After not being able to get to a midweek game it was good to see a number of FA Cup fixtures being played on Friday evening.There were a few to choose from but the opportunity to visit a ground that had been on my list for a few years was too good to miss. So, straight from the office, I did battle with the M25 and the M3 and headed South towards the city of Winchester and the FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round tie between Winchester City and AFC Stoneham.

The Ground
As I said, this ground has been on my list for a little while now. So long, in fact, that I still think of it as the Denplan Stadium whereas it is now The Simplyhealth City Ground. There seems to be ample parking at the ground but I parked on a smallish, free, car park opposite the entrance, thinking it may be easier to make a getaway for the long journey home.
The ground is accessed through a turnstile block that brings you in at the corner of the ground that houses the clubhouse and changing facilities, which are set back a short way from the actual playing area. There is a separate snack hut on the rugby club side of the ground. Adjacent to the snack hut is the main covered seating area and then just a little further along is a small, uncovered seating stand. On the opposite side of the ground, between the dugouts, there is a covered standing area, with another, smaller, covered area at the car park end of the ground behind the goal.
Look out for the impressive variety of club stickers on the cistern in the Gents toilet, including quite a few from German level 4 outfit Alemannia Aachen.

The Background
Winchester City are in their fifth consecutive season of Step 4 football after a period of yo-yoing between the Wessex Premier and the Southern League for just under a decade. Stoneham gained promotion to the Wessex Premier for the first time in their history last season. Promotion, and the title, was clinched following a thoroughly entertaining 3-3 draw at Totton & Eling, a game that I had the privilege to be present at (Grand Finale).
There is no previous FA Cup history between the sides but, as the grounds are only around 12 miles apart, it's safe to assume that there have been meetings in local and county cup competitions over the years.
The Game
The opening encounters of the game gave pointers to the tight game that was to follow. Neither side was able to establish any kind of real dominance. However, it was Stoneham who seemed the more fluid, moving the game much more quickly than Winchester, an observation backed up by frequent shouts from the home bench to make their passing sharper and move the ball around more quickly.
In a game of few clear-cut chances, we were approaching the 15th minute before we saw the first shot on target and it was the away side who managed it, with Laycock forcing Pryce into action for the first time.
Winchester finally got a shot on target after 35 minutes when Danny King forced Fredericks to get down low at his near post. However, The Citizens were clearly missing the presence of top-score Simba Mlambo

HT Winchester City 0 AFC Stoneham 0. A close encounter. AFC Stoneham looked the more dangerous of the sides but Winchester started to look a little more lively towards the end of the half

​Despite home side starting to get a rhythm going at the end of the first-half, Stoneham still looked the most likely to break the deadlock. With that said, they were not giving Pryce too much to think about in a game of very little goalmouth incident.
On 65 minutes City's Olly Balmer got free and cracked an effort against Fredericks' left-hand post, reminding the away side that possession doesn't win games. They've not been threatened too much all game but could easily have found themselves a goal down.

After a little lull in the game, Stoneham seemed to be upping the pace again before, as often happens, getting caught out at the back by a rare Winchester foray on 79 minutes. 
A defensive mistake or maybe just a slip - hard to see from where I was - gave Citizens captain Jamie Barron a sight of goal from inside the box. He made no mistake, threading the ball past Fredericks to make it 1-0. Somewhat harsh on Stoneham who, despite playing in a division below their hosts, have looked the better side for large parts of the game.

Winchester almost immediately started finding more space on the pitch as Stoneham pressed forward searching for an equaliser. The last 10 minutes promised to be the most action-packed part of a game that, to be honest, has failed to spark.
Sure enough, in the tradition of last-gasp cup drama, Stoneham grabbed an equaliser in the 91st minute, when Matt Palmer popped up in the box to guide the ball past Pryce. 1-1 and a deserved leveller for Stoneham, and what sounded like a sizeable away following.

FT Winchester City 1 AFC Stoneham 1. I'm sure neither side particularly relishes a=having to wedge another fixture in but they will have to go again in midweek.

Winchester City: Pryce, Williamson, King, Emmerson, Douglas, Flooks, Griggs, Barron(c), Bailey, Hill, Balmer. Subs: Hayward, Birchnall, Smith, Gilbert, Nurse, Davis, Haylor

AFC Stoneham: Fredericks, Stupple, Dunne, J.Parker-Trott, Palmer, Clarke, Clark, Welch(c), Laycock, Bainbridge, Hills. Subs: Jiminez, T.Parker-Trott, Kerton, Galloway, Laptas, Snelling, Hogan

Att: 259
Ground Number: 206
Entrance: £ 10.00
Programme: Included

The First Qualifying Round of the FA Vase is rapidly approaching. So, following on from the recent interview with Pinxton FC boss Kenny Shinfield (In The Ken), the second in the series of build-up articles looks at eight ties featuring previous winners of the competition. The sides concerned are Whitley Bay (4 times winners), North Shields, St Helens Town, Brigg Town (2 wins), Diss Town, Hoddesdon Town, Arlesey Town and Whickham

Whitley Bay v Barnoldswick Town
Northern League Division One v North West Counties Premier
Whitley Bay have won the competition more than any other team but that doesn't stop them having to qualify. With 5 games gone in the current season, The Seahorses sit smack bang in the middle of the Northern League Division 1 table, having won 2, lost 2 and drawn 1. They'll be hoping for a better return in the Vase than they got in the FA Cup where they went down 7-1 at home to Hebburn Town. Balrlick have started quite well in the North West Counties Premier campaign with just one defeat in four, winning their last two outings. However, they too suffered a big FA Cup defeat, going out 6-1 to Longridge Town. The two actually met in last season FA Cup, at the Preliminary Round stage, with Whitley Bay running out 6-1 winners at Hillheads.
Hillheads Park, NE25 8HR. https://whitleybayfc.com/information/club-info-2/

