F.A.Cup Highlights

The F.A.Cup Second Qualifying Round took place on Saturday.

I have decided to hunt for highlights if there are any, and I will add to this post as I find more.

Slough Town 2 Sholing 2

Banbury 0 Bath 2

Poole Town 3 Cinderford 0

And a different perspective with close-up goalmouth action.

Poole Town v. Cinderford

I am not sure there ARE any highlights in a scoreless draw but judge for yourself.

Hereford 0 Truro 0

Gloucester seem to post up individual goals so here are three clips.

One of Gloucester's three goals against Plymouth Parkway

The second and probably best of the three goals.

The third of the three goals showing that they are in the wrong order.

The next match demonstrates that a city should beat a town. Size matters.

Merthyr Town 1 Winchester City 4

Horsham 4 Heybridge Swifts 3

Hayes & Yeading United 0 Moneyfields 1

AFC Uckfield Town 1 Dartford 3

The Hornchurch v. Grinstead match is another one separated into the individual goals but at least the are linked. You need to watch all three videos.

AFC Hornchurch 2 East Grinstead Town 1

I am confident that the date attached to the following video is inaccurate.

Bognor Regis Town 1 AFC Sudbury 1

Billericay 4 Burnham 1

The next club claims to be a preliminary round tie but we are past that and we are into the qualifying rounds.

Haringey Borough 2 Erith Town 0

Now for a team I have watched a few times. Worthing won away at Chelmsford.

Chelmsford 1 Worthing 2

Egham Town 3 Brighlingsea Regent 3

Woking 4 Tooting & Mitcham 0

Welling United 2 Chesham United 1

Wealdstone 2 Great Wakering Rovers 0

The next clip is a video log. We get what we can.

(VLOG) Hampton & Richmond Borough 3 Burgess Hill Town 0

Something different now with still images from the match.

AFC Telford United 3 Bedford Town 1

Kings Lynn Town 3 Stafford Rangers 1

Halesowen Town 0 Gainsborough Trinity 3

Kettering Town 2 AFC Mansfield 1

Alvechurch 1 Corby Town 4

At this point my Mrs accosted me and told me that we are going out for the afternoon. I saw that there are more matches to come and links will continue once I return from our travels.

So a short trip to the seaside where we consumed fish and chips closely watched by the resident seagulls then a visit to the place that makes the best scones in Devon. We bought several bags for freezing and two ready made cream teas.

Back to searching ...

Nuneaton Town 1 Brackley Town 1

St Neots Town 4 Romulus 3

Rugby Town 1 Hednesford Town 3

Boston United 0 Peterborough Sports 2

Altrincham 5 Whitley Bay 0

Witton Albion 2 Spennymoor Town 1

Darlington 0 Bradford Park Avenue 1

This next one shows how difficult it is to find what you want sometimes. Using the seach criteria of Nantwich and Blyth the video did not appear on page one but by adding the score it magically appeared at the top of page one.

Nantwich Town 3 Blyth Spartans 3

FC United of Manchester 2 Colne 0

Dunston UTS 2 Irlam 1

Marine 1 Frickley Athletic 0

York City 5 Ashton Athletic 0

Knaresborough Town 1 Workington 4

South Shields 1 Stockport County 2

Staveley against Guiseley is in the form of a goal by goal appreciation:

Goal One
Goal Two
Goal Three

Farsley Celtic 0 Southport 3

Radcliffe Borough 1 Curzon Ashton 2

And finhally ... altough more will appear in the coming days.

Chester 4 City of Liverpool 0

Two more qualifying rounds to go before the public are presented with the First Round of the F.A.Cup.

Weekend of 22nd/23rd September

I despise SKY TV. I always have and I used to blame Rupert Murdoch but I think I have to change focus now as I have heard that Comcast have taken ownership from the destroyer of free media. I understand the need to keep highlights from the public on the day of the match until the advertisers have had their moment with people watching the first transmission of events. What I cannot stand is SKY organising the removal of their content from YouTube days after the event. Consequently we have an alternative highlights of the Arsenal match.

Arsenal 2 Everton 0

Brentford suffered a rare setback to recent progress on Saturday.

Derby 3 Brentford 1

Southend managed to end a bad run of results.

Southend 1 Fleetwood 0

Exeter have secured second place in League Two closely behind Lincoln City.

Exeter 3 Cheltenham 1

Eastleigh continue to be covered by a VLOG as I cannot find an official highlights site.

Eastleigh 1 Dagenham & Redbridge 0

Wynter scored the winner as wintry conditions rule the day.

Exeter youth talk about the Tiverton v. Dorchester F.A.Cup match.

Tiverton 2 Dorchester 0

There are no highlights of the Barnstaple 1 Slimbridge 2 match that leaves Barnstaple firmly at the foot of the table.

