the players parents stayed up their last night and said it chucked it down all night and the forecast today was pretty much rain all day. Mansfield tweeted a picture saying the pitch was playable earlier in the day even though you could see a small puddle on the pitch with rain falling heavily. They then tweeted that it was off before they had even contacted our club officials. To be honest they are on a shocking run and probably liked the idea of us having to travel back up for a Tuesday night fixture.

On a side note, we had a walk on the pitch and it looked really weird, it looked gigantic in length but very narrow.

After last seasons sub standard treatment from big time Charlie's Barnet in the 4th qualifying round hopefully the re-arranged game will be third time lucky when It comes to my FA Cup exploits.

Bits of Info


Jordy Hiwula scored his first goal since joining on loan from Manchester City to send Yeovil through to the second round. Yeovil Town manager Gary Johnson: "I felt confident there was light at the end of the tunnel. The lads pulled it together today. I'm so pleased Jordy (Hiwula) got his goal. He's been unlucky and we've kept persevering and he's been a match-winner for us today. But I thought we had a few match-winners out there today. It was as comfortable as a 1-0 win can be."



Plymouth Argyle 2-0 AFC Fylde
AFC Fylde winger Mike Barnes: "The second half especially we did alright. We put pressure on them and were unlucky not to take our chances. We had a couple of good chances first half, and if we'd have taken them it could have been different. It's nice to come and play on the nice pitches with a good crowd. It's what everybody wants to do." Plymouth manager John Sheridan earlier admitted he thought his side were lucky not to concede.



League Two side Shrewsbury were 2-1 up until the 90th minute but Tom Bradshaw equalised for Walsall, against his former club, to take it to a replay. Shrewsbury Town manager Micky Mellon: "I am very disappointed to have conceded a goal at the very end, but we are in the hat for the draw on Monday and we'll have a chance when we take them back to the Meadow - we'll know what the prize is. We have had a few changes forced upon us, but if you'd have said that we would score twice here at Walsall I'd have said that would have given us a good chance. There was a derby feel about the game, played in a very good atmosphere and it was a really good cup tie."



Southend United 1-2 Chester
Goals from Ben Heneghan and Craig Mahon sent Conference side Chester through to the second round at the expense of League Two Southend. Southend manager Phil Brown: "They beat us fair and square. I'm disappointed and hurt. It's hurtful what has happened today. We were undone by a better side. We have to learn from this. It was always a potential banana skin and we looked anxious. The players need to relax when they play."



Basingstoke Town 1-1 AFC Telford United
Telford, currently bottom of the Conference, must replay against the Conference South leaders. AFC Telford United manager Liam Watson: "If you asked me if I wanted to stay in the competition at the start of the day, I would have taken it. I think we've missed a great opportunity to get through at the first time of asking. I feel sorry for the lads who put in such a great effort, and the fans were fantastic. It was a difficult pitch, puddles everywhere and it was difficult to clear your lines in the second half."



Cambridge United 1-0 Fleetwood Town
Fleetwood manager Graham Alexander reacts to their early FA Cup exit at League Two Cambridge: "We came here with a very experienced team to get a result and we're all hurting. We wanted to be in the second round of the Cup and we can't sugar-coat it any other way. There's a lot of pain in there. We now have to turn that pain into hard work."



Plymouth Argyle 2-0 AFC Fylde
Plymouth manager John Sheridan: "It's a clean sheet but I thought Fylde deserved a goal. We're in round two - that was the objective - but we've got to play better." Goals from Peter Hartley and Marvin Morgan saw Sheridan's side through.



Bury 3-1 Hemel Hempstead Town
Bury winger Joe Thompson: "It was difficult and a standout performance from Hemel Hempstead. I did wonder whether it was going to be one of those days and I'm glad it wasn't." Thompson appeared as a late substitute and was on the field when late goals from Nathan Cameron and Daniel Nardiello sent the League Two side through against non-league Hemel Hempstead.

Bobs Blog (the ex Reading FC ST holder)

FA Cup edition

bobs blog FA Cup edition
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The FA Cup Comes to Basingstoke

Posted on November 9, 2014 by Bob Lethaby in Sport

Basingstoke became engulfed in FA Cup fever yesterday as a bumper crowd, braving quite hideous conditions, witnessed a hard fought and honest contest where the Dragons were perhaps unlucky not to get the job done at the first time of asking.



As we arrived at the ground, the heavens opened so the club bar was an ideal place of refuge and it was in there where I saw so many faces of people I recognised; apparently isn’t just me fed up with the corporate blaggards who are playing the part of sycophants to an oligarch’s riches at the higher end of English football.



