The Ground
Met Police's Imber Court Ground is part of a large sports club that incorprates, amongts others, rugby, bowls, football and cricket. The complex is a stone's throw from Hampton Court Palace, just South of the River Thames in East Molesey. Met Police have played at the stadium since their formation in 1919, although the ground itself has changed considerably as the team has progressed up the pyramid. Currently playing in Step 3, The Southern League South Premier Division, the ground now has a capacity of 3,000 and features a fairly large covered 300 seat stand and a covered terrace behind one of the goals, at the Mounted Branch End. There is also a small, uncovered terrace running the full length of the ground opposite the main stand. You enter the ground, after a walk through the complex from the quite large car park, through a dual turnstile which takes you in at the corner of the ground alongside the Mounted Branch End stand. All of the facilities are located on the same side as the main stand, the dugouts are in front of the stand and the snack bar (which does great burgers) is alongside. It's quite an impressive stadium for this level and features three old-fashioned pylon style floodlights which tower above the ground. The fourth floodlight is one of the more modern style lights with a single pole rather than a pylon.

The Background
Both sides were coming into the game in good form and in decent league positions. The Met were on an unbeaten run stretching back into September and, with two games in hand on most, were in sixth spot just outside the play-offs. A win in this game would take them into fifth place and well within striking distance of top spot. Beaconsfield, who had won their last two games, were hoping to have ended a wobbly spell which had seen them only win one in six before Boxing Day. A win for them wouldn't lift them into the play-offs but would put them within a point of Merthyr Town.
The top scorers for both teams, Jack Mazzone for The Met and Brendan Matthew for The Rams, were level on 12 goals each. The telling statistic before the game though was that Mazzone was in the Met's starting line-up whilst Matthew was out of Town's squad after picking up an injury in the New Year's Day win over Basingstoke.

​The Game
A lively start to the game saw Met Police start looking the more likely. Twice within the first 15 minutes Oliver Knight had chances, the first volleyed well wide whilst the faintest of touches from Rams keeper Ravan Constable turned the second against the far post and away to safety. Then, as so often happens when a team starts well, Met Police conceded. It was a good, swift break from Beaconsfield down their left flank resulting in a low cross from Balogun which caused havoc in the Met defence. The keeper and his defence seemed to get in each other's way and the ball ended up in the net. Credit was given to Rams striker Jon-Jo Bates for the final touch. 0-1. A goal against the run of play but credit to Beaconsfield who took their chance when it came.
The goal only served to make Met Police up their game even more. Mazzone and Gilbert both drew good saves from Constable and Gilbert put a good chance wide.

HT Metropolitan Police 0 Beaconsfield Town 1. The Rams somehow managed to stay in front despite being under the cosh for much of the half. A combination of good goal-keeping from Ravan Constable and some, frankly, woeful shooting from Met Police mean that the away side go into the break 1-0 up.

​The second half looked to be continuing in the same vein as the first. Met Police looked the more likely team to score but still seemed to be struggling to hit the target and, when they did, they were finding Constable in fine form. Beaconsfield, who were slowing the game down at every opportunity, still looked like they could cause a problem on the break but were seemingly content to contain The Met as much as possible.
However, just after the hour mark the game was turned on its head in the space of three minutes. First, following a raid down the left, the ball was knocked back inside for John Gilbert on the edge of the box. He took a stride to his right, steadied himself and then curled a low effort past Constable into the bottom left corner of his goal. A great strike to make it 1-1 after 62 minutes.
On 65 minutes Gilbert was in the action again, this time being tripped in the box for a penalty to The Met. Top scorer Jack Mazzone stepped up and tucked the ball away to make it 2-1.

The Rams tried to up their game after going behind and Williams had to be alert to block Morgan after he had latched onto a through ball. However, it was Constable, in the opposite goal, who was still the busier of the two, saving from Mazzone again to keep his team in it. 
Yet, even with the greater possession, The Met could not find the third goal that would put the game beyond Beaconsfield. The Rams were starting to make one or two in-roads but were still finding the home defence difficult to breach.
With a minute to go Met Police finally sealed the game when Blackmore headed in to make it 3-1.

FT Metrolpolitan Police 3 Beaconsfield Town 1. A well deserved victory for Met Police who were the better side for the majority of the game. 

Metropolitan Police: Williams (c), Webb, Fisher, Robinson, Arthur, Birch, Knight, Robertson, Mazzone, Blackmore, Gilbert. Subs: Guinness-Walker, Hippolyte, Atkinson, Murdoch, MacLaughlin

Beaconsfield Town: Constable, Eccleston, Balogun, Yorke, Neville, Daly (c), Stead, Ajenlekoko, Bates, Passaj, Losasso. Subs: Adoo-Peters, Webb, Brown, Costa, Morgan

Att: 136
Ground Number: 175
Entrance: £9.00
Programme:  £2.00

Those of you who are frequent visitors to this site will know that the FA Vase is very much a favourite at BotP Towers. As we approach the end of the calendar year the thoughts of 32 clubs will be turning towards this magnificent competition and starting to dream of walking out under the Wembley arch.
The Fourth Round will take place over the weekend of the 5/6 January so BotP has been busily analysing all the facts and figures to give you a comprehensive run-down of the fixtures. Using an algorithm based on the Vase history of each team, we have come up with a BotP FA Vase Index. It is worth noting that the FA Vase statistics are based upon the team's current incarnation rather than the combined history. An example of this would be Hebburn Town where we have only used the history since they became Town. The statistics do not include the FA Vase runs when they were just known as Hebburn. The higher the index, the more chance hat team has of winning the competition. Of course, this is by no means fool-proof. If it was, the betting companies would be bankrupt and I would be writing this from my poolside office in Bali rather than the back-room of my house in Oxfordshire. Still, it's a bit of fun and might provide some interesting Christmas reading but please don't take it too seriously, it's certainly not meant to be a scientific breakdown of each team's Vase chances. However, you never know, it might even prove to be accurate and maybe I could put a down payment on that poolside office?

So, let's look at each Fourth Round (all games playing Saturday 5th January, 3pm unless stated) tie individually, with each team's BotP Vase Index in brackets:

Godmanchester Rovers (17) v Sporting Khlasa (11)
The David Wilson Homes Ground, PE29 2LQ. http://godmanchesterroversfc.co.uk/contact-us/
Rovers will be playing in the Fourth Round for the first time in their history whereas Khalsa made it through to the Quarter-Finals two seasons ago. Along with Hamworthy United, Khalsa have played the most number of games to get this far, 6 in total. Both sides can score goals, Khlasa have scored two or more in all but one of their six games so far. Rovers have averaged over two per game in their three ties.
Godmanchester Rovers - West Essex (a) 2-1, Great Yarmouth Town (a) 3-1, Holbeach United (h) 2-0
Sporting Khalsa - Coventry Sphinx (a) 2-2, Coventry Sphinx (hR) 3-0, Stone Old Aleynians (a) 7-3, Winsfod United (h) 1-0, Hucknall Town (h) 3-2, Walsall Wood (h) 3-1

Irlam (4) v Cadbury Athletic (2)
Silver Street, M44 6JJ. http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/irlamfc/contact/
Both of these sides are playing in the Fourth Round for the first time. In fact, Irlam had never made it past Round Two and Athletic could only boast a First Round appearance before this season. Both have played four games to get this far and, interestingly, until this round neither side had been drawn away from home. Neither side has scored fewer than 2 goals in any of their Vase games so far.
Irlam - Burscough (h) 4-2, Handsworth Parramore (h) 2-0, Hemsworth MW (h) 3-1, Winterton Rangers (h) 2-0
Cadbury Athletic - Wem Town (h) 2-0, Hanley Town (h) 4-0, Heather St Johns (h) 3-2, Desborough Town (h) 3-2

Hebburn Town (4) v Shepshed Dynamo (13)
The Energy Check Sports Ground, NE31 1UN. http://www.hebburntownfc.co.uk/ground/
Town started their Vase campaign in the first Qualifying Round, averaging three goals per game and only conceding once in their two home games. They produced what could easily have been the result of the Third Round with a stunning 5-3 win at last season's beaten finalists Stockton Town. Dynamo, who joined in the Second Qualifying Round, have a perfect home record, played there, won three, conceded zero. However, they will need to be at their best on their travels to progress.
Hebburn Town - Eccleshill United (a) 1-0, Billingham Synthonia (h) 3-1, City of Liverpool (h) 4-0, Hallam (a) 2-1​, Stockton Town (a) 5-3
Shepshed Dynamo - Whitchurch Alport (a) 3-2 (aet), Bewdley Town (h) 2-0, Blidworth Welfare (h) 3-0, NKF Burbage (h) 3-0

Newcastle Benfield (29) v Northwich Victoria (0)
Sam Smiths Sports Ground, NE6 4NU. https://newcastlebenfield.com/contact-us-page/
On paper, looking at the Vase Index, this should not even be a contest. However, if you take into account that Northwich, in their five games so far, have yet to concede a goal, you will see that it may not be as straight-forward as it seems. Benfield, who have only played two games, have certainly given their supporters value for money, averaging almost four goals per game.
Newcastle Benfield - 1874 Northwich (h) 2-0, Runcorn Town (h) 5-4
Northwich Victoria - Maltby Main (h) 2-0, Cammell Laird (h) 5-0, Prestwich Heys (a) 0-0, Prestwich Heys (h) 1-0, Silsden (h) 3-0

Sunderland RCA (19) v West Auckland Town (70)
Meadow Park, SR2 0NZ. https://www.sunderlandrca.co.uk/find_us
Another team to not concede yet in this campaign is West Auckland Town who are also the top-ranked team according to the BotP Vase Index. This figure comes largely from the fact that they have appeared in two finals and consistently make it past the qualifying stages. RCA have made it into Round 5 previously and also disposed of highly-fancied Shildon in the previous round. This will be the third consecutive tie that West Auckland have had to travel for.
Sunderland RCA - Bridlington Town (h) 3-2 (aet), Garstang (a) 6-2, Shildon (a) 3-2
West Auckland Town - Thackley (a) 1-0, Avro (a) 2-0