I cannot find any video of the Cribbs 2 Buckland Athletic 3 match either but it will send Buckland up the table a few slots.

You have already heard about Exmouth who were playing Elmore in my previous post.

Elmore 4 Exmouth 2

We turned up at the allotted start time of 15:00 only to find the match in full flow. Based on the end of the first half we guess the match started around 14:45. The rain was falling steadily as we made our way round to the stand. I grabbed a program that we were told was free and after looking at it I think you could almost say it is over-priced. We then settled and my wife took a few photos that I may include when I see what came out. We had missed the opening goal by Exmouth but watched as they scored for a second time to open a two goal lead over Elmore.

I have a soft spot for Elmore as they were the first team I looked at years ago when I started hunting for level 10 clubs. There were a few crunching tackles as players slid in on the wet turf but I saw no vicious intent until some great skill was brought to the show. The Elmore number three went on a run and 'rabona'd past one then used the same trick to get passed the second challenge. Another back foot flick around his forward leg took him past the third man. The Exmouth skipper clearly was not going to let him do it a fourth time and cynically brought the young talent to the floor.

It has to be said that British football has not changed one bit. As soon as anybody demonstrates skill or talent the 'footballers' determine that it has to be chopped down and kicked off the park. While I acknowledge that football is a contact sport I am not surprised that most of the talent these days comes from foreign climes where talent is encouraged and allowed to progress.

The anger that ensued as the young man was treated for what looked like a serious injury proved difficult for the female referee to control but she wisely took her time and got the players to calm down before quite rightly sending off the Exmouth number six. This proved to be pivotal in terms of the match as Elmore started to control the game from this point onwards. The Exmouth players seemed more intent on allocating blame to each other rather than competing for a win.

There was a loud cheer around me as Elmore scored to cut the margin in half. Some more hard tackles and tough challenges followed including one marvelous scuffle battle resulting in a wrestling match on the ground with some afters as the two players rose. The temperature here was hot and I am not surprised as Elmore are top of the Eastern division of the South West Peninsula League and expect to be promoted to the Premier division where Exmouth play so this was a good test of their readiness. ... They passed.

The second goal went in and with the scores level the momentum seemed to be with Elmore who had eleven players taking on the ten remaining players of Exmouth town. Substitutions started happening on a regular basis and as time rolled on I started to worry about my Mrs who is not a great fan of extra time. "You said it would be finished by ...". The talk turned to extra time as this was a South West Peninsula League Cup match. I relaxed a bit as Elmore took a 3-2 lead but this was the trigger either for Elmore to sit back or for Exmouth to strike out as the action switched ends and Exmouth pushed for THEIR equaliser.

The wet conditions made it difficult for the players and the referee had to book several more players to keep the lid on the bottle. Elmore got a series of corners that should have sealed the deal and a few free kicks where they fed the ball into the penalty area. Exmouth continued attacking but only made a couple of half chances. I was finally able to stop worrying about my Mrs when Elmore killed the match off with a fourth goal.

I am glad I made the effort to get to the match on a cold wet afternoon. This is after all typical of weather in the football season. The crowd was much larger than the last time I was here in Tiverton. That time the crowd of 23 was outnumbered by the people on the pitch (two teams of eleven and three officials) but winning teams always attract larger crowds than losing ones so to win is important if you want to raise crowd numbers.

My level 11 pick just beat my level 10 pick.

Football this week

Arsenal started their Europa Cup campaign this week.

Arsenal 4 Vorksla Poltava 2

This seems to be the same old Arsenal with strong attacking skills but clear weaknesses in defence.

Brentford travelled to Ipswich Town in the week that Kevin Beattie went over to the other side.

Ipswich 1 Brentford 1

Neal Maupay is making a name for himself and I heard this week that he is the top scorer in all four leagues.

There appears to be no video of the Eastleigh match but it might be the wisest thing not to publicise the result of the Hampshire Senior Cup match against AFC Bournemouth. The match ended in an 8-1 defeat. Premier League v. National League seems to be no contest and I am not surprised as the experts are now saying that the Premier League is the best in the world.

This weekend my level 10 and 11 selections are taking each other on in the South West Peninsula League Cup. I intend to go but I still have the last vestiges of flu and it is a cold wet day here in Devon. Elmore v. Exmouth could be my match of the day.

Buckland are away to Cribbs and this could be interesting as the new manager makes his changes.

Barnstaple are at home to Slimbridge and they do need to start putting some points on the board.

Tiverton are at home to Dorchester Town in the F.A.Cup and that could have been a good match to watch.

Weston-super-Mare have no fixture according to my list but my list may have been overtaken with a last minute fixture.

Eastleigh are at home to Dagenham & Redbridge so I hope they produce a good performance and get the result they need.

Exeter are at home to Cheltenham Town.

Southend are at home to Fleetwood Town.