The bar was packed out and steaming with human heat emanating from wet clothes and as we stripped of our sodden jackets and got a drink from the staff (who were working with admirable efficiency) we were found a seat in circle of supporters by a friend of mine, Craig.



This is where we met an elderly chap who looked and talked like Grandad from Only Fools and Horses and had supported Basingstoke as a man and boy, surviving all sorts of health scares along the way. An engaging and brutally abrupt character, his resilience reminded me of someone who smokers and heavy drinkers use an example as to why they needn’t kick the habit.



Inspired by my positive comments regarding last weeks visit, our friends Pete, Andrew, Mark and Steve joined us and as we walked through the turnstiles the rain became heavier still. It really was hideous and had it started coming down a bit earlier in the day, the game would surely have been cancelled.



For some inexplicable reason, despite there being three sections of the ground protected by corrugated iron, we chose to stand on the uncovered terraces behind the goal. It was as if though if we were telling ourselves that to enjoy the full FA cup ambience we had to show how stoical we could be in the face of adversity.






Resplendent Scenes: Basingstoke battling it out with Telford United



On the pitch it seemed to be Basingstoke who were dealing with the conditions better but perhaps that was a biased view. Whatever the case, it was Telford who took the lead with a goal that seemed, through the rain, to be a slightly chaotic deflected free kick. It was certainly no Ronnie Radford v Newcastle, one of the great FA Cup moments.



It was rather apt that on Remembrance weekend that the pitch was now beginning to look like La Somme but I thought that Basingstoke showed great belief in themselves by trying to keep the ball on the ground when going aerial and hoping for the best would have been understandable.



Half-chances came and went but half-time arrived with the Dragons still behind and the conditions worsening by the minute, with pulses of rain cascading down the terraces. After a short debate we decided that we were all now wet enough to prove we were hardy non-leagues types so we walked to the covered terrace behind the opposite goal, leaving one solitary chap stoically eating his sodden chips from the pool of water that had gathered in his polystyrene container.



It was a long walk too, as every step seemed to open up another channel from my jacket to the back of my jeans. By the time I got there I looked like someone who was doing a combined impression of John Wayne after 200 miles on horseback and a two year old desperately trying to walk whilst avoiding the impending misery of nappy rash.



Basingstoke started the half in the ascendency and after a couple of near misses a 50th minute equaliser came, rather ironically, from the head of Flood, who had looked a menace throughout.



It looked like Basingstoke would go on and win from there but Telford showed great tenacity by staying in the game and even dominated for a short period after the goal. It was great credit to them that despite propping up the Conference League, the were prepared to battle when they could have easily caved in.



Despite a late Basingstoke surge, with chances skidding across the goal, it wasn’t to be and both sides settled for a return to Telford in just over a week. We returned to the bar for a couple pints and went off for a curry in a bid to thaw us out.



The so called BIG clubs tend to dismiss the FA Cup these days but you could see sliding about in the quagmire, that for players at this level, the romance of the cup is as strong as it ever was.



The same can be said for the fans who love grass roots football and refuse to get dragged into the media and corporate bandwagon. Coming to BTFC makes you feel that Premier League football is now, in effect, a different sport altogether.



Up the Dragons!

This is what the FA Cup is all about ... a report by dlw10 of the Leeds LUFC Talk but a Worcester City supporter


"Wow! What a weekend eh?