Sunderland Ryhope CW v North Shields
Northern League Division One v Northern League Division One
At the time of writing these two are level on points in the Northern League Division One table, although one-time FA Vase winners Shields are two places higher on the back of their superior goal difference. In the FA Cup they also suffered similar fates after both initially drawing. The Robins went out 1-0 in their replay at Guisborough whilst Ryhope lost 2-1 at home to local rivals Sunderland RCA in their return match-up. They have met in the FA Vase as recently as the 2014-15 season, the year that North Shields went on to win the competition, with The Robins cruising to a 3-0 victory. North Shields are the first of only two previous winners to be drawn away from home in the 1st Qualifying Round.
Ryhope Recreation Ground, SR2 0AB. http://www.northernfootballleague.org/team/ryhope-cw/

St Helens Town v Rossington Main
North West Counties Division One North v Northern Counties East Division One
One time winners St Helens Town have not started their North West Counties Division One season as well as they would have hoped. Just one win and three defeats from their first four games has left them in 18th place, one place worse off than they finished last season. The plus point, so far. is that their only win was a resounding one, 6-0 over Cleator Moor Celtic. They take on a Rossington side who have also only won one league same far this season.This will be the first meeting of the teams.
Ruskin Drive, WA10 6RP. http://www.sthelenstownafc.com/

As always, many thanks to the utterly brilliant Football Club History Database for being such a great point of reference for research.

After a well needed break in the South of France, it was time to get back to some Tuesday night football and what better way to resume the season than an FA Cup match under lights?
​
The Ground​
After leaving the Badshot Recreation Ground in 2007, The Baggies have had a nomadic existence. Groundshares with Farnborough, Godalming Town, Ash United and, most recently, Camberley Town have finally been replaced with a ground of their own. Westfield Lane was officially opened in July of this year when a crowd of 660 saw local rivals Aldershot Town run out 3-0 winners.

The new ground is situated in the village of Wrecclesham, just to the South-West of Farnham town centre. There is a reasonably sized car park adjacent to the ground. However, this was completely full for this game and there is not really much extra parking nearby (my only gripe about the ground). Access to the ground is through a new turnstile and to the rear of one of the goals.

​Also at this end of the ground are all of the facilities, the standard clubhouse, snack bar and players & officials area.  There are two stands, one adjacent to the clubhouse looking directly down the touchline and the other, a seating area, to the left of the pitch as you look from the clubhouse end. As you would expect with a new ground, it is very neat and tidy with lots of gleaming white fencing around the pitch. A very nice place to play and watch football.
​
One thing that I could never get used to, however many times I visited this ground, is the Welcome to the home of The Baggies sign. As a former West Bromwich Albion season ticket holder, there is something not right about this sign being written in claret & blue.

​The Background
The cup draw had thrown together the current two top teams in the Combined Counties Premier League both Badshot Lea and their opponents Ascot United went into Saturday's cup tie having played two and won two in the league. Badshot Lea opened with a 4-1 win at Sutton Common Rovers and followed that with a 5-0 thrashing of newly promoted local rivals Frimley Green.
Ascot, who due to ground resurfacing were forced into playing away from the Racecourse Ground at the opening of the season, had started with a 2-0 win at Cobham and a 3-0 win at Egham Town.
The meeting between the sides on Saturday (also played at Westfield Lane because of Ascot's ground refurbishment) had, by all accounts, been a very good game. The Yellamen raced into a 2-0 lead before The Baggies came back at them, equalising with practically the last kick of the game to force the replay.

Neither side has ever managed to make it out of the Qualifying Rounds of the FA Cup. Badshot Lea's best effort came in the 2012-13 season when they got to the 3rd Qualifying Round before going down 3-1 at Step 3 outfit Chippenham Town. Ascot's First Qualifying Round replay defeat to Tonbridge Angels signifies their best run but after a 2-2 draw at home the Yellamen were defeated 7-0 in Kent.

​The Game
The Baggies clearly had learned a lesson from going two goals down on Saturday. They started the game with a much higher tempo and verve than their opponents, pressing Ascot back almost from the kick-off. The pace and trickery of Danilo Cadete on the right-wing was obviously an area that they had targeted as a means to get in behind the defence. With former Farnham Town winger Nick Medcraft on the opposite flank and the very lively Meshach Williams through the middle, they were giving Louis Brouwers and his Yellamen defence plenty to think about. 

The home side came close to taking the lead on a number of occasions in the first 25 minutes, with both Williams and Hutchings missing reasonably good chances. Ascot spent a lot of this time in their own half, but did look a threat when they managed to break, James Richardson causing some concern with his runs.
Then, on 27 minutes, Ascot forced a corner with some very neat inter-passing play. The ball was sent over from the right and met with a powerful header from captain Brouwer. The effort was blocked on the line but fell invitingly for Harry Laflin to make no mistake from close range. 0-1. Against the run of play, but the Yellamen were not going to be concerned about that.
​
The goal had the dual effect of boosting Ascot and deflating Badhsot Lea. For the remainder of the half the side looked very much evenly matched, Cadete's runs down the right were curtailed and the Ascot defence didn't look under as much pressure as it had done earlier on. It was, in fact, Kallum Lunn  in the Badshot Lea goal who was probably the busier towards the end of the half making a great save from a Lalustani effort to keep his team in the game.

HT Badshot Lea 1 Ascot United 0. After a fairly one-sided opening 25 minutes, Ascot snatched a goal from nowhere and the game evened up. The Baggies will wonder how they managed to go into the break a goal down.

​Badshot Lea looked fired up for the second half but, to their credit, Ascot looked well drilled and withstood everything that was thrown at them, whilst still looking fairly dangerous themselves.
That was until the 67th minute when a period of two minutes completely changed the game.
First of all, a break down the left from The Baggies resulted in a superb cross being played into the gap between the last defender and the goalkeeper. Meshach Williams forced himself in front of his marked and was able to fire the ball into the roof of the net to make it 1-1.
Before the Yellamen could even draw breath, Badshot Lea were at them again, winning a corner on the right. The delivery caused some chaos in the Ascot defence, the ball falling to substitute Nic Ciardini, who lashed it past Gray to make it 2-1.
In the blink of an eye, just like a Basil Brush punchline, "Boom, Boom!" Badshot Lea had gone from a goal down to taking the lead.