Brentford are away to Derby County and I expect that to be a good test but Brentford are performing well.

Arsenal are at home to Everton and it is a fixture I have been able to watch a few times over the years as it one that Red Members (the lowest of the low) are allowed to get tickets for. Everton usually park the bus and wait for Arsenal to break them down which happens most of the time. This fixture is the one where Robin van Persie took the ball over his right shoulder and volleyeed the ball into the bottom right hand corner of the net with his left foot. As I remember it was the only highlight in a really dull match.

It was so good I think we should all watch it again.

Robin van Persie

Level Eleven

As my regular reader knows my choice at Level 11 was Elmore.

I visited Elmore Eagles many years ago but I have not found the "Eagles" attachment in any of the recent reports. The old team combusted and dropped out of their league with the second team becoming the first team. They had switched from the Western League to the South West Peninsula League but it did not work out for them.

I see that the second team has risen through the ranks since it became the first team. This is something that you would expect and it has happened to many clubs through history. This season the team have reached the South West Peninsula League Division One East which is at Level 11 and Step 7 which entitles the team to enter the F.A.Vase. I think this is subject to ground grading.

I just looked at the results for this team which can be found here:

Elmore Fixtures and Results

This is very good going so I imagined Elmore sitting top of the league and I was not wrong.

South West Peninsula League Division One East

These boys have got to be worth a look. I notice that Daniel Tapp is still playing and he stood out years back. He must have a few good players around him to make the progress that has been made so I will look out for an opportunity to watch this side before too long.

Great going Elmore. Next season you should be back where you were years ago and then you need to improve to move on.

Six to Ten

Weston-super-Mare in the National League South have been losing on a regular basis so have their fortunes turned around or are the poor performances continuing?

(VLOG) Hampton & Richmond 3 Weston-super-Mare 1

That did not go well for the lads and they followed it up with another defeat. I cannot find any video highlights but Weston lost 2-1 at home to Hemel Hempstead.

In the Southern League Premier Division South Tiverton Town have been having a good season so far but has it continued?

In the F.A.Cup Tiverton managed to beat Bridport 1-0 so they are through to the next round which takes place at the weekend. They have been drawn at home against Dorchester Town. I might go to that one.

I have already blogged about the 2-2 draw with Exeter City in the Devon St. Lukes Bowl. Exeter won that match on penalties but it is a good result against a club at a higher level.

(VLOG) Kings Langley 2 Tiverton Town 2

The team are still putting in strong performances and the team now lie in third place on goal difference but the top six teams are ALL on 14 points. One win COULD see Tiverton top.

Barnstaple Town are having a terrible season and they currently lie bottom of Division One South with ZERO points. There is no point in "seeing how they are doing" as ZERO points tell the story. Where have the side been defeated though?

Losing 3-0 at home to Blackfield & Langley is not a good result. I think this team needs more support. They followed this with defeat away to Thatcham Town but in a better performance they only lost 3-2.

We need some signs of improvement here but in football that usually requires a sacking or two and some new blood.

Buckland Athletic travelled away to Binfield in the F.A.Cup and lost 3-0 so that is the end of one adventure. "We can concentrate on the league now".

In the most recent league match Buckland were at home to Newquay. The home team lost 1-0. Two defeats on the trot although one was in the cup. I heard that they have sacked their manager. I cannot find any highlights of Buckland but that may be because there aren't any.

Finally at level 10 Exmouth Town are in the South West Peninsula League Premier Division.

Exmouth Town welcomed Newquay to Southern Road and sent them packing with a 4-0 defeat and followed this up four days later with a 4-1 thrashing of Saltash United. It seems that the league matches are going well and I see from the table that Exmouth are now in sixth place on 16 points with a game in hand over the teams above them.

Exmouth returned to the F.A.Vase last week and they have memories of reaching the semi-final.

Exmouth 3 Bridgwater 0

A good way to end this particular entry. Ace High seems to be quite the footballer.

The Top Five

So what has been happening while I was coughing and sneezing?

England lost 2-1 to Spain to give us an indication where we stand in the league of nations. Arsenal gave Newcastle a lesson in being clinical then allowed a last minute goal just to ensure that Unai Emery is aware that our defence is a long way from safe. I am sure there must be some highlights somewhere ...

Newcastle 1 Arsenal 2

Xhaka, who has a bad habit of giving away the ball in his own half scores with a very well taken free kick. When Lacazette gets off his shot Mesut Ozil is in the right place to slot the ball into the net for Arsenal's second. We then get through to 90 minutes with the score at 2-0 only for Newcastle to score in injury time. Naive boys are the ones who stop at the ninety minute mark.

The Europa League starts on Thursday against Vorksla Poltava. I often try translation on Google translate and I know that Poltava is the city so what does Vorksla mean. Apparently it means Vortex. We are up against the Vortex from Poltava.

