Football News And Views

The draw for the 4th round of the FA Cup was made earlier today at Soho Square and it threw up a couple of interesting ties. The one that most people will be talking about it undoubtedly the prospect of Liverpool hosting Havant & Waterlooville from the Conference South if both sides win there respective replays. Apart from this it was a relatively disappointing draw from the giant killers propesctive but there were a few all Premiership ties with Arsenal hosting Newcastle or Stoke, Chelsea being away for once against Wigan and Tottenham or Reading visiting Old Trafford. The draw in full can be found below with matches taking place the weekend of the 26/27th of January.

Arsenal v Stoke City/Newcastle
Coventry v Walsall/Millwall
Oldham v Huddersfield Town
Swindon/Barnet v Fulham/Bristol Rovers
Wigan v Chelsea
Luton/Liverpool v Swansea/Havant & Waterlooville
Southend v Barnsley
Southampton v Norwich/Bury
Man Utd v Tottenham/Reading
Portsmouth v Plymouth
Derby/Sheff Wed v Preston
Watford v Wolves
Peterborough v Charlton/West Brom
Sheff Utd v West Ham/Man City
Mansfield v Middlesbrough
Tranmere/Hereford v Cardiff

The 127th FA Cup competition has now reached the Second Round Qualifying stage, for which the draw for the  was made at Soho Square today.

The 44 clubs from Blue Square North and South enter at this stage. The 80 Second Round Qualifying ties are scheduled to be played on Saturday 29 September, with the winning clubs each picking up £3,750. The two ties that stand out for me are Hempel Hempsted at home to Chelmsford City and Debenham’s reward for beating Holbeach United is a home tie with Ryman Premier League side AFC Wimbledon. The full draw can be found below.