Coventry United (6) v Leicester Nirvana (6)
Butts Park Arena, CV1 3GE. http://www.coventryunited.co.uk/about-us/our-home-visitor-info/
Both of these sides have had three FA Vase campaigns and share a BotP Vase Index of 6. However, looking at the statistics we can see that United have a 100% qualifying record whereas Nirvana have, on one occasion, failed to get through the qualifiers. United's home record in this season's competition is very impressive played four, won four and with a goal tally of 14-1. Nirvana have played three of their four ties away from Hamilton Park, so will not be deterred by a trip to Butts Park.
Coventry United - Droitwich Spa (a) 4-2, Atherstone Town (h) 2-1, Wednesfield (h) 5-0, Boldmere St Michaels (h) 3-0, Hinckley (h) 4-0
Leicester Nirvana - FC Bolsover (a) 2-1, Wellington Amateurs (a) 2-1, Saffron Dynamo (h) 3-0, Westfields (a) 4-0

Deeping Rangers (17) v Eastwood Community (3)
The Haydon Whitham Stadium, PE6 8LQ. http://www.deepingrangersfc.co.uk/contact/
Eastwood are one of only two Step 6 sides left in the competition. They face a very difficult trip to Lincolnshire and a Rangers side who have been challenging near the top of the United Counties Premier fairly consistently for over 10 years. Eastwood, however, have already put out two Step 5 sides in Quorn and, more recently in Round 3, local rivals and promotion favourites, Ilkeston Town. Rangers are the sixth highest scorers, averaging pretty close to 4 goals per game.
Deeping Rangers - Blackstones (h) 7-1, Walsham Le Willows (a) 4-1, Newmarket Town (a) 1-0, Wantage Town (a) 2-1, FC Clacton (h) 4-2
Eastwood Community - Anstey Nomads (a) 5-2, Sherwood Colliery (h) 3-2, Selston (h) 3-0, Quorn (a) 2-1, Ilkeston Town (a) 2-1

Histon (32) v Lye Town (18)
The Glassword Stadium, CB24 9PH. https://www.histonfc.co.uk/directions/
Two teams that are both in the top ten according to their BotP Vase ranking. Histon entered i Round 1 this season and, after needing a reply to get through, then fired in five in both Round 2 and Round 3. The Flyers came in at the final qualifying stage and have cruised through to this Round averaging 3.75 goals per game. However, this will be their first away tie of the competition.
Histon - Team Bury (h) walkover, Colney Heath(a) 1-1, Colney Heath (h) 2-0, Woodbridge Town (h) 5-4, Leverstock Green (h) 5-1
Lye Town - Bolehall Swifts (h) 2-0, Chelmsley Town (h) 5-2, Brocton (h) 4-1, Leighton Town (h) 4-0 (aet)

Willand Rovers  (36) v Hamworthy United (8)
Silver Street, EX15 2RG. http://www.willandrovers.co.uk/
Along with Khalsa The Hammers have played the most games to get this far, six in total. In 19 previous campaigns they have only made it past qualifying four times and have never before been as far as the 4th Round. Willand are third favourite on the BotP Vase Ranking scale.They have been to this stage twice previously and have also made it into Round 5 once. This season they have averaged three goals per game and have only conceded twice in total so far.
Willand Rovers - Odd Down (a) 4-1, Tavistock (h) 2-1, Bodmin Town (h) 3-0
Hamworthy United - Amesbury Town (h) 3-0, Fawley (h) 3-1, Shaftesbury (a) 2-1, Falmouth Town (h) 3-1, Hamble Club (a) 1-1, Hamble Club (hR) 4-1

Canterbury City (9) v Newport Pagnell Town (27) - Playing Sunday 6th, 2pm
Salters Lane (Faversham Town FC), ME13 0DL. http://www.canterburycityfc.net/contact/
City are into Round 4 for the first time in their history. They have kept three clean sheets in the five matches this season, so are clearly going to be difficult to beat. The Swans have a recent Quarter-Final under their belts as well as a previous Round 4 visit. They have scored at least 2 in each Vase game this campaign so will prove to be a tough test for City's tight defence.
Canterbury City - Langney Wanderers (a) 2-0, AFC Varndeanians (a) 2-0, Saltdean United (h) 2-1, Corinthian (a) 4-2 (aet), Southall (h) 1-0 (aet)
Newport Pagnell Town - Newbury Forest (a) 3-2, Thame Rangers (h) 3-2, Hullbridge Sports (a) 2-0

AFC Uckfield Town (0) v Windsor (13)
The Oaks, TN22 5QL. http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/afcuckfieldfc/contact/
Uckfield are one of the surprise packages of this season's competition. Having never made it past qualifying before they now find themselves in Round 4 on the back of some superb results including a 5-2 drubbing of Combined Counties premier high-flyers Sutton Common Rovers in the last round. They take on a Windsor side who only joined in Round 2 and have been drawn away from home at every stage so far.
AFC Uckfield Town - Hollands & Blair (h) 2-0, Southwick (h) 5-0, Tunbridge Wells (a) 2-0, AFC Croydon Athletic (a) 2-1, Sutton Common Rovers (h) 5-2
Windsor -  Chichester City (a) 2-0, Erith Town (a) 2-1

Cribbs (1) v Sholing (21)
Cribbs Sports & Social Club, BS10 7TB. https://www.cribbssportsandsocial.co.uk/contact-us
The Boatmen are the only past winners remaining in the competition but, despite that fact, they only make 7th in the BotP Vase Ranking. However, their past Vase history combined with their superb league form this season must put them up there as contenders. They'll certainly provide a stiff test for a Cribbs side who are in the Fourth Round for the first time in their history having only ever once before made it out of qualifying.
Cribbs - Shortood United (a) 5-1, Brimscombe & Thrupp (a) 3-2, Newport (IW) (a) 2-0, Saltash United (a) 4-2
Sholing - Torpoint Athletic (a) 1-0, Malmesbury Victoria (h) 5-1, Pagham (h) 6-2

Bearsted (0) v Abbey Rangers (5)
Otham Sports Club, ME15 8RG. http://www.bearstedfc.co.uk/ContactUs.aspx
Bearsted are another side who have never before made it past the qualifying stages but, this season, find themselves at the heady height of Round 4. They take on a Rangers side who, even though this is only their fourth ever Vase campaign, have only failed to qualify once and have a second and third round appearance under their belt. Four of Abbey's five games have been played away from home, so another road trip will not phase them.
Bearsted - Bexhill United (h) 4-1, Selsey (a) 2-0, Beckenham Town (h) 3-0, Newhaven (h) 1-0, Steyning Town (h) 3-2 (aet)
Abbey Rangers - Lydney Town (a) 3-1, Chipping Sodbury Town (a) 3-1, Rayners Lane (a) 3-2, Lordswood (h) 5-0, Eastbourne Town (a) 1-0

Chertsey Town (59) v AFC St Austell (14)
Alwyns Lane, KT16 9DW. http://www.chertseytown-fc.co.uk/directions/4529930309
Second favourites on the BotP Vase Ranking and in fantastic league form, The Curfews are certainly one of the contenders this season. They have already scored 18 goals in their 5 games, conceding just 3. St Austell, the other remaining Step 6 side, punch above their weight in the Vase. A couple of season back they made it into the Semi-Final stage, narrowly going out to Glossop North End. They also clocked up a stunning 8-4 away win at Cadbury Heath in the last round.
Chertsey Town - Woodley United (h) 4-2, Tadley Calleva (a) 1-0, Flackwell Heath (h) 6-1, Horndean (h) 2-0, Redbridge (a) 5-0
AFC St Austell - Ilfracombe Town (h) 3-1, Wells City (a) 3-2, Plymouth Parkway (h) 6-1, Cheddar  (a) 2-1, Cadbury Heath (a) 8-4

Biggleswade (6) v Stowmarket Town (2) - Playing Sunday 6th, 2pm
Langford Road (Biggleswade Town FC), SG18 9JT. https://www.biggleswadefc.co.uk/contactus.aspx
Two sides who are pushing for promotion in their respective leagues this season. They have very different Vase records. Biggleswade, who were only formed in 2016, have made it past qualifying in all three of their Vase campaigns, even making it to this stage before. Stow, who have 36 Vase entries in their history, have failed to et through qualifying on 24 occasions. they can, however, also point to a previous 4th Round appearance. Both sides needed a replay in Round 3, with Biggleswade eventually defeating Tring Athletic on penalties.
Biggleswade - Norwich CBS (h) 3-1, Tring Athletic (a) 1-1, Tring Athletic (hR) 0-0 (5-3p)
Stowmarket Town - Harpenden Town (h) 5-0, Baldock Town (h) 3-1 (aet), Saffham Town (a) 0-0, Swaffham Town (hR) 2-1

Cray Valley PM (4) v Baffins Milton Rovers (3)
Badgers Sports Ground, SE9 5HT. http://www.cray-valley.co.uk/visitors.php
Baffins are the competitions highest scorers so far this season with 25 goals in the five games. This also makes them the highest average scorers, with 5 per game. They owe this record mainly to their 2nd Qualifying Round demolition of New College Swindon, which Rovers won 14-1. The Millers, however, will not be too disturbed by this as they can point to 11 unanswered goals in the last two Vase matches. The signs are there that this could be a high-scoring, end to end game.
Cray Valley PM - Sutton Athletic (a) 2-1, Hailsham Town (h) 2-0, St Panteleimon (a) 3-1, Badshot Lea (h) 7-0, Sheppey United (a) 4-0
Baffins Milton Rovers - Fairford Town (a) 3-2, New College Swindon (h) 14-1, Bashley (a) 2-1, Bournemouth (h) 3-2, Bradford Town (a) 3-1

BotP FA Vase Index

Over the past couple of years it has become a bit of a tradition for me and my Dad to take in a match. However, these last few months my Dad has spent more time in hospital than out and there ws no way that we were going to be able to continue the tradition. Consequently, I really didn't think there was going to be any more live football for me until the New Year. However, as luck would have it, after a trip to visit my folks this morning, my wife took over visiting  and child-ferrying duties to allow me quickly shoot out to a game. There were games aplenty to choose from but one of the closest games at a new ground was the Lutterworth derby, Town v Athletic.
Looking back through my match blogs I realised that I had already seen Athletic play twice, once at home to Wodford and an away game at Oakham United. However, I had never seen Town play, home or away.