My Championship team is Brentford who have beaten Wigan Athletic and drawn with Ipswich Town since I last blogged.

Brentford 2 Wigan 0

Ipswich 1 Brentford 1

Southend United first took on Cambridge United in the Checkatrade Trophy.

Southend 3 Cambridge 1

Next they took on Peterborough United in the league.

Southend 2 Peterborough 3

Finally Southend travelled all the way across the country to Shrewsbury. I think that travelling was a problem.

Shrewsbury 2 Southend 0

Exeter City have competed three times since I last blogged. Firstly they took on Yeovil in the Checkatrade Trophy.

Yeovil 0 Exeter 0

I think we are missing some of the penalties there. Next came a good win over Notts County.

Exeter 5 Notts County 1

I always enjoy the sight of somebody who is not on being sent off. Finally a trip away to Mansfield.

Mansfield 1 Exeter 2

A great opening goal from Dean Moxey. I identified him as a class above the rest of the team a few years back and he has now played at a higher level but he is back where he began and that shows me how difficult this game can be.

In the National League Eastleigh have competed three times as well. Initially they lost to Maidenhead United.

(VLOG) Maidenhead United 2 Eastleigh 0

The middle match was a home fixture with the visitors being AFC Fylde.

Eastleigh 0 AFC Fylde 0

Finally, to complete the top five leagues Eastleigh from the South Coast travelled all the way to Hartlepool.

Hartlepool 1 Eastleigh 1

The Non League Football Show

Episode Four

Episode Five

Episode Six

Episode Seven

Episode Eight

Influenza

Influenza. You have to love the headaches, the coughing that will not clear, the muscle spasms that make your bones shake, and the strange way that days pass without achieving anything. Brief periods of normality following a lemsip or a bath are followed by long periods of sleep or blankly watching TV. The pain was a stark reminder of my days playing football as shin struck shin or knee struck knee. Some days it is good to feel alive and it makes a change from the "comfortably numb" feelings of adulthood. I have seen some serious injuries in my time but my own worst moment was taking a piledriver in the nuts, crawling off the pitch and projectile vomitting 2 minutes later. Maybe I was just lucky.

Footballers can get serious injuries at various stages in their careers and it often changes the way their lives pan out. Most recover but it is very rare that the level they were at is achieved again. An injury can restrict the ability of any player to produce their best so it is fascinating to watch some fantastic skills in the lower reaches of the ten tier system and wonder what level those individuals achieved before finding a safe haven later on in their careers.

I noticed that two matches were postponed last weekend due to "insufficient players". I guess that the flu hit two of the four teams involved and the F.A. sanctioned a postponement as a result. Plenty of other fixtures were completed and life goes on but to me it looks like clubs are running with smaller squads to save on costs.

And the heavy headedness returns ....

Saint Lukes Cup

While I was having a blog break two of my teams met in a competition called the Devon St. Luke's Challenge Cup.

Tiverton v. Exeter

A couple of good goals there I think you will agree.

We now know what needs a bit more practice.

F.A.Vase Football

I hope you enjoy the highlights from a one sided match.

Two teams from that mysterious Hellenic League region.

Shrivenham walk around Tytherington Rocks

I think that the trees move faster.

End of August

Well it is actually early September but here are a few leaders and strugglers:

In the National League Wrexham are leading with 17 points while Dagenham & Redbridge are at the foot of the table with 2 points.

In the National League North Chorley have a clear lead with 22 points gained after 8 matches. FC United of Manchester may have reached their level as they are firmly last with a paltry 3 points.

The lead in the National League South is greater with Woking on 21 points, 5 ahead of Billericay Town. At the bottom are one of my selections. They seem to struggle every year but this season they are last with 2 points. Can they stay at this level for another year?

At Step 3 Level 7 we have an extra division this season. The Southern League Premier Division has been divided into the Southern League Premier Central and the Southern League Premier South. This will be confusing for many as there can no longer be a winner of the Southern League unless they are planning a winner v. winner match at the end of the season.

Weymouth are top of the Premier South on 13 points, the same as Tiverton Town (one of mine) and Merthyr Town. Chesham United sit at the bottom on a single point. The Premier Central division is led by Kettering Town on 18 points, 5 ahead of Coalville Town, while Bedworth Town have only 2 points at the foot of the table.

I believe the intention of the F.A. is to link the Southern Central division with the National League North and link the Southern South division with the National League South but it will be very interesting to see how things play out at the end of this season.

The Northern Premier League is led by Gainsborough Trinity on 12 points with Lancaster City on ZERO at the bottom of the table.

Tonbridge Angels are the leaders in the Isthmian League ahead of Worthing by 3 points. Burgess Hill Town and Corinthian Casuals are at the foot of the table on 2 points apiece.