Ascot were reeling but soon picked themselves up and tried valiantly to get themselves back into the game. This led to a breathless last 5 minutes where the away side completely laid siege to the Baggies goal. They had one cleared off the line, one saved and also hit the post, but it just wasn't to be for them. The home side were hanging on a bit at the end but, overall, just about deserved to win the game.

FT Badshot Lea 2 Ascot United 1. The Baggies will now face Wessex Premier side Christchurch in the next round.

Badshot Lea: Lunn, Blake, Roberts(c), B.Hutchings, Flanaghan, Lloyd, Cadete, Matthews, Williams, Hawker, Medcraft. Subs: S.Hutchings, Thrupp, Carter, Ford, Ciardini, Smith
Ascot United: Gray, Burdon, Haworth, Carey, Bouwers(c), Ellis, Merrick, Denton, Lalustani, Laflin, Richardson,. Suns: Lock, Taylor, Carlisle, Hodges, Wensley, Bennett, Davies

Att: 123
Ground Number: 205
Entrance: £7.00 
Programme: £2.00

The First Qualifying Round of the FA Vase takes place at the end of August. It's an opportunity for those clubs lower down the pyramid to have a cup run, possibly make a few extra pounds and even secure a giant-killing. Plenty of Step 7 sides, especially those with promotion in mind, will relish the chance to pitch their wits against a team in a higher league. With that in mind, BotP managed to get the views of Step 7 Pinxton FC's manager Kenny Shinfield ahead of his club's tie with Step 6 Birstall United.

Pinxton FC, based in the village of Pinxton just off the M1 J28, play their football in the Central Midlands South. They are consistently - barring a blip 3 seasons ago - placed well above halfway in the league. They finished third last season and are once again tipped to be one of the contenders this term. As far as the FA Vase is concerned their best effort was reaching the Third Round in 2015-16, before going down 4-3 at home to Nuneaton Griff. The game was attended by The Wycombe Wanderer (@RussWWFC) . You can read his account here. 

Much as I  feel that the FA Vase is a wonderful competition, we were very interested to get the low-down on what it meant to a club such as Pinxton. Would it be seen as a necessary distraction or is the competition embraced by clubs further down the pyramid? I posed the question to Kenny. His reply, "The FA Vase means everything to a small club like Pinxton. This is the non-league FA Cup. We always like an away trip were we can share the bus with fans and family." In one answer epitomising everything that is good about this competition and non-league football at this level. It's not about personal gain. It's not even about personal or, for that matter, team glory. It's about fans, family and the community.

However, the FA Vase has limited prize money despite it being increased in recent years. The early rounds are very closely regionalised, which keeps travel costs down to a minimum and can create some interesting local derbies. I asked Kenny if there came a point, maybe if the team progresses to a less regionlised round, where the competition became an nonviable prospect for smaller clubs but he was having none of that, stating that every game for Pinxton was special.

So, how far could Pinxton realistically hope to progress this year? I loved the response to this question - "A decent return for a club like Pinxton would be 3 or 4 wins, but you never know and we will give every game our best".
That's the joy of the FA Vase, especially at this stage. The Step 7 sides, and even the majority of Step 6 sides, know that they should only, at the very best, expect to progress to the Second or Third Round. However, there is always that hope that this season they will be the 'minnow' who surprises everyone and keeps a run going to who knows what stage.

Having said Pinxton would give every game their best shot, I was reminded that they finished third in the league last season, an improvement of one place on the previous season. So, would, the focus be on promotion this season? Would progress in the Vase be seen as hindrance to this goal and, consequently, would Kenny consider saving players for league games rather than risk injury in a Vase match and reducing their chances of going up? 

No such thing in mind from the boss though. "Promotion is our main aim, we have been up there for too many seasons to mention, but we will always play our strongest team in the Vase." 

Pinxton's Welfare Ground stadium meets Step 6 requirements, so there would be no problem with them taking a place at that level should they attain promotion.

I was also interested in Kenny's personal thoughts about the FA Vase, especially around the prize money and how far he had managed to progress in the competition as a player. The answer to the latter being not far enough. Pinxton, who Kenny also played for for most of his career, did not enter the Vase until he was already in his 30s. As a result, a 2nd Round appearance was his best return. Maybe he can go further as a manager? 
As for the prize money, Kenny's take on this was - "The money is great, we are playing for nothing week in week out so every little helps for us"

The Vase has provided some lasting memories for Kenny. For instance, in Pinxton's first FA Vase adventure in 2010-11, when a last minute free-kick from Kieron Debrower secured a 2-1 win over Bottesford Town. The following season a depleted Pinxton side travelled down to Nottingham to play Dunkirk. With just 12 players in the squad and two 16 year-olds in the side they made the trip back up the M1 with an unexpected but thoroughly deserved 4-1 victory under their belts.

As the draw for the Second Qualifying Round has already been made, I asked Kenny about the possibility of facing his former club, Heanor Town, in the next round. In true managerial style, the answer was that all thoughts would be on Birstall first but, with Heanor being just a few miles away, the prospect of a local derby would make it a special match with plenty of local interest.

Pinxton v Birstall United - Saturday August 31st (3pm KO) at The Welfare Ground, Pinxton, NG16 6LG. 

​

​A sporting event at 7pm on a Friday evening in July. Not just any Friday evening. The Friday after what has been the hottest week on record for many places across the UK and Europe. Making the long, arduous journey North-East from a starting point near Slough to my destination just to the North of Stamford, Lincolnshire. Cricket you may think? No. Bowls perhaps? No. The reason for my 3 hour journey was, in fact, the first league game of the 2019-20 football season. Yep, football in July and I'm not talking qualifying rounds of the one of the European Greed Leagues. I'm talking proper football. Having said that, with one of the teams being called Peterborough Polonia, an outsider could well have been forgiven for thinking it was a Europa League tie.
What I was really here for was Stamford Lions v Peterborough Polonia, the opening game of the Peterborough and District Premier League season and the first game on the United Counties League & Peterborough District Football Groundhop 2019. 