​The Ground
Town's Dunley Way ground is tucked away in the middle of housing, not too far away from the town centre and only 2 miles from Atho's Hall Park ground. Parking within the ground is quite limited but, having said that, I still managed to get in 15 minutes before kick-off. I guess with it being such a local derby most spectators were on foot. Entry from the car park is through a single turnstile attached to the side of the clubhouse. The ground has two covered areas, a modern style seating area in front of the clubhouse just to the side of the goal and then another quirky, home-made wooden structure, also housing some seating, that runs along the Dunley Way side of the pitch. The dugouts are situated on the far side of the ground and the far end of the ground, behind the goal, is inaccessible to spectators. The pitch looked heavy but, considering recent rainfall, not as bad as it could have been.

​The Background
Town are the older of the two clubs, being formed in the 1920's as opposed to Athletic's fairly recent formation in 1983. Both have come up through the ranks of local football in Leicestershire, through the Senior League and then into the Step 6 and the United Counties structure (although Atho had one season in the East Midlands League). Interestingly, the sides have swapped grounds in recent years. Dunley Way, Town's home, was home to Athletic at one time but after Athletic moved to Hall Park in 2011, displacing Town, The Swifts eventually moved into Dunley Way.

Despite being the younger of the clubs, Athletic made it into Step 6 five years before their rivals. Because of this, last season was the first time the clubs had met in a league match since the 2008-09 season when Atho finished second, gaining promotion to the Leicestershire Senior League Premier Division.
However, since Town joined their neighbours in Division One of the United Counties League, they have held sway. Last season saw Town win at 1-0 at Atho, despite having a player dismissed. They then followed this up with a 3-2 home win late in the season, coming from 2-1 down at half-time.

The Match
The game sprang into life as early as the 8th minute. First of all Marshal Keenan, from way out, smashed a superb effort off Faulkner's bar and then, after the ball was cleared, a quick break down the Town right led to a low cross being tapped in at the far pots by Jordan Small. 1-0. The aftermath of the goal celebrations caused  disturbance in the crowd on the far side of the pitch where Atho and Swifts supporters were standing in close proximity. From my vantage point further down the touchline past the dugouts, I couldn't actually see what happened but whatever the case, it did cause a four minute delay before the referee was happy to restart the game.
After the early goal, the game turned into a typical local derby, hard fought and played mostly in the midfield area. Athletic certainly tried to take the game to their hosts, especially down their right hand side, but despite their best efforts they didn't make any significant opportunities and the Swifts back-line, ably assisted by the battling qualities of central midfielder Lee Tyers, looked to be in control most of the time.
For Athletic, right-winger Barnes Gladman's pace and trickery was a threat but as the half progressed Town left-back Louis Samuels grew into the game and began to look more assured.

HT. Lutterworth Town 1 Lutterworth Athletic 0. A fairly scrappy half with not too much in the way of flowing football. In all fairness it was Atheltic who shaded the possession but failed to really call Butlin into action.

​The second-half mirrored the first in many ways. Atho once again were edging possession but Town looked more threatening when they attacked. Just before the hour mark Atho had a golden opportunity to grab an equaliser. A tempting cross from the left fell perfectly for Woodward to get his head on it from 8 yards out. Unfortunately, for Athletic, he put his effort over the top. 
Six minutes later Town made Athletic pay for their earlier missed chance. Keenan picked the ball up almost on the halfway line, drove forward and then unleashed a drive low to Faulkner's left, beating the keeper with the sheer pace of the shot. A superb effort. 2-0.
Town saw out the remainder of the game reasonably comfortably. As a neutral it was an interesting contest. On the day it felt like the teams, man for man, were quite evenly matched although I would have probably given slightly higher individual scores to many of the Atho side. However, as overall teams, it was Town who looked more together, more coherent in the way they played. 

FT Lutterworth Town 2 Lutterworth Athletic 0. No doubt that both sides will finish well up the league and may even both be pushing Anstey Nomads all the way. If the season continues the way it is going the return match on April 22, the penultimate game of the season, could well be an absolute cracker.

Lutterworth Town: Butlin, Riley, Samuels, Tyers, Peace, Leslie, Wilson, Roberts, Keenan, Small, Daire (c). Subs: Starkie, Molyneaux, Clarke, Lewis, Nelson
​
Lutterworth Athltic: Faulkner, Coyle, Sutherland, Reaney, Morgan, Rapley, Gladman, Ivens, Rhodes, Woodward, Weston. Subs: Gill, Munton, Blockley, Harris, Bjelic

Att: 318
Ground Number: 174
Entrance: £5.00
Programme:  £1.00

​A Cup Quarter-Final local derby, two penalties, a red card, seven goals, a birth and a spectator going A over T into the bargain (we won't mention that too much though, as it was me). Not a bad way to get back into watching football after over a month.

Live games have been very few and far between in recent weeks. A combination of hospital visits (both my Dad and daughter) and various other commitments, has meant that this is the first match blog since Shepshed Dynamo in mid-November.
This weekend also saw BotP venture into the Sunday League arena for the first time. The reasoning behind this venture was twofold. Firstly, circumstance had once again meant that a midweek game was out of the question but secondly, and even more importantly, I was fascinated by the social media work being put into a certain Sunday League side. A concerted media campaign that had a new kit design competition, a new badge competition, a poll to decide on a club nickname and a growing Twitter following that has already surpassed the !k mark. All of these efforts had grabbed the attention of football enthusiasts, not only in England, but across the world, including Italian giants AS Roma who made the club their Twitter Team of the Day a few weeks back.

All that having been said, the club in question is Caversham United - The Billy Goats (as decided by Twitter), who play in Division Four of the Reading & District Sunday League. So it was, the day after a bit of a Christmas party, I headed off to deepest, darkest Berkshire on a fresh but bright Sunday morning to watch a Reading & District Sunday League J Lusted Cup & Shield Quarter-Final between Caversham United and the wonderfully named Borussia Teeth. Both sides were coming into the game on the back of big league victories last week. Teeth putting 7 unanswered past bottom side Calcot and The  Billy Goats hitting 15 (fifteen) away from home against second-bottom Coley Park Reserves.

Arriving at the Mapledurham Recreation Ground I was greeted by a traditional Sunday League scene. Both teams were out on the pitch warming up and, on the sidelines, we had two piles of bags and assorted clothing. None of this leaving stuff in the changing rooms at this level. The pitch and surrounding ground was quite wet after the recent bad weather but it was certainly easily playable and, overall, it was a great morning for football. Borussia Teeth, in their yellow and black stripes, were kicking towards the car park end of the ground in the first half.
In a fairly even opening 15 minutes, Caversham probably just about edged it possession-wise but neither side really stretched their opposing keeper.
This changed on 16 minutes when the referee awarded a penalty to Borussia after what appeared to be a fairly innocuous challenge in the box. To be fair, although I didn't have a completely clear view, there did seem to be some contact and, despite some protestation from the offending United player, there didn't seem to be too many complaints from the home side at the time. Borussia's Number 3 strode up and slotted the spot-kick home to make it 0-1.
The goal gave the away team added energy and they set about redressing the possession imbalance. They almost made it 2-0 on 25 minutes when a snap-shot from inside the box came back off the underside of the Goats bar before being hacked clear. However, scare over for the home side, and they gradually began to dominate the ball again without, it has to be said, making too many in-roads in the last third.
Just before the half-hour mark Caversham were forced into a substitution when word came through on the sideline that one of their players was about to become a Dad.
The game had developed into an entertaining encounter with Caverhsam still having the lion's share of possession but having to be cautious about pushing up too far and getting caught out by a Teeth forward line that still looked dangerous when they did manage to get the ball.

HT Caversham United 0 Borussia Teeth 1. United certainly had more of the possession but a well organised Borussia defence kept chances to a minimum. When Teeth managed to break forward they looked quite dangerous. Note to self. Don't try to stretch for a ball going out of play on a wet park. You will slip, you will end up covered in mud and it will hurt. Still, it was some added entertainment for the subs and supporters.

If Caversham edged the possession stats in the first half, they completely dominated the majority of the second. In fact, the first 20 minutes of the second period was played almost exclusively in the Borussia half, without Caversham managing to really force a clear opening. This was in small way down to the central defensive pairing for Teeth. Their numbers 8 and 13 were very well organised and marshalled the back line for Borussia very well.

To make matters worse for Caversham they were reduced to 10 men on 66 minutes after Jack Tapscott got a straight red for an off the ball incident. The less said about it the better but suffice to say that we have all reacted in the heat of the moment. Not the players finest moment, I'm sure he will admit, but that's football and I'm sure his team-mates will have already 'thanked' him for making their morning's work even harder.

Things looked completely black for the home side just 7 minutes later when Borussia launched a rare attack and, despite Higginson producing a very good save from the initial effort, Teeth's number 11 followed up to slot home the loose ball. 0-2 and only just over 15 minutes remaining.

On 79 minutes, however, The Billy Goats found a foothold on the mountain that they were trying to climb when, after a long throw-in, one of their players went down in the box. There were so many bodies in there that it was very difficult to see the offence but the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot. Up stepped Sam Foster to send the keeper the wrong way. 1-2.
Five minutes later and the 10 men were back on level terms. A glorious defence splitting, cross-field pass found Foster running free into the Teeth penalty area. he calmly slotted home past the keeper to make it 2-2.

With 2 minutes left of the 90, Caversham almost managed to grab a winner when Foster was put through again. However, with the hat-trick waiting to be taken, the Borussia keeper managed to spread himself and make a good block.

FT Caversham United 2 Borussia Teeth 2. What a game and what a comeback from the Billy Goats. We head into extra-time and a nightmare scenario for yours truly. Having already made assurances that I would be back the Midlands by 2pm, I had to commit the cardinal footballing sin of leaving before the end of the game so the remainder of this match blog comes courtesy of various Twitter feeds

Into extra-time and Caversham get their noses in front with a goal from Josh France to make it 3-2. Then substitute Zac Dellow sneaked in at the back post to make it 4-2 from a corner.
The 10 men then held on, despite Borussia getting another one to make it 4-3, and progress to the semi-final.

FT (aet) Caversham United 4 Borussia Teeth 3

With such an enthralling end to the game, it seems a travesty that I can only must two sentences to describe it. All I can say is that I thoroughly enjoyed the 90 minutes of football that I did watch. Both sides gave it everything and it really was an entertaining game to watch as a neutral. The question is now, do I make Sunday League a permanent fixture on Base of the Pyramid? I think there is every chance that this could become a more regular feature.