This will go down as one of the best footballing days in my entire life! In a crowd of over 8,000 Worcester had 3,200....although to me it looked more like 4,000. It was just like a typical Leeds away day! Everyone in that 3,200 was singing all through the game.
Right from the start City (that's ours not theirs!) took the game to them and we were far and away the better team. Then their keeper stupidly elbowed and kicked out at Daniel Nti (who, I must confess is the sort of striker to get in your hair a bit!), the keeper was sent off and a pen was given which we scored. That was not long before half time.
Second half started just the same with City (yes, Phil, Blue Dragons is the traditional nickname) on top and looking for all the world like the league side. We scored a lovely goal - a sort of Doukara shot, pin point accurate into the corner. OK, Cov were down to ten, but even so we looked a more skillful side than they did. As you would expect the fitness did catch up with us towards the end and they got a daft goal from a six yard header (just can't escape them obviously!) and for a few minutes we were under the cosh. As time went on though and with Cov pushing forward, City broke through them several times and really ought to have got 3 or 4 more.
At the final whistle there was bedlam - all of the City players and staff ran towards us and we were all going predictably mental - think Bristol Rovers a few years ago for the atmosphere!
I have followed Worcester for more than 50 years - my Dad took me when I was about 6 and then I was a junior season ticket holder for a few years. Once I was allowed to travel to see Leeds on my own I graduated away from the City but in those days I lived in Great Malvern, just 8 miles away.
I have had some fabulous times watching Worcester over the years - I've seen them win the old Southern League, watched them in floodlit games in the FA Trophy with 8,000 fans in their old St George's Lane ground, watched the likes of Ivor Allchurch and Gerry Hitchens play for them and of course the great John Charles play against us many times for our bitter local rivals Hereford United at the end of his career. We've had more than a few FA Cup runs too, although I was too young for the 1959 1 - 0 win against the might of then second division Liverpool. Somehow they got 17,000 into their little ground for that one!
We now play "in exile" at Kidderminster's Aggborough while we try to get enough money together for a new stadium on the outskirts of Worcester. This season we are doing OK and are sat in mid-table in the Conf North. I knew we were capable of giving Coventry a run for their money and once I saw that crowd I just felt it was possible. Their keeper just tipped the odds in our favour. I dream now of an "easy" 2nd round home game and then ....Oh come on, let me dream,......a 3rd round tie against Leeds at Aggborough! Now wouldn't that just be dandy?"

Kray JR wrote:Shocking from a football league side really mate. I went up with the players on the coach and it was called off at 1.30 when we were not far from the ground. One of the players parents stayed up their last night and said it chucked it down all night and the forecast today was pretty much rain all day.  Mansfield tweeted a picture saying the pitch was playable earlier in the day even though you could see a small puddle on the pitch with rain falling heavily. They then tweeted that it was off before they had even contacted our club officials. To be honest they are on a shocking run and probably liked the idea of us having to travel back up for a Tuesday night fixture.

On a side note, we had a walk on the pitch and it looked really weird, it looked gigantic in length but very narrow.

After last seasons sub standard treatment from big time Charlie's Barnet in the 4th qualifying round hopefully the re-arranged game will be third time lucky when It comes to my FA Cup exploits.

I have seen a couple of photos of that pitch , looks like it should have been called off much sooner that it was.

Campo wrote:

Kray JR wrote:Shocking from a football league side really mate. I went up with the players on the coach and it was called off at 1.30 when we were not far from the ground. One of the players parents stayed up their last night and said it chucked it down all night and the forecast today was pretty much rain all day.  Mansfield tweeted a picture saying the pitch was playable earlier in the day even though you could see a small puddle on the pitch with rain falling heavily. They then tweeted that it was off before they had even contacted our club officials. To be honest they are on a shocking run and probably liked the idea of us having to travel back up for a Tuesday night fixture.

On a side note, we had a walk on the pitch and it looked really weird, it looked gigantic in length but very narrow.

After last seasons sub standard treatment from big time Charlie's Barnet in the 4th qualifying round hopefully the re-arranged game will be third time lucky when It comes to my FA Cup exploits.

I have seen a couple of photos of that pitch , looks like it should have been called off much sooner that it was.

Their manager has said that the referee was there from 6 o'clock in the morning checking it every hour !!!!

No consideration taken that we were travelling 167 miles to play the game.

Hopefully all the players can get time off work to play the re-arranged fixture.

Second round draw numbers for tonight

1 - Mansfield Town or Concord Rangers

2 - Colchester

3 - Yeovil

4 - York or AFC Wimbledon

5 - Walsall or Shrewsbury

6 - Notts County or Accrington Stanley

7 - Bradford City

8 - Warrington Town

9 - Eastleigh

10 - Basingstoke or AFC Telford

11 - Dagenham & Redbridge or Southport

12 - Weston-super-Mare or Doncaster

13 - Peterborough

14 - Cheltenham

15 - Dartford

16 - Chesterfield

17 - Wycombe

18 - Bristol City

19 - Portsmouth or Aldershot Town

20 - Gateshead

21 - Crewe or Sheffield United

22 - Oxford United

23 - Tranmere Rovers

24 - Chester

25 - Luton Town

26 - Stevenage or Maidstone Utd

27 - Bury

28 - Cambridge Utd

29 - Northampton or Rochdale

30 - Dover Athletic

31 - MK Dons

32 - Wrexham

33 - Plymouth

34 - Barnsley

35 - Hartlepool

36 - Worcester City

37 - Oldham

38 - Havant & Waterlooville or Preston

39 - Blyth Spartans

40 - Scunthorpe

we will probably end up with Chesterfield again
or away at some northern monkey side

Cambridge Utd V Mansfield Town or Concord Rangers
Bristol city V Basingstoke or AFC Telford