There is also an additional division at Step 4 Level 8. The Isthmian League now has three feeders but to be fair it has needed them for a while now. In the North division Maldon & Tiptree lead the way with 10 points. Soham Town Rangers and Tilbury are joint last with 1. The South Central division is led by Bracknell Town on 12 points. Molesey sit at the bottom also with 1 point. The Isthmian League South East division is where the F.A. have chosen to place Guernsey. I know there is a flight involved but is Kent the right place for the islanders to play? Hastings United and Cray Wanderers lead the table on 12 points with a goal difference of 9 but there are two other teams also on 12 points. Three clubs are on ZERO at the bottom but goal difference finds Three Bridges and East Grinstead Town in the most trouble.

The Northern Premier League has decided to change to an East / West split which is a change from its previous North / South split. I would like to read about how well this is working but I have not heard anything to date. Stamford are top of the East division on 10 points with Pickering Town at the foot of the table on ZERO. In the West division Radcliffe are top on 12 points alongside Colne and at the foot of the table is Skelmersdale United on ZERO.

When I first read about the Southern League reorganisation the division one level was supposed to be an East / West split and it still is but it is more like North East / South West so I think those that have ascribed the South One Central and South One South are doing the right thing in naming the leagues. Sometimes I think codenames like Bostik or Evostick would help but we would need a lot more sponsors willing to put money into the game.

Peterborough Sports are sitting top of the Southern League Division One Central and emulating their League One counterparts. At the bottom are Kidlington who come from that mysterious Hellenic League with the is it, is it not, division two east and west. In the Southern League Division One South Yate Town and Winchester City lead the way with Mangotsfield United and Barnstaple Town (another of MY picks) at the bottom on ZERO points.

Below this at Step 5 Level 9 we have until this season had a consistent 14 leagues with 17 leagues at Step 6 Level 10. The F.A. have seen fit to interfere here as well but that will be the subject of my next post.

The Exmouth Program

What I learned from the Exmouth program:

This season 638 clubs have been accepted into the F.A.Vase. That means that Exmouth only need to perform better than the other 637 to win the thing. Now I have a spreadsheet so I thought I would check the total. I looked at the first round qualifying and 218 matches mean that 436 teams enter at this stage. It was at this point I remembered that other teams join the competition at various stages and I now work this out each season as it varies slightly.

156 teams join the competition in the second qualifying round bringing the total up to 592 clubs. Now the notes I have got state that 23 clubs finishing 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th in their leagues enter the competition in the First Round proper whilst 23 clubs that reached the Fourth Round last season are brought in at the ROUND TWO stage. This does bring the total to 638 clubs but manages to leave only 64 qualified at the end of Round Two.

Exmouth Town Football Club was formed in 1933, playing their home games on the Maer Cricket Field. They moved to their current home at Southern Road in 1964. I remember my old cricket club talking about forming a football team to keep us active in the winter but nothing ever happened.

After many successful seasons in the Devon & Exeter League they joined the Western League in 1973. They were promoted to the Premier Division after finishing Runners-Up of Division One in 1981-82 ans won the Premier Division in 1983-84 and again in 1985-86. These must have been the heady days of success.

In 1984-85 they reached the Semi-Final of the F.A.Vase narrowly losing to Fleetwood Town (and look where they are now) by the odd goal over the two games. During this period the Club installed floodlights and hosted many matches against Football League sides. On 28th July 1987 they recorded their highest home attendance of 2,395 for a match against Liverpool.

The success of the Eighties was not repeated during the nineties and the club was relegated after the 1993-94 season. They gained promotion back to the Premier Division for the 2003-04 season but had to withdraw from the Western League during 2005.

On 1st August 2006 the Club reformed as Exmouth Town (2006) AFC playing in the Devon & Exeter League. At the end of the season they were promoted into Division One East of the newly formed South West Peninsula League, a step 7 league in the National Pyramid System. The Club won the East Division in the 2012-13 season losing only one league game. Having achieved promotion to the Premier Division the side finished as Runners-Up in the 2013-14 season.

Finishing positions since then have been 8th in 2014-15, 12th in 2015-16 and 5th in 2016-17. This last season on the history page saw them in the final of the League Cup, the final of the St Lukes Bowl (a Devon competition) and the last sixteen of the F.A.Vase.

I shall now update the history by checking my spreadsheets:

In 2017-18 Exmouth Town finished 15th in the league, lost to Shaftesbury in the Extra Qualifying Round of the F.A.Cup, and lost to Blackfield & Langley in the Second Round of the F.A.Vase. They had gone straight through to the Second Round by virtue of doing so well the previous season. It has to be said that last season was not a good one for the club.

AND NOW ..... ITS ..... Those match reports from the program that I promised you.