Best of luck to both sides for the rest of the season and if anyone from Borussia wants to fill me in with names, I'll be more than happy to update an re-publish the blog.

Caversham United: Higginson, Foster, Frost, Smith, Webb, Tapscott, Sadiq (c), Gutteridge, France, Hales, Sturgess. Subs: Slowe, Dellow, Outhwaite, Fitton, Swift

Att: 10+
Ground Number: 173
Entrance: £0.00
Programme:  N/A

The Third Round of the FA Vase will be upon us this weekend. BotP has put together a complete run down of each tie with all the stats and facts that you could need. Wembley starts to become a reality from this round onwards. Good luck to every team and I look forward to watching two of you slug it out under the arch in May.

Shildon AFC v Sunderland RCA
Dean Street, DL4 1EZ. http://www.shildonafc.com/contact/
One of two all Northern League Division One ties in the Third Round. Both sides are comfortably in the top half of the table but are both a little way off title contention at the moment. The Railwaymen made the semi-final of this competition in 2012-13, going down 4-3 on aggregate to Tunbridge Wells. A Fifth Round defeat to Bristol Manor Farm in the 2015-16 competition is RCA's best effort so far. The sides have not met in the Vase before but Shildon did edge a tight FA Cup Preliminary Round tie by 4-3 in 2011.
Shildon - Glasshoughton Welfare (h) 1-0, Barton Town (a) 2-0,
Sunderland RCA - Bridlington Town (h) 3-2 (aet), Garstang (a) 6-2

Northwich Victoria v Silsden AFC
Chapel Street (Witton Albion), CW9 6DA. http://www.northwichvictoriafc.com/contact/
An all North West Counties Premier tie also featuring two top ten sides who probably won't have enough to press for the summit this season. They have already met in the league this season with Vics clocking up a 2-0 home victory. This season represents the best FA Vase run for both sides, although it is only the second time that Northwich have entered. The sides had very different weekends, Victoria winning 2-1 at Charnock Richers whilst Silsden were given a harsh 7-0 lesson at home to Bootle.
Northwich Victoria - Maltby Main (h) 2-0, Cammell Laird (h) 5-0, Prestwich Heys (a) 0-0, Prestwich Heys (h) 1-0
Silsden - Harrogate Railway Athletic (a) 4-3, Albion Sports (a) 1-0, Staveley MW (a) 2-2, Staveley MW (h) 2-0, Bedlington Terriers (h) 3-1

Stockton Town v Hebburn Town
Bishopton Road West, TS19 0QD. http://stocktontownfc.com/directions/
The second Northern League Division One clash of the round, this one featuring last season's beaten finalists, Stockton Town. They take on newly-promoted Hebburn Town, who returned to Division One last season after four years away. The Hornets have made an impressive return so far and, at the time of writing, sit fifth just five points off the top. The sides drew 2-2 in an early season encounter at Hebburn's Energy Check Sports Ground.
Stockton Town - Ashington (h) 4-1,
Hebburn Town - Eccleshill United (a) 1-0, Billingham Synthonia (h) 3-1, City of Liverpool (h) 4-0, Hallam (a) 2-1

Avro v West Auckland Town
Vestacare Stadium, OL8 3JH. http://www.avrojfc.org/contact/
The first of the Step 6 sides left in the competition, Avro face a tough challenge as they welcome Northern League Division One high-flyers West Auckland Town to Greater Manchester. It's Avro's first venture into the FA Vase after their promotion into the North-West Counties League last Summer. West, currently third in their league, have Vase pedigree reaching the Final twice but losing out on both occasions.
Avro - Barnton (h) 3-0, Steeton (a) 3-2, Squires Gate (h) 2-1,
West Auckland Town - Thackley (a) 1-0

Irlam v Winterton Rangers
Silver Street, M44 6JJ. http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/irlamfc/contact/
Winterton lost their Step 5 place at the end of the 2013-14 season but have been making steady progress towards a return ever since. A home defeat to Grimsby Borough has seen them slip to third at the weekend, but they are just three points off the top. If they wish to make Vase progress they will need to get past an Irlam side who have shown some form in recent weeks, winning 5 and drawing 1 of their last 6 games. In the Vase it is Rangers who boast the better pedigree with a Quarter-Final and Fifth Round appearance under their belts. For Irlam this represents their best run to date.
Irlam - Burscough (h) 4-2, Handsworth Parramore (h) 2-0, Hemsworth MW (h) 3-1
Winterton Rangers - Rossington Main (h) 2-0, Lower Breck (h) 1-0, Dunston UTS (h) 2-1

Newcastle Benfield v Runcorn Town
Sam Smiths Sports Ground, NE6 4NU. https://newcastlebenfield.com/contact-us-page/
Benfield, who put out a North West Counties side in 1874 Northwich in the last round, take on 1874's league-fellows Runcorn Town. Benfield's league form has been patchy this season and, as we speak, they sit in mid-table having lost almost as many games as they have won. Town, who saw town rivals Linnets progress to Step 4 last season, sit in third place in the North West Counties Premier but are well adrift of unbeaten leaders City of Liverpool.
Newcastle Benfield - 1874 Northwich (h) 2-0
Runcorn Town - Guisborough Town (h) 3-3, Guisborough Town (a) 4-2 (aet), Vauxhall Motors (a) 3-1

Ilkeston Town v Eastwood Community
The New Manor Ground, http://www.ilkestontownfc.co.uk/stadium-itfc/getting-to-the-new-manor-ground
The closest derby of the Third Round sees Step 6 new boys Eastwood Community make the short, 3-mile, cross-county trip into Derbyshire to face Vase virgins, Ilkeston Town. We say Vase virgins but although this is the Vase debut for this incarnation of Ilkeston Town the previous team made it into the Fourth Round in the 1988-89 season, going out to Tamworth. This is Eastwood's third Vase campaign. They progressed into the Third Round as a Step 7 side last season, putting out Step 5 Leicester Nirvana before going out to Desborough Town.
Ilkeston Town - Gedling MW (a) 4-0, Graham Street Prims (a) 2-0, Heanor Town (a) 3-0, Wolverhampton SC (a) 2-0
Eastwood Community - Anstey Nomads (a) 5-2, Sherwood Colliery (h) 3-2, Selston (h) 3-0, Quorn (a) 2-1

Coventry United v Hinckley AFC
Butts Park Arena, CV31 3GE. http://www.coventryunited.co.uk/about-us/our-home-visitor-info/
This one throws together two Midland League sides. Both are currently sitting in mid-table but for United that means Premier League whilst Hinckley currently ply their trade in Division One. Neither side has a particularly long or glorious FA Vase history. United managed a Third Round replay last season before going out on penalties to Bromsgrove Rovers. Hinckley managed to rounds further the previous season before going down 4-3 at home to Buckland Athletic in Round Five.
Coventry United - Droitwich Spa (a) 4-2, Atherstone Town (h) 2-1, Wednesfield (h) 5-0, Boldmere St Michales (h) 3-0
Hinckley - Hereford Lads Club (h) 3-1

Cadbury Athletic v Desborough Town
Eckersall Lane, B38 8SR. http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/cadburyathleticfc/contact/
Midland League Division One side Cadbury Athletic will be looking to stage something of a 'cupset' as they welcome United Counties Premier outfit Desborough Town to Birmingham. Athletic are just below the main action in their division but, with 11 points separating them from top spot, they won't consider themselves to be out of the running. Ar Tarn are currently mid-table and are the UCL draw specialists with 7 of their 15 games ending all-square, including a very respectable 2-2 at leaders Daventry on Saturday.
Cadbury Athletic - Wem Town (h) 2-0, Hanley Town (h) 4-0, Heather St Johns (h) 3-2
Desborough Town - Worcester City (a) 2-0

Westfields v Leicester Nirvana
AllPay Park, HR4 9NA. http://www.westfieldsfc.com/contact/
This all Step 5 affair promises to be a very tight encounter. Nirvana, sixth in the UCL Premier, have come into some form of late and had won seven on the bounce in all competitions including a 6-0 and 6-1 victory, until a disappointing 0-0 draw with struggling Boston Town ended the run. Westfields, meanwhile, are pushing hard and keeping the pressure on Midland Premier leaders Ilkeston Town. At the time of writing they have won their last 5 consecutive games in all competitions including a whopping 6-1 win at local rivals Worcester City on Saturday. A win would see them equal their best run in the Vase, achieved last season where they went out to Hamble Club.
Westfields - Romulus (h) 3-2
Leicester Nirvana - FC Bolsover (a) 2-1, Wellington Amateurs (a) 2-1, Saffron Dynamo (h) 3-0

Shepshed Dynamo v NKF Burbage
The Dovecote Stadium, LE12 9BN. http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/shepsheddynamo/contact/
This is NKF's first venture into the FA Vase after their rapid rise from local leagues into the Midland League Division One where they currently sit just below the main title contenders. Having said that, at the time of writing, they are only eleven points shy of Atherstone at the top. Dynamo moved up to fourth in the Premier League at the weekend with a 2-0 victory at home to Long Eaton. Both will be hoping to continue their progress in the league whilst making the most of the chance of a Vase run.
Shepshed Dynamo - Whitchurch Alport (a) 3-2 (aet), Bewdley Town (h) 2-0, Blidworth Welfare (h) 3-0
NKF Burbage - Lutterworth Town (h) 2-1, Cradley Town (h) 2-1, Bustleholme (a) 4-1,  Stourport Swifts (a) 2-0

Lye Town v Leighton Town
The Sports Ground, DY9 7DH. http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/lyetownfc/contact/
This tie was originally Lye Town v Cogenhoe United. However, after The Cooks were unfortunately found to have fielded an illegible loan player,last season's beaten Quarter-Finalists Leighton Town were re-instated and will travel to the West Midlands. Both sides are going through an up and down season so far and sit in mid-table as we speak. They had differing fortunes this weekend, Lye losing at home to Loughborough University whilst Leighton had a good 1-0 win at Leverstock Green.
Lye Town - Bolehall Swifts (h) 2-0, Chelmsley Town (h) 5-2, Brocton (h) 4-1
Leighton Town - Cogenhoe United (a) 0-2 - Awarded to Leighton after Cogeho played an illegible player