​The Ground
Lions play their games at the Borderville Sports Centre on the Northern reaches of Stamford. The pitch is directly behind Stamford AFC's Vic Couzens Stadium which, it has to be said, looked in perfect condition for the start of their season in a couple of weeks time.
Lion's ground doesn't have the stands and plush dugouts that The Daniels can offer. However, they do have grass banks behind both goals which make for great viewing spots, adding a great grassroots feel to the place. They also have a couple of gazebos set up for dugouts. I've never seen this before but I think it could catch on at this level. There are constantly reports of vandalism to small grounds and the dugouts quite often bear the brunt. With a gazebo, you can just take it down and lock it away after the game. Great idea.

​The Background
Last season saw Lions finish in a creditable fourth spot. Polonia, in their first season of Premier League football, were stranded at the foot of the table. The sides met three times in total, twice in the league with Stamford winning 6-0 at home and 2-1 away. In the Peterborough Senior Cup meeting, also played at Polonia's Candy Street home, Stamford again came out on top, this time by 5-0.

Looking at the player lists from last season's meetings compared with the team sheet from today, it was clear that Polonia had made some major squad changes over the short break since the season ended and, if I'm not mistaken, have had something of a Lithuanian take over (at least based on the squad list). Of course, the North-Eastern corner of Poland shares a border with Lithuania and, in days gone by, that border has been somewhat fluid I believe. My father-in-law was born in that part of Poland, which is why the possible connection piqued my interest. I'd love to know more about the history of the team and the possible Lithuanian connection. Maybe I'll have to take in a home game at some point?

The Match
Thankfully for the players, the stifling heat of the previous few days had dropped a little by the time we got to kick-off. It was Lions, kicking up the slight incline, who started he stronger giving Kavaliauskas, resplendent in what looked like a Dutch national shirt, plenty to think about in the Polonia goal.
Several efforts had fizzed either at the Polonia keeper or narrowly wide of his goal before, on 19 minutes Stamford broke the deadlock.
Some superb work from Showler on the right flank, twisting his defender inside out before sliding the ball into the path of Duffy-Weekes for the simplest of tap-ins. 1-0.
That should have been the signal for the floodgates to open but Stamford just couldn't turn their dominance into any more goals.
Credit to Polonia. They were being pinned back for the majority of the game but never resorted to just hammering the ball downfield. At every opportunity they tried to get the ball down and play out from the back. You had to admire the way they stuck to their principles of play.

HT Stamford Lions 1 Peterborough Polonia 0. Lions have had the share that their name indicates. However, they've not made the most of their dominance in terms of goals and, at 1-0, Polonia are still in this game even though they have rarely threatened their opponents goal.

The second half started with a brief resurgence from Polonia, who probably spent more time in the Stamford half in the first ten minutes of the second-half than they had in the entire first-half. However, the game soon settled back into the pattern of the first 45 minutes, with Stamford well on top but constantly failing to take advantage due to either a sloppy final ball or good defending from Polonia.
As we approached the hour mark, Stamford had a couple of gilt-edged opportunities that went begging and you started to wonder if they woudl live to regret their profligacy. Sure enough, as if on cue, a rare Polonia raid led to the away side being awarded a penalty after Pentney fouled Puzara. Lukas Bielskis calmly sent Swales the wrong way and it was suddenly 1-1.

The goal gave Polonia belief and for a few minutes after the equaliser it looked as if they might go on to snatch an unlikely there points. However, Stamford regained their composure and started to press for a winner. Their cause was helped on 85 minutes when Vladicka was sent off for a second yellow card offence. However, Lions could not take advantage of the extra man and Polonia saw out the final few minutes to take a share of the spoils.

FT Stamford Lions 1 Peterborough Polonia 1. The away side would, undoubtedly, be the happier. Stamford should really have seen this game off in the first half alone. Still, it's goals that count and they just couldn't add to their tally.
It was great to be back out watching competitive football. Thanks to Stamford Lions for being great hosts - good burgers and decent tea. Good luck to both sides for the rest of the season. Let's hope that the crowds continue to flock to the rest of the ground hop (see below for a list of games). 

Stamford Lions: Swales, Pentney, Aust, Kelly, Gove, Walton, Dunn, Speck, Edwards (c), Duffy-Weekes, Showler. Subs: Ball, Searson, Hunnings, Collins, Hedley
Peterborough Polonia: Kavaliauskas, Macianskis (c), Pratasas, Venckaitis, Krasuckis, Bielskis, Buzas, Zickevicius, Vladicka, Puzara, Aurikas. Subs: Kolojauskas, Zaburas, Akopian, Stalioraitis, Buivydas

Att: 204
Ground Number: 203
Entrance: £5.00 
Programme: £1.00

​Fifty years ago, in a field in New York State, a load of like-minded people got together to celebrate 3 days of peace and music. On July 20th, 2019, a load of like-minded people got together on four football pitches in Berkshire to celebrate their love of football. Now I'm not saying that the Caversham Cup was a big as Woodstock but, believe me, it was certainly an event that has made a mark on the world of grassroots football (and the weather was better).

The Caversham Cup was the idea of Caversham United, The Billy Goats, a Sunday league team from just outside Reading in Berkshire. Over the past year Caversham have gone from almost folding to promotion from Division 4 to Division 2, a cup semi-final appearance  and, through their social media presence, over 4000 Twitter followers including the likes of Bayer Leverkusen and AS Roma. They have also struck up a deal with the rather brilliant footballkitbox.com (more about them shortly), designing a fantastic new kit (a signed replica of which I am proud to say I have in my possession).
Add to that an alliance with men's charity Balls To Cancer, the main beneficiary of the Caversham Cup idea, and you can see that it has been a busy but fantastically successful year for the club.