Exmouth Town 4 Torpoint Athletic 0

Town started their home league campaign in style with a convincing victory over the previously unbeaten visitors. The match was decided in an eight minute spell in the first half when Ace High scored a sublime hat trick. There had been little to choose between the sides until the twenty eighth minute when the keeper failed to hold a Karl Rickard shot and High reacted quickest to slam home the loose ball. Two minutes later a surging run and pass from Jimmy Hinds found High to race clear and score. The third goal on 36 minutes was arguably the best as this time Aarron Denny a forceful run and his pass to High saw Town's leading goal scorer calmly chip the stranded gloveman. The scoring was completed in the second half when Dan Boere deceived the defence with a drag back and scored into an empty net.

Callington Town 0 Exmouth Town 2

This was a game that Town should have won comfortably and by a bigger scoreline.The home side had their keeper sent off after forty minutes for bringing down Aarron Denny and preventing a clear goal scoring opportunity but despite numerous chances the goals did not arrive until the closing minutes. Whilst the woodwork took a battering it took a debut goal from Chris Ibbeson to break the deadlock scoring from close range following a corner in the 87th minute. Three minutes later the win was secure as Ace High chased down a ball that looked to be going out of play, cut inside, then hammered home a twenty five yard shot giving the keeper no chance and taking his goal tally for the season to six.

Ivybridge 1 Exmouth Town 1

It took Town a quarter of an hour to settle into this game then they dominated for long periods but were unable to find the back of the net. Chances came but a combination of good defending and lack of composure in front of goal kept the scoreline goalless. The opening goal came on 55 minutes when a Karl Rickard shot was blocked and fell kindly for Nathan Cooper to score. The equalised arrived with six minutes remaining when a speculative shot from twenty five yards found the top corner.

I did notice the Town bias in the reports. The Ivybridge 25 yarder was a speculative shot whilst the 25 yarder from Ace High gave the keeper "No Chance". I do realise now that I have to go back and follow the career of Ace High with keen interest. Am I watching a future star or just somebody playing below his true level?

Biggest Stadiums in Non League

Who has the biggest stadium in non league football?

This chap tells us.

Biggest Stadiums in Non League Football

The Pyramid for simpletons

This is a reasonable attempt to explain the pyramid.

Keep in mind though that this all changed this season with the introduction of another league at step 3 and another at step 4.

The F.A. Officials due to their rigid simple nature want to enforce a 1-2-4-8 scenario. Whilst this would simplify things if the country was equally divided with an equal number of teams in each division it will never work in practice. There will always be teams being transferred between leagues at the same level.

Enjoy the video though as it will give you a good start to your understanding.

The Non League Pyramid

I have tracked the pyramid down to level 11 (step 7) and beyond so get in touch if you want to learn more.

Weekend Results

From the top then:

Arsenal were away to Cardiff at 13:30 on Sunday.

Arsenal took the lead during a part of the match where they were in control. Cardiff equalised. Arsenal took the lead again when Aubameyang pounced on a flick from my man of the match Lacazette. Cardiff equalised once again. This was a match where there was divided opinion. Either Arsenal would win or it would be a draw. The truth is that either of these was a possibility. The goal that won the match was a classic strikers goal as Alexander Lacazette turned to strike the ball into the top corner of the net nearside. He seemed happy with that effort and who can blame him? Arsenal are now up and running following those two early defeats. Two wins on the trot have us racing up the table into 9th place. Still above Manchester United. I think Unai Emery has achieved the same as Wenger so far. We can beat all the other teams in the league but we struggle against the top teams. That is the area he has to fix. Mind you, that is the area every manager has to fix and it seems to me that Rafa Benitez is doing the best in that regard.

Brentford beat Nottingham Forest 2-1.

Highlights

Southend lost 2-1 to Charlton Athletic.

Highlights

Exeter lost 3-0 to Lincoln City.

Highlights

Eastleigh lost 4-0 to Harrogate Town.

We are back to the VLOG for Eastleigh

Weston lost 1-0 to Eastbourne Borough but I cannot find any highlights at this point in time.

Tiverton Town beat Beaconsfield 2-0 and although I cannot find a video there are some photographs.

The Photos

Another match I did consider going to was Barnstaple Town but they lost 3-1 to Highworth Town.

Willand Rovers beat Buckland Athletic 1-0 so there is another defeat for one of my teams.

You already know about Exmouth Town from my previous post so that concludes the weekend results.

F.A.Vase = Exmouth v. Callington

So I am in my car with little spare time to get to Exmouth if I want to see the kick off. The usual traffic hotspots slow me down. Topsham Road, Topsham and then join the procession down the single lane road from Darts Farm to Exmouth. I decided to use the main car park and found that the charges are in small print on the machines themselves and not on the noticeboards like most places. In discussion with another man we found them and I selected £3 for 4 hours. Changing from driving shoes to walking boots I set off on the 5 minute walk to the ground.