Sporting Khalsa v Walsall Wood
Aspray Arena, WV13 3BB. http://www.sportingkhalsa.com/our-ground/
After Ilkeston v Eastwood this is, geographically, the next closest tie of the round. Just 8 miles separates the two sides. However, in the league they are even closer. Wood sit third one place and two points better off than their rivals, but Khalsa do have a game in hand. To add spice to the tie, the sides met in league action at Noose Lane this Saturday. The match ended in a 1-1 draw and it can be expected that next week's tie will be equally tight. Both sides have Vase Quarter-Finals in their recent history, Khlasa going out to Coleshill in 2016-17 and Wood being edged out in a reply by Guernsey in 2012-13.
Sporting Khalsa - Coventry Sphinx (a) 2-2, Coventry Sphinx (hR) 3-0, Stone Old Aleynians (a) 7-3, Winsfod United (h) 1-0, Hucknall Town (h) 3-2
Walsall Wood - Uttoxeter Town (a) 2-2, Uttoxeter Town (h) 5-4 (aet), Smethwick (a) 3-0, Dronfield Town (h) 3-1

Histon v Leverstock Green (Playing Sunday December 2)
The Glassword Stadium, CB24 9PH. https://www.histonfc.co.uk/directions/
A Fifth Round exit to Rye United in the 2010-11 competition represents Leverstock's best FA Vase performance. The Stutes can't boast a Fifth Round appearance but they can lay claim to a more consistent Vase history with four Fourth Round ties in their back catalogue. The last of these, however, was in the 1999-00 season. Between that time and the 2017-18 campaign they plied their trade higher in the pyramid, playing in the FA Trophy. League-wise, Leverstock are comfortable in mid-table whilst Histon lead the Eastern Counties Premier by three points with a game in hand.
Histon - Team Bury (h) walkover, Colney Heath(a) 1-1, Colney Heath (h) 2-0, Woodbridge Town (h) 5-4
Leverstock Green - Unite MK (h) 10-0, Raunds Town (h) 4-0, Sawbridgeworth Town (h) 3-0, Enfield 1893 (a) 4-1

Godmanchester Rovers v Holbeach United
The David Wilson Homes Ground, PE29 2LQ. http://godmanchesterroversfc.co.uk/contact-us/
This tie has plenty of appeal. Two very competitive Step 5 outfits, both challenging near the top of their respective divisions and both averaging over 2 goals per game so far this season. The Tigers look to hold all of the cards as far as the Vase is concerned. The can lay claim to a couple of Fifth Round appearances, as opposed to Rovers' single Third Round. They can also point to a 2007-08 2-0 2nd Qualifying victory over Rovers.
Godmanchester Rovers - West Essex (a) 2-1, Great Yarmouth Town (a) 3-1
Holbeach United - Biggleswade United (a) 3-2 (aet), Wodson Park (a) 2-0

Swaffham Town v Stowmarket Town
The Pavilion, PE37 7NS. http://www.swaffhamtownfc.co.uk/
Another East Anglian encounter this time with the added excitement of a Premier League side having to travel to an in-form Division One outfit. Stow won't have too many fears as the, themselves, are also enjoying a pretty good season in the Eastern Counties Premier. They sit in fourth spot and are on a six game unbeaten run in all competitions. Swaffham can better that run, however, and can point to a eight game unbeaten run in all competitions after a 5-1 win at Leiston reserves on Saturday.
Swaffham Town - Framlingham Town (a) 0-0, Framlingham Town (h) 2-1, Haverhill Borough (a) 4-3, May & Baker (a) 1-0
Stowmarket Town - Harpenden Town (h) 5-0, Baldock Town (h) 3-1 (aet)

Tring Athletic v Biggleswade
The Grass Roots Stadium, HP23 5NS. http://www.tafc.co.uk/index-r.php
Tie of the Round? It certainly could be. The sides swapped places at the top of the table on Saturday. Tring went down 2-0 at home to Wembley whilst Biggleswade were thumping Arlesey Town 4-1 to leapfrog their rivals at the top. A week after this game the sides will meet again in the first league clash of the season. Last season Athletic took four points off Biggleswade despite finishing twelve places below their rivals. The sides reached the Fifth and Fourth Rounds respectively last season, so their is some recent Vase experience in both camps.
Tring Athletic - Wellingborough Town (a) 7-0
Biggleswade - Norwich CBS (h) 3-1

Hullbridge Sports v Newport Pagnell Town
Hullbridge Sports and Social Club, SS5 6BJ. https://www.hullbridgesportsfc.co.uk/contactus.aspx
Sports have made the Fourth Round four times in the last five seasons whereas The Swans can't boast such consistency but can lay claim to a Quarter-Final appearance just to season ago, bowing out to eventual winners South Shields. In the league Newport Pagnell are not reaching the heights of last season, sitting just below halfway after a damaging 5-1 defeat to Harborough Town at the weekend. Sports, by contrast, are leading the way in Essex, four points clear of Stansted after a hard-fought 4-3 win over Sporting Bengal on Saturday.
Hullbridge Sports - Itrchester United (h) 3-1
Newport Pagnell Town - Newbury Forest (a) 3-2, Thame Rangers (h) 3-2

Deeping Rangers v FC Clacton
The Haydon Whitham Stadium, PE6 8LQ. http://www.deepingrangersfc.co.uk/contact/
Neither of these sides can boast a huge Vase pedigree. A Fourth Round appearance for Clacton in the 2008-09 season is the best effort for either of them. Rangers have progressed to this stage before, on three occasions, but have never got further. Clacton are currently sailing way too close to the bottom end of the table for their own comfort. Deeping are third in the United Counties Premier but oddly, despite the difference in league position, Rangers are only four points closer to top spot than Clacton, twelve as opposed to sixteen, although Rangers do have three games in hand on leaders Daventry Town.
Deeping Rangers - Blackstones (h) 7-1, WalshamLe Willows (a) 4-1, Newmarket Town (a) 1-0, Wantage Town (a) 2-1
FC Clacton - Hoddesdon Town (a) 3-2, Buckingham Athletic (a) 2-2, Buckingham Athletic (h) 3-2, Kirkley & Pakefield (h) 1-0

AFC Uckfield Town v Sutton Common Rovers
The Oaks, TN22 5QL. http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/afcuckfieldfc/contact/
This is the furthest that Uckfield have progressed in the Vase in any of their guises, former or present. Currently sitting just below halfway in the Southern Combination but well clear of the bottom, they can afford to put some concentration into this competition. They face a Rovers side who are very much in contention in the Combined Counties Premier, second in the league and top of the small pile of clubs that are trying to chase down leaders Chertsey Town.
AFC Uckfield Town - Hollands & Blair (h) 2-0, Southwick (h) 5-0, Tunbridge Wells (a) 2-0, AFC Croydon Athletic (a) 2-1
Sutton Common Rovers - Cobham (h) 2-1, Horley Town (h) 6-1

Eastbourne Town v Abbey Rangers
The Saffrons, BN21 1EA. http://eastbournetown.com/contact/
The second of the Southern Combination v Combined Counties is somewhat similar to the first, a mid-table Southern Counties team versus a Combined Counties side pushing near the top. Eastbourne are currently 8th but off the pace of the leaders. Rangers, meanwhile, are fourth but are just a point shy of second-placed Suttton Common Rovers. Town's best Vase showing was a Fifth Round exit way back in the 70s. However, they have been very consistent recently, clocking up three Fourth Rounds and a Third Round in the last four seasons. This is only Abbey's fourth Vase venture. However, they have already managed a Second and Third Round appearance.
Eastbourne Town - Crowborough Athletic (a) 4-0
Abbey Rangers - Lydney Town (a) 3-1, Chipping Sodbury Town (a) 3-1, Rayners Lane (a) 3-2, Lordswood (h) 5-0

Redbridge v Chertsey Town
Oakside Stadium, IG6 1NB. http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/redbridge/contact/
After challenging at the top last season, Redbridge are finding this term more difficult and are currently below mid-table in the Essex Senior League. A 3-1 defeat to Sawbridgeworth on Saturday not really helping matters. No such worries for The Curfews though. Under the stewardship of Dave Anderson they are, at the time of writing, four points clear at the top with just one defeat in fourteen games. Although they did drop two points at the weekend with a 2-2 home draw with Guildford. With two Quarter-Finals and a couple of Fifth Rounds under their belt, they also have some FA Vase pedigree. The same cannot be said for Redbridge who have not progressed past Qualifying in their other two campaigns.
Redbridge - Southen Manor (a) 4-1, Peterborough Northern Star (h) 1-0
Chertsey Town - Woodley United (h) 4-2, Tadley Calleva (a) 1-0, Flackwell Heath (h) 6-1, Horndean (h) 2-0

Bearsted v Steyning Town Community
Otham Sports Club, ME15 8RG. http://www.bearstedfc.co.uk/contactus.aspx
In the last two seasons of the Kent Invicta League, Bearsted followed up their runners-up spot by winning the title in 2015-16. Since the league merge into the Southern Counties East they have not managed to lift themselves above halfway. This season, however, they are looking capable of remedying that fact and are currently ninth. Steyning, meanwhile, could be forgiven for taking their eye off the Vase ball as they push for promotion to the Premier League. A 1-0 win at Bexhill on Saturday saw them hit top spot, a point clear of AFC Varndeanians. Whilst Bearsted have very little Vase history, Steyning can point to a Quarter-Final appearance bck in 1984-85, when they went out to eventual winners Halesowen Town.
Bearsted - Bexhill United (h) 4-1, Selsey (a) 2-0, Beckenham Town (h) 3-0, Newhaven (h) 1-0
Steyning Town - Kent Football United, (a) 3-2, Punjab United (h) 1-1 (9-8, pens), Walton & Hersham (h) 1-0, Banstead Atheltic (h) 1-0