Arriving at Burghfield Community Sports Association site I was initially met by a group of Triumph Motorcycle Club enthusiasts who pointed me in the direction of the football tournament - after trying to persuade me to shell out £4 to join their gathering. Having declined their kind offer I ventured across the car park and towards the distant sound of football being played. The first sight I was met with was a ambulance leaving the ground. Not the sort of thing you want to see. It transpired that the Hashtag United goalkeeper had suffered a fractured Tibia. Wishing you speedy recovery @HashtagJacko.

The first person I met was Paul Behan owner of footballkitbox.com who, on spotting my Base of the Pyramid t-shirt, introduced himself. 
Paul had come over from Galway, where his company is based, to support the Caversham Cup. Paul Gutteridge, Caversham United's Chairman, player, tournament organiser and the brains behind their social media campaign, then came over to give me my signed Caversham United shirt. The kit was designed in conjunction with footballkitbox - who are also the Caversham shirt sponsors - following an online shirt design competition.It's a great example of the kind of bespoke shirts that footballkitbox can provide for teams.  The company's mantra is every team should take to the pitch looking and feeling good. Well worth a look in my opinion. Click on this hyperlink for more details.


On the pitches sixteen teams, from far and wide, were taking part. The tournament format was a group stage followed by two separate knockout phases, the top two in each group going into the Quarter-Finals of the main trophy, the Caversham Cup. The remainder would fall into the Quarter-Final draw for the Goat Milk Cup, ensuring that all teams retained an interest in the day for as long as possible.

Group A - Caversham United (Reading), Harchester Hawks (Reading), Hashtag United (Tilbury), Britannia FC (Telford)
Group B - Calcot FC (Reading), Iver Heath (Iver), White Horse (Sittingbourne), Park Rangers (Telford)
Group C - Hurst Reserves (Hurst), Loxwood Park Rangers (Reading), El Valiente (East London), Rectory Rovers (Southend)
Group D - Watlington Town Reserves (Watlington), Reading United (Reading), Bilbrook Juniors Spartans (Wolverhampton), Stacey Bushes (Milton Keynes)

​After a number of hours of entertaining football, played in very dry and sunny conditions despite the weather forecast of thunderstorms, it all boiled down to two Finals. Hashtag United defeating Park Rangers to win the Caversham Cup and hosts Caversham United beating Rectory Rovers to lift the inaugural Goat Milk Cup.

Judging by the comments on Twitter during and after the tournament the day was a massive success with many teams hinting at wanting another crack at the winning it next year. Personally, I hope that it does become a fixture in the footballing calendar. It must have been hard work for the organisers, especially Paul who I know put in a lot of hours. The day seemed to run very smoothly but I can imagine there was still quite a lot going on behind the scenes. I also know that there was a late withdrawal from one of the original teams with a replacement hastily organised, a referee pulled out, and Caversham's captain Sadiq Aneal picked up a nasty injury in a friendly the week before the tournament. He still managed to make an appearance in his wheelchair.

It's not possible to do justice to the Caversham Cup in a short blog post. I suggest checking out the @CavershamUnited Twitter feed or searching #CavershamCup to see the pictures and comments from the day. One thing is for certain. If there is to be a Caversham Cup repeat next year I plan to be there form the opening whistle until the final trophy is lifted. It's too good to miss a minute.

Att: 
Ground Number: 202
Entrance: £0.00 
Programme: £2.00

​A late season opportunity to keep the live football action going before the Summer. Not only that but this wa to be my 200th different stadium visited to watch non-league football. I'm not sure how I feel about this landmark figure being reached at the home of a professional club, although it looks unlikely to be the home of Coventry City next season. In fact, at the time of writing, the entire future of The Sky Blues seems to be in doubt. A sorry state of affairs

The Background
I didn't really know a lot about the Coventry Telegraph Cup before this evening but was very pleased to find a nice piece on the history of the competiton in the match day programme. The first Coventry Challenge Cup Final was won by Leamington Town in 1893. Both of the sides in this evening's final, current holders Coventry Copsewood and Triumph Athletic, have won the cup twice under their current guises. However, once again thanks to the match day programme, it appears that Copsewood can claim 8 trophies over the years, under various names, whilst Triumph can lay claim to nine cup wins again under different names.
In this season's competition both sides began with a bye in the First Round. Coventry Copsewood then travelled to Stratford in Round Two, coming back with a resounding 5-1 victory. Triump took on another Coventry side, Alvis, beating them 1-0 at home. In Round Three Coventry Copsewood were at home to Chelmsley Town, beating them 2-1 whislt Triumph gave Whitnash a 5-1 lesson in Leamington.
In the Semi-Finals Coventry Copsewood went through with a 3-0 scoreline against Christ The King. Triumph were up against, somewhat confusingly, Copsewood (Coventry) a fellow Coventry Alliance League side. After a 1-1 draw Athletic progressed to the final with a 5-4 penalty shoot-out victory.

​The Ground
Entrance to the West Stand at the Ricoh Stadium is certainly one of the more unusual approaches to a ground. Entering the main entrance to the complex from the car park, you find yourself in an atrium not dissimilar to a US style office block. A hotel and casino are off to the right hand side but, on this evening, an attendant pointed the football crowd off to the left where a table was set up to take the entrance fee and sell the programmes. From there, you walked through a door into the concessions area behind the west Stand.

The Game
The game kicked off in old-fashioned football style with both sides getting in some crunching 'let them know you're here' tackles, much to the satisfaction of the assembled crowd in the West Stand of the Ricoh.
Triumph, defying the fact that they play their league games at a step lower than their opponents, made the brighter start of the two sides, certainly for the opening two or three minutes. Having said that, they were almost caught out after 5 minutes when Copsewood's lively striker, Daniel Kavanagh shot wide. The effort seemed to wake Copsewood up and they began to get a foothold on the game. Indeed, after 8 minutes, they were awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box which produced an effort no too far off target.