When I got to the gate there was a smiling face who charged me £5 for entrance and £1.50 for a program. These I would say are good value for what you get. The program is limited but good quality and as I arrived so late I did not get a chance to read it until half time.

The teams kicked off and Exmouth scored within the first couple of minutes as the Callington keeper let the ball through his legs. I commented "Wembley guaranteed then" which got a laugh and then the match settled down. The trains passing the ground in the background was a slight distraction and the ball was replaced a number of times as the high and wide shooting saw the trees and bushes swallow the shots. Exmouth demonstrated good passing ability and controlled the match for the most part. My attention was drawn to a couple of Callington defenders. One an experienced ginger hard man in the mould of Paul Scholes and outside him a young blonde defender still learning his craft. As the match went on the youngster showed better talent in seeing the ball safely out as he swerved left and right as if he was going to turn. The ginger defender was less agile and when he tried to block by standing in the way he was grabbed by the neck and thrown to the ground by the Exmouth striker. The booking was justified but I was reminded how partisan fans can be as the locals gave the referee a lot of stick for that decision.

I checked the ground as I have a little interest in how grounds are set up. The pitch is surrounded by a breeze block wall four blocks high with gates and gaps at various points. The kids had a little area of grass where they chose to kick their ball around and it was fascinating to see the girls watching the boys and the boys trying to show off. Oddly (or maybe not so) the biggest cheer from the kids was when the final whistle was blown. They had the freedom to stand when they wanted, sit in the stand when they wanted and change seats, sometimes fighting over who would sit where. The match itself seemed to have no relevance to them.

Half time came with the score at 2-0 and I settled down to read the program. The program informed me that a win in this tie was worth £550 so that was the aim with the additional reward of a tie against Bridgwater Town in the next round. I fully intend to go and watch that second round match and who knows I may be hooked on the F.A.Vase run as long as Exmouth remain in the running. The program also informed me that I was not wrong when I heard that the name of one of the players is "Ace High". I wonder if that name was changed by deed poll or whether his parents had a strange sense of humour.

The fixture list showed that the second team and third team have lost all their matches. Is this one of those clubs that put all their eggs in the first team basket? I saw that the second team had lost 14-0 to a team called Cronies. I am sure that must be the same team that I saw a few years ago in the Devon & Exeter League called Henry's Cronies. I guess Henry has left the club now. I could include the match reports from three previous fixtures but I will probably do that in a separate post. I then had just about enough time to read about the history of the club before the players returned to the pitch for the second half.

The second half was similar to the first half but with less energy. One of my favourite memories was after Callington scored. An exhausted broken zombie body ambled to the centre spot shouting "Pick it up lads". The other equally exhausted broken zombie bodies responded by ambling brokenly in a forward direction. They did pick it up though and the pressure told when Exmouth were awarded a penalty. I am pretty certain that it was Ace High who took it and scored from it.

As the match wore on my attention was diverted to the crowd. A group of five behind one goal, most of the crowd in front of the beer tent, and the odd isolated soul dotted around the perimeter. The stand was mostly empty but it did only lift people about four feet off the ground. The girls started telling the boys about a den in their bedroom. They made it quite clear that the boys would sleep in the boys room though. I did warn the boys about kicking the seats though as they were in danger of kicking just hard enough to break them.

The sun was hot but I had just enough shade in the stand. The fourth goal went in ensuring an Exmouth victory and I knew then I could go home happy. If I had gone to Exeter I would have watched a 3-0 defeat and if I had gone to Weston I would have witnessed a 1-0 defeat. Here I saw my team win although I must have missed something as I went home believing we had won 4-1 but in the F.A.Vase results page the score is listed as 4-2. Oh well, it is still a win and a comfortable one. I look forward to Bridgwater Town.

ExmouthTown

So .... (I only said that because it seems to be the trendy start to any conversation) .... I got the washing up done including my lunchtime dishes and I was just about to start the hoovering when my little kitten charged into the room chasing what seemed to be a very large mouse or a very small rat. They were at top speed as they disappeared under the table. Next thing I know the thing has shot across the room behind the sofa, past the CD rack and under a set of drawers. Coco the kitten was slower this time knowing that the creature was cornered. I began to feel that my aim of attending a live match was over. The main aim was to make sure the place was ready for my wife to return home after work with nothing to do. I have a heart condition so I know how key it is to remain relaxed in stressful situations so I sat back and thought about my options.

Coco sat on guard by the CD rack then came up with her plan. If she jumped onto the sofa with me the creature would not see her and may come running out. She peered round the edge of the sofa for a good few minutes but it was when she gave up that the creature shot back across the room and under the table once again. I then made my plan by opening the door to the hallway and blocking another gap with a cushion. It worked but I was slightly shocked when the creature flew out into the hall. It was a bird that had been scurrying around my lounge. I closed Coco in the lounge and set about encouraging the bird out of the house. It was reluctant to go. Maybe it wanted to play with Coco. First it hid behind the hoover then when I had ensured that the back door was open I used the sucking handle to nudge it in the right direction. It flew the other way (naturally) but with more encouragement eventually it flew through the opening and landed right beside my male cat Tickles (lazy boy) who shot into action and chased it behind the flower pots. A few minutes later it took refuge behind the water butt and I decided to let nature take its course.