Sheppey United v Cray Valley PM
The Havhill Stadium, ME12 3DB. http://www.sheppeyunitedfc.co.uk/contact-us/
This all Southern Counties East Premier tie pitches together two sides that have a promotion challenge fully in their sites. Both are currently top six level on points after Sheppey's 4-3 win at Crowborough on Saturday. Cray do, however, have a game in hand on their rivals as well as a vastly superior goal difference. Neither side has a rich Vase hsitory in fact this represents the best run in the competition for both teams. The sides met in the league recently with Cray returning from the Isle with a 3-1 victory after an opening goal from former Charlton striker Kevin Lisbie.
Sheppey United - Balham (h) 3-1, Seaford Town (h) 5-3, East Preston (h) 4-0, Spelthorne Sports (a) 2-1
Cray Valley PM - Sutton Athletic (a) 2-1, Hailsham Town (h) 2-0, St Panteleimon (a) 3-1, Badshot Lea (h) 7-0

Canterbury City v Southall
Salters Lane (Faversham Town FC), ME13 0DL. http://www.canterburycityfc.net/contact/
These two sides are both sitting in and around mid-table in their leagues at the moment, 13th and 10th respectively. Neither are in any immediate threat from the bottom but are off the promotion pace. As far as Vase pedigree goes, City can point to a pretty good recent history, reaching Round Three in 2015-16 and then Round Two in the past two seasons. Southall, beaten Finalists in 85-86, reached the Quarter-Final as a Step 6 side in the 2016-17 season, eventually bowing out to Cleethorpes Town who went on to lose in the Final.
Canterbury City - Langney Wanderers (a) 2-0, AFC Varndeanians (a) 2-0, Saltdean United (h) 2-1, Corinthian (a) 4-2 (aet)
Southall - Reading City (h) 3-2, Wembley (h) 5-0, Sheerwater (h) 6-0, Chatham Town (h) 1-0

Erith Town v Windsor
Erith Stadium, DA8 3AT. https://www.erithtown.co.uk/content.php?pg=clubinfo&pd=1005
Another Southern Counties East Premier outfit, Erith Town, who went down 3-0 to Deal Town on Saturday, are currently level on points with Canterbury occupying a lower half of mid-table berth. They may well be sick of the sight of opponents Windsor. Last season they went out of this competition in Round Two at the hands of the Berkshire outfit. Windsor went on to reach the Quarter-Final before going out to beaten Finalists Stockton Town.
Erith Town - Arundel (h) 5-0, AC London (a) 3-2, Bedfont & Feltham (a) 2-1, Kensington Borough (a) 3-0
Windsor -  Chichester City (a) 2-0

Saltash United v Cribbs
The Kimberley Stadium, PL12 6DX. http://www.saltashunited.co.uk/club/88650/FindUs
Saltash may be a Step 6 side but they are consistent top 6 finishers in the South West Peninsula League and will certainly fancy their chances with a home tie against their Western League Premier visitors. United occupy an interesting league position at the time of writing. They are nicely placed in third but are fourteen points adrift of Argyle. The twist comes in the fact that Saltash have six games in hand on the leaders. Cribbs are placed in mid-table of the Western Premier but have gone five league games unbeaten since a reverse at Shepton Mallet in October.
Saltash United - Wellington AFC (a) 3-1, Axminster Town (h) 6-0, Westbury United (h) 2-1, Ivybridge Town (a) 3-1
Cribbs - Shortood United (a) 5-1, Brimscombe & Thrupp (a) 3-2, Newport (IW) (a) 2-0

Bradford Town v Baffins Milton Rovers
Trowbridge Road, BA15 1EX. http://bradfordtownfc.com/getting-here/
If you look at the respective league standings of these two, you would find little to split them at first glance. Both sit just below the main promotion battle in eighth and seventh spot respectively. This is only Rovers' second venture into the Vase. They managed to get to the same stage last season and will be looking to further their run this year. Bradford have shown some real Vase form in recent years and have notched up a run of Fifth Round, Fourth Round, Fourth Round before this season's venture.
Bradford Town - Brockenhurst (a) 4-0
Baffins Milton Rovers - Fairford Town (a) 3-2, New College Swindon (h) 14-1, Bashley (a) 2-1, Bournemouth (h) 3-2

Willand Rovers v Bodmin Town
Silver Street, EX15 2RG. http://www.willandrovers.co.uk/
Willand, as has become the norm for them, are again pushing towards a promotion battle this season. Currently just below the top two they have suffered just a single league defeat so far. Bodmin are seventh in the South West Peninsula Premier but are certainly not out of the running at this stage. Both can boast some Vase success in recent times and can point to a Fifth Round appearance each in the last few seasons.
Willand Rovers - Odd Down (a) 4-1, Tavistock (h) 2-1
Bodmin Town - Camelford (a) 3-3, Camelford (h) 4-0, AFC Stoneham (h) 2-1, Alresford Town (h) 1-0

Cadbury Heath v AFC St Austell
Springfield, BS30 8BX. http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/cadburyheathfc/contact/
Another South-West match-up pitching a Western Premier outfit against a South West Peninsula Premier side. Cadbury Heath are probably a lot closer to the bottom of the league than they would want to be. However, a foray into the Vase may be just the tonic they need. St Austell sit sixth in the table and may still have enough in the tank to have a say in the final promotion push. They, quite famously, went all the way to Semi-Final of this competition four years ago, losing out to Glossop 2-1 on aggregate. Heath's best progress was a Quarter-Final defeat to Billericay Town back in the 1975-76 season.
Cadbury Heath - New Milton Town (a) 2-1, Sidmouth Town (h) 5-0, Exmouth Town (a) 4-3
St Austell - Ilfracombe Town (h) 3-1, Wells City (a) 3-2, Plymouth Parkway (h) 6-1, Cheddar  (a) 2-1

Hamble Club v Hamworthy United
The Abbey, SO31 4TS. http://www.hcfc.org.uk/contact/
An all Wessex Premier clash between two sides who are only separated by three points in the league. They have not yet met in the league this season, so there are no form pointers to be had there. FA Vase wise, Hamworthy can lay claim to be the more experienced of the two. They have a number of campaigns under their belt and managed a Third Round appearance in 2008-09. However, despite this only being Hamble's second Vase adventure, they did manage to make it all the way to the Fifth Round last season, eventually falling to Windsor.
Hamble Club - Almondsbury (a) 2-1
Hamworthy United - Amesbury Town (h) 3-0, Fawley (h) 3-1, Shaftesbury (a) 2-1, Falmouth Town (h) 3-1

Sholing v Pagham
Universal Stadium, SO19 9PW. http://www.sholingfc.co.uk/index.php/contact-us/how-to-find-us
Sholing are having a superb season in the Wessex Premier so far. They lead the division by seven points, have a 100% league record and have a game in hand on their closest rivals. This will be no walk in the park, however. Pagham currently sit fourth in the Southern Combination Premier, have lost just once all season (although that defeat did come this weekend) and average two goals a game on their travels. A win for Pagham will equal their best ever Vase run, set in the 1980-81 season. Sholing are, of course, the only side remaining in the competition who can say that they have been there, done that, after beating West Auckland Town 1-0 in the 2013-14 season.
Sholing - Torpoint Athletic (a) 1-0, Malmesbury Victoria (h) 5-1
Pagham - Hanworth Villa (a) 4-2, Peacehaven & Telscombe (h) 4-1

Now the (semi) scientific bit. Some Vase statistics so far:
Most games played: 5 - Sporting Khalsa, Silsden
Most Home games played: 4 - Southall
Most Away games played: 4 - Ilkeston Town
Highest number of goals scored: 22 - Baffins Milton Rovers (Leverstock Green the only other team to break 20 with 21 so far)
Fewest goals conceded (more than 1 match played): 0 - Ilkeston Town, Northwich Victoria
Average goals scored/game (more than 1 match played): 5.50 - Baffins Milton Rovers
Biggest Winning margin: Baffins Milton Rovers 14 New College Swindon 1
Quirky Fact: Leighton Town have progressed to Round Three without scoring a goal and ahave a goal difference of -2 after Cogenhoe were thrown out and Leighton re-instated.


And finally the very much non-scientific bit. Not so much a prediction but let's just say BotP would not be surprised to see one of these names on the Vase come May:

• Ilkeston Town
• Stockton Town
• Sholing
• Walsall Wood
• Tring Athletic

​This Tuesday was a bit of a landmark for BotP, a first visit to The Dovecote Stadium, Shepshed Dynamo's home ground. Over recent years The Dovecote has become something of a non-league 'must visit' stadium because of the name of the road that the ground stands on. It was made even more famous, or notorious, when Colin Murray took his show to the ground a couple of years back. Of course, as an amateur blogger, the challenge for this particular blog is to get through it without using any references to the road name, innuendos, double-entendres or general cliched references that, I am sure, have all been used before. 

The Ground
As I said, The Dovecote has become something of a ground-hoppers 'go to' ground because of the road name. However, upon arriving at the ground you soon see that it is well worth a visit in it's own right. This part of the country seems to be blessed with particularly good non-league football ground (see my recent Barrow Town and Quorn blogs). Shepshed weigh into this argument with The Dovecote which, whilst certainly not as neat and tidy as either Quorn or Barrow, has charm and history oozing from every glorious nook and cranny. This is my sort of ground. Nothing is symmetrical. Buildings have been bolted on over the long history of the ground (Shepshed have played their since 1891), there is a slope on the pitch and that wonderful whiff of grassroots football about the place.

​Entrance to the stadium is through a single turnstile which leads you into the corner of the ground. Directly in front of you, running down one side is the clubhouse, snack bar (Dynamo Diner), as well as the players and officials facilities. There is also a small covered seating area, reserved for Directors and officials and, towards the lower end of the ground a covered standing area. To the right of the turnstile is the media centre, club shop and, directly behind one of the goals, a reasonably large covered seating area. On the far side of the ground is another covered seating area which runs about half the length of the ground, centred on the halfway line. The goal at the far end of the ground, opposite to the entrance, is backed by a line of trees (regular readers will know that this is another feature that endears non-league grounds to me).
One key point for new visitors to the ground. It is situated in a residential area and has no spectator parking on site due to the lack of space and tight entrance. There is a school a few hundred yards away from the ground which has ample parking and it's only a couple of minutes walk to the ground.

