Today I'm going back to exactly one year ago and the FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round tie between Racing Club Warwick and Stone Old Alleynians played at Townsend Meadow in Warwick in front of a healthy post-Covid19 crowd of 187. The programme cover for the game is a delight and shows how the place has been transformed from an untidy and rather ramshackle ground with a dreadful pitch (dry and dusty at the end of the season and waterlogged throughout the winter) into a modern lower-league stadium with a quality synthetic pitch. I imagine that the photo shown was taken using a drone and it's a beauty.
The 2021/22 edition of the FA Cup was the 141st season in which clubs competed for the famous old trophy and was the 150th anniversary of the first competition (war time explains the nine season discrepancy between the two). With Warwick and Stone both operating at the ninth level of English football, they automatically entered at the very first stage in the Extra Preliminary Round along with 346 other clubs. I suspect that the majority of football fans of the armchair and Premier League variety have no idea that the FA Cup starts at the beginning of August. The so called "big clubs" don't join the competition until the Third Round which usually takes place on the first or second Saturday in January. However, in addition to the First and Second Rounds (Proper) there are also Four Qualifying Rounds plus a Preliminary Round and, as was the case for the featured tie, an Extra Preliminary Round for 348 competing clubs.
Stone Old Alleynians FC (SOA) are based in the town of Stone, Staffordshire and compete in the Midland Football League Premier Division at the ninth tier of the English Football pyramid as do Racing Club Warwick. The name of SOA derives from the club originally being formed to cater for the Old Boys of Alleyne's Grammar School in Stone. One wonders how many Alleyne's old boys play for the club these days. Not many I'd wager.
The game, containing plenty of chances for both sides, turned on the second yellow cards issued to Warwick's Sam Jackson and Fortune Maphosa in the second half. After the second sending off at 70 minutes the score line still remained 0-0 but not for long. In the 73rd minute, SOA's numerical advantage told as Liam Hickson scored on the rebound after his initial shot hit both posts but stayed out. Ten minutes later SOA's Matthew Thomas scored his first from the penalty spot to clinch the tie. Two further goals for hattrick hero Thomas, the first in the 88th minute and the second in stoppage time gave the final 0-4 score line a rather unrealistic look but Racing Club's "March to the Arch" was over for another season irrespective.
Stone successfully overcame Rugby Town 4-2 in the next Round (the Preliminary Round) and then Anstey Nomads in the First Qualifying Round before finally succumbing 3-1 to Leamington in the Second Qualifying Round. Leamington themselves crashed out to Kettering Town in the Third Qualifying Round in a Replay. Buxton then knocked Kettering out in the Fourth and final Qualifying Round to join the excitement of the draw for the First Round (proper) which is the point when the lower level Football League clubs join the competition. Sadly (for York City) Buxton then won through against York and earned themselves a Second Round tie against at home to Morecambe which they lost by a single goal. In the Third Round Morecambe were drawn away to the mighty Tottenham Hotspur and came close to pulling off a shock before eventually losing 3-1 following three late Tottenham goals. I have to say that, had the results gone the right way for me last season I could have seen Racing Club Warwick drawn to play Leamington, then Leamington drawn to play York City and finally York City drawn to play against Spurs! I would have loved that! Liverpool eventually beat Chelsea at Wembley in the FA Cup Final on penalties after a goalless draw.
CRB Match No. 2437
Comments
Post a Comment