The pace of Kavanagh and the quick feet and trickery of Jak Redhead were causing a few problems for the Triumph defence but, on the other hand, Athletic also looked like they could pose plenty of problems at the the other end, especially with the long throw-ins from Kyle Walker, who seemed to be able to reach the penalty are from pretty much anywhere inside the Copsewood half.
Just over halfway through the first-half Copsewood were awarded another free-kick on the edge of the box. The attempt at goal was absolutely hammered and would have given the keeper no chance if it had been a foot or so lower.

Then, as the half was drawing to a close the breakthrough finally came, not for Copsewood as the balance of play would have suggested, but for Triumph. Luke Comasky chased a ball into the Copsewood penalty area and was brought down by keeper Dale O'Donnell. Nick Walker stepped up and calmly stroked home the spot-kick to give Athletic the lead. 0-1.
The response from Copsewood was almost immediate. They surged forward with some urgency, creating some havoc in the Triumph penalty area. Kavanagh was first to react to a loose ball, turning it into the net only to see the assistant's flag up for offside after the referee had already blown for the goal. Some consultation followed before the referee took the assistant's advice and cancelled out the goal. I have to say that from my position, which wasn't quite in line but wasn't too far off, Kavanagh looked to be easily onside and it looked to be a very harsh decision on Copsewood.

HT Coventry Copsewood 0 Triumph Athletic 1. A great start from Triumph countered well by Copsewood who then had the better of the half. However, Triumph took their chance and lead slightly against the run of play.

​If Kavanagh was disappointed that his name wasn't on the score sheet after the disallowed effort, he certainly didn't show it and just a few minutes into the second half it was the same player who burst through, latching onto a ball over the top of the Triumph defence before finishing powerfully past the keeper. 1-1.
Just past the hour mark Copsewood were awarded another free-kick also just outside the penalty but this time a few yards right of centre. Captain Daniel Fraser stood over it before curling in a beautiful effort which went in off the far post giving Bryce no chance whatsoever. 2-1

Triumph didn't let their heads drop after going behind but Copsewood were looking a lot more composed now. They were the current cup holders and they were clearly not going to let the trophy go easily.
With there minutes left on the clock and with Triumph pushing people forward in search of an equaliser, Kavanagh was again able to use his pace to get in behind the defence. Once again his finish was clinical, making it 3-1 and seemingly sealing the victory.
Again, great credit to Athletic though, they dusted themselves down and even with just a few minutes to go did not throw in the towel. On the 90 minute mark they got some rewards for their persistence when Owen Wassall was sent through by a delightful, clipped ball. He, in turn, applied a deft finish to make it 3-2.

As it turned out, there was not enough time for Triumph to get back on level terms despite pushing almost everyone up front for a frantic minute or so.

FT Coventry Copsewood 3 Triumph Athletic 2. Athletic played their part in an entertainign Cup Final but on the balance of the entire game Copsewood gained a thoroughly deserved victory and retained the Challenge Cup.


Coventry Copsewood: O'Donnell, Bartram, Fraser(c), Fesel, Rooney, Stringer, Dodds, Welland, Piper, Kavanagh, Redhead. Subs: Whitelaw, Rawlings, Brandish, Davies, Osborne
Triumph Athletic: Bryce, T.Atkins, Suddick, K.Walker, R.Atkins(c), Chamberlain, N.Walker, Normoyle, Comasky, Freeman, Cooper. Subs: Wassall, Barlow, Irwin, Budd, Fletcher
Att:
Ground Number: 200
Entrance: £5.00
Programme: £1.00

As I was already in the Midlands on Tuesday, it seemed like a reasonable idea to head over to Walsall in the evening to take in the final of the Les James Challenge Cup, being played at Walsall's Banks's Stadium.

The Background
A little pre-match research showed that, of the two sides, it was Knowle who had the greater pedigree in the competition, although it had been a while since they manged to take the trophy home. In the 1996-97 season they had won the cup 5-4 on penalties after drawing 3-3 with Kings Heath. Borough, although not yet victors, had made the final just two season's previously, going down 2-1 to Paget Rangers.
 
Progress in this season's competition (thanks to the very informative match-day programme for making this research very easy) looked like this:

Knowle - FC Shush (h) 3-3 (5-4 pens), GNP SPorts (a) 3-3 (P), Birmingham Tigers (h) 3-0, Enville Athletic (a) 1-0
Borough - Feckenham (h) 5-1, Bolmere Sports & Social (h) 1-0, Continental Star (a) 1-0, Inkberrow (h) 4-0

League-wise neither side has set the world alight this season. Knowle finished in 8th spot with 42 points. Borough four places and ten points lower. The two league meetings had both ended in home wins, Redditch winning 2-1 and Knowle 3-0, giving no real indication of the possible outcome on a neutral ground. Interestingly, both sides had played Coventry Alvis in their final league outings and both had lost. Knowle went down 2-1 whilst Borough had been beaten 6-1 on their own patch. 

​The Game
It was Redditch, playing in their change kit of all blue, who made the better start of the two sides with Jak Albutt immediately making a real nuisance of himself with his bustling, battling style. However, they failed to make the most of their good start, allowing Knowle to gradually work their way back into the game.

​Then, as so often happens when a side has been on the back foot for a while, Knowle suddenly looked the more dangerous, forcing a corner on their right after 24 minutes. The ball was delivered into a dangerous area  where it was met by a Knowle head. Only a slight deflection prevented a goal, the ball clipping the top of the bar and going for another corner. Borough, however, did not learn their lesson and, when this corner was delivered deeper, towards the back post, it was met by the head of Louis Bridges, who powered the ball back across the keeper and into the far corner. 1-0.