The Background
Dynamo were coming into the game in 7th place with 25 points from their 15 games. They were also on a run of eight consecutive victories in all competitions and unbeaten since a 2-1 home defeat by Walsall Wood in September.
South Normanton, by contrast, were looking up the table from bottom position with 7 points from their 15 games played. recent results, however, had been starting to show some positivity. A 4-0 home win against Romulus had been followed with a narrow 1-0 defeat at Walsall Wood and, although The Shiners had been struggling to pick up wins, their results show that the majority of recent defeats had been by narrow margins.
Last season both of the league games between these sides finished as away wins. Dynamo winning 4-1 in Derbyshire whilst The Shiners clocked up a 3-0 victory at The Dovecote.

​The Game
The opening encounters of the game were far more even than the respective league positions suggested. In fact, it was the visitors who had the first meaningful attempt at goal when John Guy managed to get a shot away which stung the hands of Brandon Ganley. For Shepshed, the majority of attacking threat was coming down their right-flank, where Sam Moore was proving to be a handful for the Shiners defence. It was Moore who had Dynamo's first significant chance but his effort was blocked by a South Normanton defender.
There was little to choose between the sides until the 33rd minute when Moore latched onto the ball inside the visitor's penalty area and hit a low, angled drive across Hall into the far corner of the net. 1-0
On 41 minutes South Normanton came very close to drawing level when Dylan Garnett cut in from the right and curled an effort past Ganley only for the ball to strike the upright and rebound to safety.

HT Shepshed Dynamo 1 South Normanton Athletic 0. Dynamo edging the first-half but The Shiners are by no means out of it, especially with the slope in their favour for the second period.

As it happened, the second-half in my opinion, was an intriguing and fascinating 45 minutes of football. Sure enough South Normanton invigorated by kicking down the slope and probably heartened by their first-half performance, set about getting themselves level from the off. Shepshed, whether intentionally or not, were being pushed backwards. However, they have the players in their squad to play counter-attacking football very effectively, meaning the the visitors could not completely throw caution to the wind.
The game, which was by no means a dirty game, did have a little undercurrent to it. There were a few running battles going on around the pitch mainly because it was a highly competitive match.
South Normanton continued to press forward, getting the ball into the last third very quickly and trying to force a mistake from the home defence which, to their credit, stood firm for the most part.
Shepshed introduced what would have been the Leicester Nirvana front line a couple of seasons ago when they brought on Matt Melbourne to lead the line and tricky winger Pearson Mwanyongo on the right.

Shepshed continued to soak up the visitors pressure, breaking whenever they could and, in the last minute, they finally sealed the game. Sam Moore once again picked up the ball some 40 yards out. He drifted past a couple of defenders, rode a few more challenges and the slotted the ball past Hall to make it 2-0. A really well taken individual goal.

There was still time, very late on, for South Normanton's frustration to boil over, Evan Cawley seeing red for a nasty looking challenge on Zac Hill. The player had barely had time to walk down the tunnel before the referee blew for full-time.

FT Shepshed Dynamo 2 South Normanton Athletic 0. A hard fought three points for Dynamo who had to battle very hard against a determined Shiners side, especially throughout the second-half. South Normanton certainly could not fault their player's efforts and could easily make a case for deserving something from the game.

Shepshed Dynamo: Ganley, Hill, Acott, Pheasant, Betts(c), Prenderville, Moore, Hurst, WHymark, Patrocino, Thomas. Subs: Mwanyongo, Melbourne, L. Day, S. Day, Phillips
South Normanton Athletic: Hall, Leigh(c), Cawley, Nadine, Cox, Guy, Garnett, Tyson, Fell, Robinson, King. Subs: Crosby, Paul, Butcher, Stryzewski, Mitchell

Att: 
Ground Number: 172
Entrance: £6.00
Programme:  £1.50

If you liked this match blog, or even if you didn't, why not retweet it. The website could always do with a plug (damn, so nearly got through the whole blog without a reference).

​Tuesday evening this week was taken up with the second installment of my FA Coaching badge, so Wednesday became football night. A quick scan of my options revealed the opportunity of taking in a new ground, possibly seeing an ex-West Brom legend play and another possibility of seeing an ex-Glassboy back in action after some time out injured. So, off to Leicestershire it was then. Quorn v Northfield Town in the Smedley Crooke Memorial Cup.

The Ground
There must be something in the air around the Loughborough area. On Non-League Day I was at Quorn's very near neighbours, Barrow Town, and commented on how neat and tidy their ground was kept. Well, just a few miles down the A6 is The Farley Way Stadium, home of Quorn FC, and, I have to say, this stadium is up there with Barrow when it comes to the standard of the facilities. The playing surfaces cannot be compared because unlike Barrow, Quorn have opted for an artificial surface, installed over the Summer break. However, all other aspects of the stadium are pretty much match the immaculate nature of Barrow. There is a reasonably large car park adjacent to the ground and multiple turnstile accesses into the ground (only one was open this evening, but that was to be expected for a midweek cup game). The ground itself features two large covered stands, a stepped standing area behind the car park end goal and a seating area that runs down the majority of the A6 side of the ground. On the Loughborough Road side there is a large club house and the players/officials facilities as well as the dugouts, which are almost at opposite ends of the playing surface.

The Background
The game matched up two teams from the Midland League structure, albeit with two divisions between the sides. Quorn, currently 10th in the Premier League, came into the game with a very symmetrical league record won 5, drawn 5, lost 5. Their form has been a little up and down recently and they have exited both the FA Vase and FA Cup at home to lower league opposition, Eastwood CFC (1-2) and Atherstone Town (0-1) respectively.
Northfield, who won this competition in 1989-90, were coming into the game in good form. Sitting third in Division Two, they were on a run of 7 unbeaten in the league, 6 wins and a draw and had only lost twice in the league all season.

Despite former Baggies stopper Russell Hoult not being in the Quorn side, I was very interested to see that both Sean Geddes (Quorn) and Liam Spink (Northfield) were in their team's starting line-ups. Both players were on the road back to match fitness after long term injuries, and it was good to see them both back on the pitch.

​The Game
It's fair to say that Northfield got into the game much quicker than Quorn. For the first ten minutes or so, it was the Division Two side who looked the more lively and were on top of play. However, after a settling in period, Quorn started to get themselves settled and began to knock the ball around with some confidence. The majority of their build-up play was going through captain Geddes, who was dropping deep to receive the ball and then linking the play up the field.
It took until the 19th minute for Quorn to open the scoring.Big striker Stephen Hart saw his effort come back off the underside of the bar and out. It was not properly cleared by the Northfield defence allowing Omar Haughton to latch onto the loose ball and bury his effort past Walker. 1-0
Within five minutes it was two. Again, the unlucky Hart, saw an effort strike the angle of post and bar before the ball was picked up Geddes who drove his shot into the far corner. 2-0 and two quite similar goals. It appeared that Quorn's game plan was for Hart to ping efforts against the woodwork for his team-mates to pick up and score.
Two quick goals could easily have signalled a collapse from Northfield but, to give them credit, they dug in and stemmed the flow of the Quorn attacks and started to try getting forward themselves again, with the Impressive Josh Westwood being a constant threat on the left flank.

After 41 minutes Northfield got some reward for their endeavours. Sam Wills got in behind the Quorn back line and, from a tight angle, produced a delightful clip over Charlie Doherty into the far corner of the net. 2-1.
However, just as Northfield thought they would go into the break only a goal behind, thorn in their side Hart came up with another assist, this time without the aid of the woodwork. His deep cross from the left was met at the far post by right-back Mitchell Tomlinson who volleyed the ball back past Walker to make it 3-1.

HT Quorn 3 Northfield Town 1. Quorn took a while to settle but once Sean Geddes got into his stride he began to make the team tick. Northfield are certainly not out of it yet though and do not look out of place despite the two division gap between the teams.

​The way Northfield came out for the second-half made me wonder how much confidence they would have had if they had held the score to 2-1 before the break. They came out all guns blazing, in search of getting goal back and, like the first half, catching Quorn a little flat-footed. However, Town couldn't find that final ball or finish and, consequently, could not fashion a goal. That brief spell at the start of the second period proved to be their last hurrah in the game.

It's not often i use the word sumptuous. In fact, I don't believe I have ever used it in the context of football. However, that is just how I described Quorn's fourth and Haughton's second goal of the night. The winger drove at the Quorn defence, out wide on the right, stepped inside and then curled the ball beyond the reach of Walker. 4-1 and most definitely a sumptuous finish. I was directly behind the strike and it's fair to say that it was in from the moment it left his boot. The game was now effectively over. 

Northfield had battled hard and, for the first few minutes of the second half, looked like they were really going to make a fist of it. However, the fourth goal finished them off.
Just before the hour mark Hart got the goal that he deserved. Driving in from the left, he saw his first effort saved but, when the ball wan't properly cleared, it fell back to the Quorn striker who had a simple tap-in for his goal. 5-1.

Northfield never let their heads drop, even at 5-1 down, and can be proud of the game that they gave to their higher placed opponents. Quorn, at times put some good moves together. It was noticeable after the fifth goal went in that, with Geddes starting to tire and not making himself available to link play, they created far fewer opportunities.

FT Quorn 5 Northfield Town 1. A spirited effort from the Division Two outfit but, in the end, a comfortable victory for Quorn. 


Quorn: Doherty, Tomlinson, Andrews, O'Neill, Gorman, Morris, Haughton, Geddes(c), Williams, Hart, Darkin. Subs: Rydquist, Dale, Moseley, Howard, Richmond

Northfield Town: Walker, Williams, Judd(c), Boazman, Walton, Douglas, Wills, McGinley, Skerrett, L.Spink, Westwood. Subs: Behan, McGinn, Pierpoint, Alexander


Att: 59
Ground Number: 171
Entrance: £6.00
Programme:  £1.00

​The Ground
Cranfield's Crawley Road ground is situated on the outskirts of the village of Cranfield, almost on the end of the runaway for Cranfield Airport. There is a reasonable sized car park behind one of the goals at the same end as the clubhouse and facilities block. There is also car parking available on grass alongside the Crawley Road side of the ground. On the opposite side to this is the main stand and dugouts. It's a very nicely kept ground, especially considering the clubs current Step 7 status. The pitch was in very good condition. Maybe Chris Sutton needs to visit Cranfield?
Entry to the ground was free of charge on the evening that I visited.