After closing the back door I discovered that the play covered all levels of the house (I have three storeys) and there were feathers on every level. The hoovering was now more important than ever and I set about removing the dirt from all levels. By the time that was complete I checked the time and it would be touch and go whether I made the train to Exmouth. The car was in need of a new tank of fuel so I decided to kill two birds (bad joke) with one stone and fill up on my way to Exmouth. I was on my way to a live match and you can read my match report in the next post.

Paul Scholes plays for Royton Town

In a great story for non league football, Premier League legend Paul Scholes turned out for his son's team when they were desperately short of players. Royton Town still lost 1-0 but there is nothing better than playing for those who love the game.

Take your camera when you go to a non league match because you never know.

Saturday Morning - September 1st

Good morning to all you football and pyramid fans.

My Premier League team Arsenal are playing away. I do not know about the personal lives of the players but the team are going to Wales to take on a Cardiff team managed by Neil Warnock. I expect them to be well drilled and pragmatic when it comes to attack. What we really need is an early goal that will mean they have to come at us. If they do I can see us scoring more goals and gaining confidence. Start the match well lads and I see good things coming your way.

Brentford take on Nottingham Forest fresh from their victory over Newcastle United. While I have a favourite memory of Newcastle, that being the time they beat Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 when they were a hairs breadth from finishing above Arsenal, I have no favourite memory of Brentford although I have seen some good footage over the years. I think this makes Brentford a practical team rather than exciting and flambouyant. At this point in the season Brentford are 8th which is a lucky number in China whilst Nottingham Forest are 13th which is unlucky wherever you go. If it is luck that counts we have already won this one.

Southend United are at home to Charlton Athletic. I remember from my time there that this is almost a local derby. It was when I visited Charlton that I was shocked to find how short Brian Moore (TV sports presenter) was when he walked past me to climb into the gantry that had been constructed for the commentators half way up the big bank. Southend are 11th whilst Charlton are 14th and this is close enough for the game to be called an even contest with a slight edge for Southend. I will be very interested in this score.

Exeter City are at home to Lincoln and I still have half a mind to go and watch this one LIVE but value for money is taking a much greater part of my life and my last three trips to Saint James Park have left me feeling short changed so I might look further down the pyramid for a match to watch. Value for money is much greater there.

Eastleigh are away to Harrogate Town and I had a chance to watch Harrogate when they appeared on TV last Monday against AFC Fylde. That match finished 0-0 so I expect Eastleigh to have a problem scoring. Harrogate are 4th in the league with Eastleigh 16th so I am fully expecting a home win and further punishment for Eastleigh. I did find a video that was not a VLOG this week though. Things are on the up.

Weston-super-Mare are offering a deal today. Pay whatever you want with a minimum price of £1. I hope this leads to a large crowd for them as they take on Eastbourne Borough. Eastbourne are 6th in the table while Weston are the strongest team in the league because they are holding up all of the other teams. This match has appeal to me and I may make the effort to drive an hour and a half up the motorway but I would have to overcome the inertia that keeps me on the sofa with my laptop following everything rather than just a single match.

Tiverton Town are away at Beaconsfield Town and having been knocked off the top of the league last week need to return to winning ways to keep their hopes of rising into the "big six" leagues (actually 7 with a North and South version of the sixth tier). Just to make this page a little more interesting I will post a photo from last Monday's match.

Barnstaple Town are at home to Highworth Town and that match is only about an hour away. Another opportunity to overcome inertia but I have to keep the Mrs sweet (she is working today) so unless I get the hoovering and washing up done quickly I will be tied to the house for the afternoon. Highworth Town are 12th in the league with Barnstaple on ZERO points in 19th place only because of goal difference.

The Buckland Athletic website tells me that the next match is away at Ivybridge Town on 18th September. That seems like a long time without football. Buckland currently sit in 16th place but by not having any fixtures they can only go down as other teams gain points. ..... Aha! I just checked and it is F.A.Vase day today. Let me check my spreadsheet. No sign of Buckland there but I have found a fixture listed on the Western League site. According to the Western League Buckland are away at Willand Rovers. I shall see later if that match takes place.

The F.A.Vase spreadsheet informs me that Exmouth Town are at home to Callington Town. I think if I go anywhere this is the one. I can catch the train from my local station and get off at the Exmouth terminus which is a short walk from the ground. Is today the day? I will tell you once the day is over and I am checking the results.