​Redditch, after looking the better side for the opening 15 minutes, found themselves behind and wobbling a little. Five minutes after going a goal behind, they really should have conceded again. A move down the Knowle left flank led to a cross finding their number 8, unmarked in the box but he couldn't get his header on target when he maybe should have scored. A let off for Borough, and one that they capitalised on after 35 minutes when they were awarded a penalty. Billy Garvey stepped up and calmly slotted home the spot-kick. 1-1
The boot was now firmly back on the other foot with Redditch winning the ball back almost immediately from the restart, raiding down their left flank. The cross was delivered over to the back post and was then hooked back into the mix where Khurum Iqbal was on hand to steer the ball low past Johnson's despairing dive to make it 1-2. A great turnaround from the Robins.

HT Knowle 1 Redditch Borough 2. Redditch deserve their lead and have been the better side despite conceding the first goal.

​It's hard to know what to write about the second-half. Knowle came out with a steely determination to get themselves back on level terms and, to their credit, the majority of the half was played in the Borough half of the pitch. However, Redditch defended resolutely whilst still looking quite dangerous on the break. Knowle, despite all of their efforts, just could not find a way through the Borough back-line and Redditch were able to see out the half, including 7 minutes of stoppage time, to take the trophy for the first time.




​FT Knowle 1 Redditch Borough 2. Great spirit from Redditch to fight back from a goal down but Knowle showed equal spirit in their second half performance. It was hard to separate them sides overall and a shame that there had to be a loser.

Knowle (from): Bridges, Cullen, Davis, Else, Ingram, Payne, Powell, Ruck, Seeley, Weeks, Johnson. Subs: Ajayi, Brooks, Healey, Fox, Oakley
Redditch Borough: Gandy, Turner, Bruce, Iqbal, Hatfield (c), Denham, Westwood, Hall, Albutt, Garvey, Wilkinson. Subs: Bennett, Birch, Sargent, Davies, Ruppenthal, Smith

Att: 203
Ground Number: 199
Entrance: £5.00
Programme: £1.00

​The Ground
Purton play home games at The Redhouse Club perched on a hill to the South East of Purton village itself. The ground is part of a community sports complex that hosts bowls and tennis as well as football. The pitch sits below the level of the main facilities building and is accessed by the players via a small set of stairs which lead down next to the dugouts. There are no stands around the pitch but the elevated view from the level above the playing area is pretty good. Apart from a public toilet, there didn't appear to be any other facilities for spectators, which was a shame because I was looking forward to a cup of tea. Nevertheless. with the view looking out towards Cricklade and beyond, its a pleasant enough location to watch a game and, luckily, the torrential rain I had driven through on the way to the ground held off for the duration. The pitch, although pretty flat, looked like it could have done with a trim before the game.

The Background
The game had no real significance in terms of league positions for either club. Kintbury had already secured second place quite a few games previously. Purton, who were themselves on a good run of form, were secure in fifth and, although they could draw level with Melksham Town Reserves with a win, would need an enormous scoreline to overhaul them on goal difference.
There was, however, pride to play for. Back in November Kintbury had inflicted a 5-1 defeat on Purton in the reverse fixture with goals from Shaun Thorp (2), George Smith, Harry Way, and Fabio Pinto. A solitary William Backhouse goal being the response from Purton, who also had Callum Hall sent off for two yellow card ofences.

​The Game
Having seen Kintbury play Wroughton only two days previously I could tell, even without team sheets, that this was a much changed Rangers line-up. Presumably, Purton had also noticed this and, as a consequence, went for it straight from the kick-off.
Within three minutes of the start, Purton took the lead. A swift break down the right was followed by a low cross which evaded all of the Kintbury defenders. Purton's George Drewitt had time to control the ball and pick his spot beating captain for the night Kyle Clough to make it 1-0.
Only three more minutes passed before the home side doubled their advantage. The entire Kintbury backline stopped, looking for an offside flag that never came. Daren Regis was left to waltz past the stranded Clough and roll the ball into an open net for 2-0.
Purton were now running riot. The Kintbury coaching team had already made some formation changes in an attempt to stem the red flow but their side looked disjointed with no real shape to them. With 20 minutes on the clock, Nathan Marland was set free down the exposed Kintbury right-flank before driving into the box and beating Clough with a low drive. 3-0
Whether, at this point, Purton took their foot off the gas a bit or, more likely, Kintbury's changed line-up finally started to gel a little, the initial rush of goals dried up. Kintbury's front two chased and harried whenever they could but were effectively feeding off scraps as the home side continued to control the game even if they didn't manage to add to their tally for the remainder of the half.

HT Purton 3 Kintbury Rangers 0. Rangers requiring something of a Champions League style comeback to get anything out of this game. Purton, to be fair, looked a good side and even though this was a final, dead rubber league game, were treating it like any other match.

​There was a renewed vigour about Rangers early in the second half. Clearly, they were missing a number of regular first-teamers but the side they had put out looked determined to save themselves from taking a complete hammering.
Ten minutes into the second period they had a real opportunity to get back into the game but Charlie Alsop put the chance over the Purton bar. However, just before the hour mark, Rangers did manage to get on the scoresheet, George Smith beating the offside trap before rounding the keeper and sliding the ball home. 3-1. Could this be the start of another comeback?
Purton clearly wanted to kill off any hopes that Rangers may have been harbouring and immediately set about getting the three-goal lead back. Twice in quick succession, they tested Clough with the Rangers stopper producing vital saves on both occasions. Then it was back down the other end where a Rangers effort from just outside the box beat the Purton keeper only to rattle the bar and fly to safety. How that could have changed the outcome of the game if it had been 2 inches lower.
As it was, on 78 minutes, Clough had to be at his best again, producing a flying save to keep out another Purton effort. However, three minutes later as the clocked ticked to 81 minutes, there was absolutely nothing the keeper could do to prevent a blistering angled drive from Purton substitute Manuel Mesas flying into the far corner. 4-1
Then, to round the game off and give me an excuse for the terrible wordplay in the blog title (sorry, but it's the end of a long season of writing and it is a popular film at the moment), another substitute, Chris Avery, was set up with the reasonably simple task of slotting the ball home from 10 yards to make it 5-1

FT Purton 5 Kintbury Rangers 1. Retribution for the reverse fixture for Purton who finish the season in fifth place after a very good run of results that they will, no doubt, want to carry over into next term. Kintbury have second place and a Senior Cup in their trophy cabinet. Their patched together side, that looked completely bereft in the first half, gave a decent account of itself in the second 45 minutes.