The Background
The fare on Tuesday was a Bedfordshire FA Senior Trophy clash between the hosts Cranfield United and Langford, from the Spartan South Midlands Division One. I couldn't find out too much information about the history of the competition but, it appears that Cranfield made it to the Final last season only to be beaten 2-0 by Tottenhoe.
Cranfield's progress this season had seen them win 2-1 at Ickwell & Old Warden in Round 1. Langford had crusied past Marston Shelton Rovers by 6-2
In the league Cranfield, who play in the Bedfordshire County Premier, sit third but have two ganes in hand on both Crawley Green Reserves (a point above Cranfield) and Shefford Town & Campton, who are six points clear. United are unbeaten in the league so far, winning five and drawing two, scoring 18 and conceding 7. Captain Courtney Boughton is also their top scorer with 6 goals in 10 games.

Langford, who play at a Step above their opponents, are currently 11th in the South Midlands Division One. They have a very uniform record in the league, played 12, won 6, lost 6. Their top scorers this season are Jack Worbey with 8 and Lewis Osborne with 6.

The Game
The game was only 6 minutes old when Langford's Nugent was hauled down just outside the area. After lengthy treatment the player was not able to continue and was substituted. Tony Rome stepped up and crashed the free-kick past Roggero into the bottom corner of the net. 0-1
A good start from Langford but Cranfield were not downhearted and picked themselves up well, getting themselves well and truly into the game.
After 24 minutes they almost grabbed an equaliser when left-back Aaron Chaplin somehow wriggled his way into the box, breaking a number of tackles in the way. His low drive, however, was brilliantly turned away by Ben Watson, diving to his right and getting a hand to the goal-bound effort.

HT Cranfield United 0 Langford 1. A fairly even first half after the early goal.

The second-half, played in light rain, brought more of the same with Cranfield trying to get themselves back onto level terms whilst not leaving gaps for the Langford strike pairing to exploit. To be fair to the Step 7 side, it was hard to see a difference between the teams.

On 70 minutes came a bizarre event. Langford were attacking and, following a shot which Langford believed had been tipped over by the keeper, the referee awarded a goal-kick. I'm not sure what Ben Watson, the Langford keeper, said from the other end of the pitch but, whatever it was, the referee deemed it worthy of a straight red card. So, with 20 minutes remaining, Langford were forced to sacrifice their right-back Jordan Stuart, in order to bring on a replacement goalkeeper.
The replacement's first job was almost to pick the ball out of the net as a CRanfield effort came back off one of his uprights.
However, Langford managed to hang on a progress through to the Third Round.

FT Cranfield United 0 Langford 1. A hard-fought game between two pretty well matched sides decided by an excellent free-kick.

Cranfield United: Roggero, Harding, Chaplin, Henry-Brown, Newman, Jones, Ricciardi, Gillies, Boughton (c), Philips, McBrien. Subs: Mitri, Webb, Smithson, Simpson, Smith

Langford: B. Watson, Stuart, Green, Ali(c), Dean, Poulton, Edwards, Osborne, Bamfod, Rome, Nugent. Subs: Auburn, Tizard, K. Watson, Bridge, Wells

Att: 50
Ground Number: 170
Entrance: £0.00
Programme:  Not available

​The Second Round of the FA Vase is almost upon us, so here at BotP we have put together our guide to the competition so far. All the teams and all the statistics you need.

128 teams remain in the competition, 90 from Step 5, 35 from Step 6, and 3 Step 7 sides, Blidworth Welfare, Hucknall Town and Saffron Dynamo.
Interestingly, all three of the remaining Step 7 sides are based in the East Midlands area, two playing in the Central Midlands League South and one in the Leicestershire Senior League. All three have received tough away fixtures at Step 5 sides, Shepshed Dynamo, Sporting Khalsa and Leciester Nirvana respectively.

Two previous winners are still in there, Dunston UTS and Sholing. There are also four previous finalists still battling it out, West Auckland, Bedlington Terriers, Southall and last season's beaten finalists, Stockton Town.

The Northern League, where eight of the last ten winners have come from is still well represented this season with eight teams from Division One and one from Division Two still in the hat. However, it is the Midland League that has the largest number of teams left in the competition with 13 from the Premier Division and 5 more from Division One.

​Eight 'Vase Virgins' are still pursuing their dreams. May & Baker Eastbrook Community, Thame Rangers, NKF Burbage, Wolverhampton Sporting Community, Avro, Garstang, Barton Town and Ilkeston Town.
At least one of these teams will make it through to the Third Round, as Wolverhampton Sports have been drawn at home to Ilkeston Town. Of the other six teams, only Thame Rangers and NKF Burbage will have to travel, to Newport Pagnell Town and Stourport respectively.

Nineteen teams in the draw have already surpassed their best Vase efforts (not including newcomers). Whilst there are eleven teams who have matched their best run and will be trying to set new club records by progressing to Round Three.

It's not going to be easy as there is still plenty of FA Vase experience left in the competition apart from the two past winners and four finalists. Sixteen former Quarter-Finalists and seven who have made it into the last four are still in the hat, including last season's beaten semi-finalists 1874 Northwich.

There are 64 cracking ties to choose from, all listed below.

​Full Second Round Fixture List

​
​Previous Winners

The Ground
I don't often get to go to games with my Dad these days. So, it was great this weekend to have an opportunity to get out and watch a game. With Stourbridge away at Guisleley, just that bit too far if I wanted to get home at a reasonable hour, we headed off to the closest game we could find, Dudley Sports v Shifnal Town in the West Midland (Regional) Premier League. Sports play at Hillcrest Avenue in Brierley Hill. Without going into the history of the club too much, this was originally the home of Marsh & Baxter's works team (mentioned in this blog from a couple of year's back). Both my Dad and myself had vague memories of playing at this ground in our younger years and, it's probably fair to say that the ground has not changed too much in the intervening time.
Once parked up, in the reasonably sized car park, access to the ground is through single turnstile. This actually takes you into the ground next to the smaller of two pitches. Sports' first team plays on the pitch to the left of the turnstile, which has covered areas on both sides. The Hillcrest Avenue side of the ground has a small covered seated area. Opposite this are the dugouts and another covered area, which has bench seats at the rear. Just behind this stand is the facilities block and the snack bar. The supporters toilets are in the same block as the changing rooms which, on Saturday at least, led to an unusual situation. I had nipped over to get a couple of teas and popped into the toilet while I was there. Whilst in the toilet the referee called for the teams to make their way to the pitch. So, for the first time since I started this blog, I walked out of the changing rooms with the teams. Although, as they headed off to the pitch, I took a sharp right for the tea bar. Yet another little thing that endears me more to non-league football.

The Background
Coming into the game the home side were, by far, the form team of the two. Unbeaten in their last five, Sports had seen off Cradley Town in their previous game and were looking at pushing closer to rivals Dudley Town. Shifnal, in great contrast, had lost their last five games, scoring four and conceding seventeen. Last season had seen away wins in both meetings between the sides. In October Shifnal had won 2-1 at Hillcrest Avenue whilst, late in the season Sports had won 6-1 in Shropshire.

The Game
​Straight from the first whistle, and against current form, it was Shifnal who looked to take control of the game with Kyle Montague, playing wide right, causing all sorts of problems with his pace.
With just under a quarter of an hour on the clock Montague once again, got clear of his man on the right, latching onto a through ball. He did exceptionally well to dig out a deep cross which was headed in by Lewis Mackenzie. 0-1. 

For a side who had not scored in their previous two matches, Shifnal were looking very dangerous when they attacked. On 22 minutes, they doubled their lead after Sports stopper, Liam O'Dowd, fumbled a cross allowing Sam Wilde to stab the ball home. 0-2. One minute later the Mantague showed his pace again, racing onto a through ball he beat the keeper to it only to see his effort come back off the post.

Suddenly on 26 minutes, completely out of the blue and against the run of play, Sports were back in it when Moraka beat two men before producing a calm finish past Whittaker. 1-2.
The comeback, however, did not transpire and within four minutes, Shifnal had regained their two goal advantage. Sports conceded a free-kick some 35 yards out on the left. The ball was lofted into the penalty area where an unmarked Wilde put his header past O'Dowd for his second and Town's third. 1-3.
Shifnal were not finished there. Six minutes later Jordan Bailey struck a drive, from the left-hand angle of the box, across O'Dowd and into the corner of the net despite the keeper getting a hand to it. 1-4.

HT Dudley Sports 1 Shifnal Town 4. Certainly no shortage of action in this one. Shifnal certainly well worthy of their lead.

​As You may expect when 4-1 down at half-time, Sports made a couple of changes in the break. Goalkeeper O'Dowd, who had apparently picked up a knock in their previous match, was replaced by Ryan Pratt. Left-back Matt Hanson also made way after being given a torrid time by Montague in the first-half.
The changes seemed to have the desired effect early in the second half. At least in as much as the tide was stemmed somewhat. Although, of course, at 4-1 up it could as easily have been a case of Shifnal taking their foot off the pedal a little too.

The game, however, was probably over as a contest unless Sports managed to get at least one back early in the second period. This did not happen and, on 64 minutes, it was the visitors who notched again. This time Ryan Bright curled in an absolute beauty from just outside the box. 1-5 and probably the goal of the game.

Sports, to their credit, kept trying to press forward and did start to get a little foothold on the game after going 5-1 down. Despite their increased possession they still could not find a way past Whittaker.
With the game winding down we were then treated to a manic last five minutes. First, on 85 minutes, McKenzie grabbed a second goal from a left-wing corner. 1-6. Three minutes later Wilde was on the spot to poke the ball over the line after a scramble in the area. 1-7 and a hat-trick for the Shifnal player.
Then, just before the full-time whistle, substitute Richard Hanson slotted home a late consolation for the home side. 2-7. 

FT Dudley Sports 2 Shifnal Town 7. A crazy game end to a crazy game. Shifnal really won the game with a very good first-half display.

Dudley Sports: O'Dowd, Bradfield, M. Hanson, Parker (c), Chiwara, Price, Moraka, Ishola, Nicholson, Beyal, Becford. Subs: McGovern, R. Hanson, Woddall, Wooldridge, Pratt

Shifnal Town: Whittaker, Hadley, Tanomjit, Wilde, Vale, Jones, Bailey, Mackenzie, Montague, Bright, Novis. Subs: Gwynne, Udoh, Mountford, Aminu, Sharpe

Att:
Ground Number: 169
Entrance: £5.00
Programme: £1.00