ACCRINGTON STANLEY OR NOTTS COUNTY v YEOVIL TOWN 15:00
ALDERSHOT TOWN OR PORTSMOUTH v NORTHAMPTON TOWN OR ROCHDALE 15:00
BARNSLEY v CHESTER 15:00
BRADFORD CITY v DARTFORD 15:00
BRISTOL CITY v AFC TELFORD UNITED OR BASINGSTOKE TOWN 15:00
BURY v LUTON TOWN 15:00
CAMBRIDGE UNITED v CONCORD RANGERS OR MANSFIELD TOWN 15:00
CHELTENHAM TOWN v DOVER ATHLETIC 15:00
COLCHESTER UNITED v PETERBOROUGH UNITED 15:00
CREWE ALEXANDRA OR SHEFFIELD UNITED v PLYMOUTH ARGYLE 15:00
DAGENHAM & REDBRIDGE OR SOUTHPORT v EASTLEIGH 15:00
GATESHEAD v WARRINGTON TOWN 15:00
HARTLEPOOL UNITED v BLYTH SPARTANS AFC 15:00
HAVANT & WATERLOOVILLE OR PRESTON NORTH END v SHREWSBURY TOWN OR WALSALL 15:00
MILTON KEYNES DONS v CHESTERFIELD 15:00
OLDHAM ATHLETIC v DONCASTER ROVERS OR WESTON SUPER MARE 15:00
OXFORD UNITED v TRANMERE ROVERS 15:00
SCUNTHORPE UNITED v WORCESTER CITY 15:00
WREXHAM v MAIDSTONE UNITED OR STEVENAGE 15:00
WYCOMBE WANDERERS v AFC WIMBLEDON OR YORK CITY 15:00

Reactions to the draw


Warrington boss Shaun Reid, speaking about his side drawing Gateshead for the second round: "Gateshead are doing very well in the Conference. It will be a difficult tie but it's the FA Cup and it's 11 v 11. We won't go there with fear. The FA Cup seems to bring the best out of my players. I've got plenty of people in football who can help us scout - I'll call in a few favours. They'll find it more difficult to find out about us - I change my team a lot." It is not the Gateshead game itself that worries Warrington boss Shaun Reid too much, though: "I'm more worried that Newcastle is a good night out and I know what my lads are like."


Chester goal-scorer Craig Mahon, speaking to BBC Sport about his side's tie at League One Barnsley: "It's going to be a tough match. We've got to have the same attitude as last time. We are a fan-based club - a family club. Everybody knows and looks after each other. It's a pleasure to play for a club like that. We need to make sure we keep the momentum going. I think we can take 2,000 fans - we have fantastic fans who follow us everywhere."


Eastleigh striker James Constable, whose side were drawn away to either Dagenham & Redbridge or Southport: "Not a bad draw, looking forward to the challenge! First we have some big league games, on a good run at the minute, need to continue that!"


Worcester City manager Carl Heeley on their draw away to Scunthorpe: "It's another tough draw for us on the road again. But we're just delighted to be here and give a good account of ourselves. We're in the draw and we've got every chance."


Craig Mahon, who scored two goals as non-league Chester beat Southend United: "It's been an amazing weekend as Friday afternoon my wife gave birth to twin boys. Then Saturday, I scored the winning goal in the FA Cup. I was at the birth on Friday and then off to the game Saturday."


MK Dons boss Karl Robinson, whose side drew Chesterfield in the second-round, speaking about the FA Cup: "What it did to Warrington, I don't see another cup that does that. We should have pride in such a powerful cup. Every time we play against a non-league side, we always put a good team out. It's an important competition. We always want to win. It's a chance for us to go to Anfield or Old Trafford - we're one game away. The FA have been clever with the prize money they've put in. It regenerates football clubs."


Blyth Spartans manager Tom Wade on his side's trip to League Two strugglers Hartlepool: "It's the fifth away game in six in the Cup. It's a good game. I know [manager] Paul Murray and a couple of lads that play for them. They have a young side like us. It's a good tie and local for us. It's going to be a great game. We'll have a lot of supporters there."

Bristol City forum already banging on about who they want in the 3rd round and what sort of record score they are going to get.
Hope we get to play them , but would love for either us or Telford to now turn them over, cockey gits

I read Mansfield fans saying the same about us mate, just hope we can get the job done next week.

Hartlepool v Blyth Spartans, nice local (ish, at least) derby match.

Also it's now on TV (BBC2) on 5th Dec Friday...

Would be nice to make a bit of money through the tv even if it was just a highlights one.

replay tomorrow