Att: 32
Ground Number: 198
Entrance: 0.00
Programme: N/A

One of the great things about the end of the season is that I quite often find the opportunity to visit teams lower down the pyramid. This Tuesday was a case in point. An chance to see two teams that I hadn't seen before, a ground that I had not visited before and a league that I hadn't sampled before. All that and a 6:30 kick off which meant that I would be home at a  reasonable time.

The Ground
Kintbury Rangers play their home games at The Recreation Ground, on the western edge of Kintbury and what a little gem it is. Accessed via a small driveway that services both the football ground and bowls club, there is a small car park behind one of the goals as well as parking on the grass down one side of the pitch. At the opposite end of the ground from the car park is a rather quaint looking building, somewhat reminiscent of the cottage at Craven Cottage, that houses the club house and other facilities.
There is one small, wooden covered standing area on the far side of the ground but what makes the ground different from most others is the fact that there is a dugout on either side of the pitch. Talk about keeping the benches apart.

​The Background
The Wiltshire Senior League was all new to me before Tuesday evening, although I was familiar with some of the names from their days in the Hellenic League. This was the last league game for Wroughton and the penultimate one for Kintbury. Wroughton had already secured the league title, even if Kintbury were to win both remaining games. Kintbury's 1 point deduction for fielding an illegible player meant that they could not now catch their rivals. However, only the previous weekend, Rangers had beaten Wroughton 3-2 in the Senior Cup Final in what was, by all accounts, a tremendous game.
So, it was with some excitement that I ventured into Wiltshire on Tuesday night, hoping for a good match. I was not to be disappointed.

​The Game
Kintbury, in their orange and black kit, made a blistering start to the game. Inside the first minute George Smith curled a delightful effort past the outstretched Wroughton keeper Callum Wilkinson, only to see his effort strike to post and fly to safety. Rangers had the bit between their teeth and only a superb reach from Wilkinson prevented Kintbury's number 9 from getting his name on the score sheet after little more than 2 minutes had passed.
Wroughton were rocking but, like true table-toppers, they gathered their wits quickly, stemming the home sidde's attacks and getting themselves back into the game. What followed, for the best part of the next half hour, was a fascinating encounter, interspersed with some, shall we say eccentric, officiating and a strange series of events surrounding a substitution. First of all, Kintbury decided to withdraw their number 11. Thee didn't seem to be a noticeable injury but the substitution came immediately after a Kintbury attack petered out when the aforementioned player failed to chase a loose ball because he was looking away from the play, looking somewhat disinterested. There was a brief exchange ebtween player and bench and then the player walked form the pitch, ignoring coaches and team mates before heading straight towards the changing rooms. Strange in itself (although maybe I misread the situation), but there was more to follow. Kintbury introduced substitute Chris Collin, waved on by the assistant on that side of the pitch.
One of the Kintubury players, seeing the the referee was apparently oblivious to the fact that they had made a substitution, pointed it out to him. The official then called the substitute over to the bench and, after having words with the coaching staff, booked Collin for entering the field of play without permission. All this despite the assistant apparently waving him on initially. Needless to say, the home bench was not happy with the officiating.

They were even more unhappy on 33 minutes when their defence allowed Aaron Maximen to rise, unchallenged, to head home a right-wing corner, making it 0-1.
The goal swung the action in favour of Wroughton who, seven minutes later, doubled their lead. Number 8 worked hard in midfield, winning the ball back and playing in Shane Hibbert who guided the ball past Kyle Clough to make it 0-2.

That was the end of the scoring in the opening 45 minutes, a first-half that, as a neutral, had passed in the blink of an eye.

HT Kintbury Rangers 0 Wroughton 2. Wroughton, after surviving an initial onslaught, were good value for their lead at the break.

​If the crowd thought that the first half was entertaining, the opening 15 minutes of the second half eclipsed it in all ways. Five minutes in George Smith was felled in the Wroughton box. Penalty to Kintbury. Smith took the spot-kick himself but was denied by a brillaint save from Wilkinson. However, celebrations were cut short when the referee noticed the assistant's flag. Apparently the keeper had moved before the kick was taken. The referee ordered a re-take and this time Smith made no mistake, putting the ball to the opposite side. 1-2 and now it as the turn of the Wroughton bench to be furious with the  officials.
Maybe they would have been better served to have concentrated on marshalling their team because, two minutes later the home side drew level. A right-wing corner causing chaos in the Wroughton six yard box and the ball being forced over the line amidst appeals for a foul on Wilkinson. The goal was givin immediately and credited to Rangers substitue Jake Rowe.
There was a brief lull in the action but, just past the hour mark Ali Thorp was sent clear for Rangers. He was hauled back by Craig Bowden for a second penalty. The Wroughton defender escaped with a yellow card when it could easily have been a red. Smith stepped up and clamly slotted away his second and Kintbury's third. 3-2 and the comeback was complete.

Wroughton tried to rally, Hibbert coming close but ot was Rangers who looked more likely to get a fourth. However, neither transpired and the referee drew a close to whta had been a thoroughly compelling encounter between two very good, competitive sides

FT Kintbury Rangers 3 Wroughton 2. Rangers won the battle but it was Wroughton left celebrating at the end, lifting the Wiltshire  Senior League trophy for the third time and keeping up the recent pattern of these two sides alternating title wins.
As I said at the start of this blog, this was my first taste of the Wiltshire Senior League. On this evidence, it ceetainly won't be the last. I'll be tapping into this league for a number of games next season.

Kintbury Rangers: Clough, Lee, Williams, Thorne, Sopp, Pinto (c), Mahoney, A.Smith, A.Thorp, G.Smith, Way. Subs: Cox, Rowe, S.Thorp, Collin

Att: 
Ground Number: 197
Entrance: £0.00
Programme: N/A