1 Liversedge v Kendal Town

2 Consett v Workington

3 Barrow v Colwyn Bay

4 Billingham Town v Fleetwood Town

5 Skelmersdale United v Southport

6 Prescot Cables v Guiseley AFC

7 Dinnington Town or Penrith Town v Cheadle Town

8 Chester-Le-Street Town or Harrogate Railway v Leigh RMI

9 Bradford Park Avenue v Whitby Town

10 Stalybridge Celtic v Hyde United

11 Flixton or Bamber Bridge v Burscough

12 Gainsborough Trinity v Stocksbridge Park Steels

13 Harrogate Town v Nantwich Town

14 West Auckland Town v Newcastle Benfield

15 Gateshead v Vauxhall Motors

16 Chorley or Clitheroe v Spennymoor Town

17 Blyth Spartans AFC v Radcliffe Borough

18 Horden CW or Jarrow Roofing Boldon CA v Woodley Sports

19 Cambridge City v Chasetown

20 Kettering Town v Redditch United

21 Bromsgrove Rovers or Shepshed Dynamo v Nuneaton Borough

22 Rainworth MW v Kidsgrove Athletic or Barnt Green Spartak

23 Matlock Town v AFC Telford United

24 Stourbridge v King`s Lynn

25 Soham Town Rangers v Solihull Moors

26 Hinckley United v Grantham Town or Needham Market

27 Boston United v Buxton

28 Quorn v Evesham United or Tipton Town

29 Tamworth v Worcester City

30 Hednesford Town or Stratford Town v Alfreton Town

31 Rushall Olympic v Sutton Coldfield Town

32 Glapwell v Market Drayton Town

33 Belper Town v Hucknall Town

34 Halesowen Town v Bedworth United

35 Stamford v Gedling Town

36 Horsham v Bury Town

37 Hayes & Yeading United v Herne Bay

38 Dulwich Hamlet or Deal Town v Chalfont St Peter

39 Crowborough Athletic v Brackley Town or Staines Town

40 Boreham Wood v Broxbourne Borough V&E or Bedford Town

41 Ware or Great Wakering Rovers v Thurrock

42 Mildenhall Town or Haverhill Rovers v Hitchin Town

43 Dartford or Sittingbourne v Camberley Town

44 Fisher Athletic v Margate

45 Hemel Hempstead Town v Chelmsford City

46 Welling United v Hertford Town or Barkingside

47 Billericay Town v Maidstone United

48 Croydon Athletic or Tonbridge Angels v Maldon Town

49 Dunstable Town v Lewes

50 St Albans City v Bishop’s Stortford

51 Kirkley & Pakefield v Leighton Town

52 Tiptree United or Brentwood Town v Harlow Town

53 Chesham United v Stotfold

54 Worthing or Croydon v Eastbourne Town or Walton & Hersham

55 Hampton & Richmond Borough v Braintree Town

56 Hendon or Aveley v AFC Hornchurch

57 Sutton United v Harwich & Parkeston or Woodford United

58 Debenham LC v AFC Wimbledon

59 Ramsgate v Barton Rovers or Corby Town

60 Folkestone Invicta or Horsham YMCA v Windsor & Eton

61 Hythe Town v Dover Athletic

62 Rothwell Town or Enfield Town v Hillingdon Borough

63 Erith Town v Heybridge Swifts

64 Aylesbury United v Bromley

65 Carshalton Athletic v Wealdstone

66 Eastbourne Borough v Edgware Town

67 Merthyr Tydfil v Abingdon United or AFC Totton

68 Brockenhurst or Wootton Bassett Town v Maidenhead United

69 Oxford City v Weston-super-Mare

70 Bognor Regis Town v Havant & Waterlooville

71 Beaconsfield SYCOB or Chippenham Town v Hallen

72 Dorchester Town v Paulton Rovers

73 Gloucester City v Shortwood United

74 Basingstoke Town v Newport County

75 Truro City v Bath City

76 Corsham Town v VT or Bashley

77 Moneyfields v Team Bath

78 Hamworthy United or Bishop’s Cleeve v Eastleigh

79 Cirencester Town or Cinderford Town v Clevedon Town

80 Fleet Town or Gosport Borough v Mangotsfield United

Chelmsford City 5-0 Burnham Ramblers  

Today saw the return of FA Cup football to Melbourne Park as Chelmsford City took on Burnham Ramblers without Craig Hudgell who decided he wouldn’t be joining the Ramblers in the First Qualifying Round. In truth there was only ever going to be one team who progressed to the next round and it only took 5 minutes for the Ryman Premier League team Chelmsford to open the scoring against a team who ranked 2 leagues below them when Ricky Holmes was slipped into a shooting position scoring from a tight angle past goalkeeper Dave McCartney. It was all one way traffic and the Burnham keeper had to make two more diving saves before Chelmsford got their 2nd 12 minutes into the game when fit again Jeff Minton tapped in from a yard out after some good work from Chris Duffy.

Chelmsford controlled  the rest of the first half with Ricky Holmes crossing late on to  find the head of Mario Noto to glance over and some more Ibe trickery saw him square again to Noto whose lifted strike narrowly cleared the crossbar. Jeff Minton nodded just wide with his head moments before half time but right on the stroke of the interval Lee Protheroe’s corner wasn’t dealt with very well by the Burnham defence so Kezie Ibe guided the ball over his shoulder inside the six-yard box and into the net to give City a comfortable 3-0 advantage at the break.

It was the former Arsenal trainee Ibe who was again involved in the first meaningful attack of the second half which resulted in the ball being placed in front of Noto who had the simple chance of finishing in the 52nd minute and he did just that 4-0 to the Clarets.

An hour gone then Burnham’s first chance of the match arrived  A rare and momentary lapse in concentration meant a loose ball was presented to Nicholas Muir on the edge of the box with an open goal but his looper ended-up landing on the roof of the net. This would proof to be their only real chance of the game.

As the 2nd half wore on Chelmsford dropped the intensity level as they knew they had the game wrapped up but there was still time for Jamie England to cap his return from injury with a goal with help from a hefty deflection that took his 86th-minute shot past the helpless keeper and in, capping off a professional performance from City which sent them through and kept the dream alive that a league team could be coming to Chelmsford.