FULHAM F.C.

2

LEEDS UNITED

0



28th Feb 2023



Craven Cottage



Round Trip: N/A (train)



Ticket: £40.00



Food Rating: 3



Att: 19,359



Guess the crowd: N/A

A much different approach to this evening’s match as being in London, it was natural to take the train to Blackfriars and the remainder by Tube. With no car parking to worry about, we took it easy with a couple of pints at the historical Blackfriar pub, which dates back to 1875, 21 years earlier than the equally famous Craven Cottage ground we were heading for.

Arriving at Putney Bridge tube, the squad of 3 had a brisk 15-minute walk to the ground through a park alongside the Thames on one side and ridiculously expensive Fulham homes and flats on the other.

For the first time on our journey, we were amongst a seriously large crowd, including thousands of fellow Leeds fans. A police officer at Putney Bridge told us they were hoping for a well-behaved evening as “there were not many of as much of the Met were escorting Millwall to Luton Town”.

Craven Cottage is the oldest football ground in London, built in 1875, and entering the Johnny Haynes stand, it seems not much had changed; it even had wooden seats in the upper section on wooden terracing. The toilets held about eight at a time with one door for in and out, which was a bit awkward as the earlier Timothy Taylor pints were on the move!

Up to now, we had always been in the section of the team we were following, but being an all-premiership tie, huge Leeds demand and a relatively lower capacity ground, we could only get Fulham tickets, and that was only after the Spiv of us becoming a Fulham Member 😊.

Our seats gave a prime view on the halfway line just a few rows up and when the Fulham pre-kick-off anthem of The Clash – London’s Calling blasted out, we had to remind ourselves after joining in….lives by the river da da da dada da da da… that we were here to follow Leeds.

With the sad passing away of the inimitable John Motson a few days earlier and the BBC being there televising live, there was a fitting tribute to Motty just before kick-off, impeccably respected by all in the ground.

The game started at a frenetic pace and with the wall of noise from the 4,500 Leeds fans packing the Putney End, we were in a real FA Cup night under the floodlights. It was Leeds who found the net on 15 minutes when Georginio Rutter tapped in from close range only to be disallowed, having pushed the Fulham defender in the process.

When Leeds cleared a move down the left, Palhinha won a robust challenge to win the ball from Marc Roca and, with his second touch, sent a superb curling strike from 30 days into the Leeds net. With no other Fulham player involved, does that go down as a Palhinha, both Assist & Goal? The best goal we have seen all season and you could well imagine how Motty would have commentated that one!

Leeds responded with several great chances and Gnoto scored but was flagged offside. Shortly after, Rutter hit the bar with a thunderous shot and then somehow missed an open goal as a cross immediately from the rebound found him with just a tap-in invitation, but he completely missed the ball.

Half-time and off for a coffee on a cold night, but once again, the outdated facilities of the old stand resulted in there being no queuing system at the kiosk whatsoever so that once you fought your way through to get served, it was virtually impossible to turn and get back out without spilling. 

Sorry Fulham, but for the old ground’s much-lauded “quaint charm”, it’s only 3/10 for Fanfayre. The newly constructed, part-open Riverside stand on the opposite side looks fantastic and no doubt a wonderful experience and so we will bear that in mind if Fulham get through and are drawn at home again.

It could be argued Leeds was unlucky to be 0-1 down from the first half, but there was nothing lucky about the second Fulham goal. Solomon on the left had a quick one-two with Mitrovic and sent the sweetest curling shot into the far corner.

Leeds had several more chances towards the end, but Fulham held on for the win with two memorable goals. 

After 90 minutes sitting with the Fulham fans, we soon forgot our part-time allegiance to Leeds United and now await the dizzy heights of the quarter-final. Being a Fulham Member, we can hopefully get tickets to continue our journey and so roll-on the draw tomorrow evening.

So it was a brisk walk back to Putney Bridge mixed with the hordes of Leeds who were understandably subdued, obviously due to the result after the efforts of travelling all this way on a Tuesday, or maybe it was the realisation that most of them would be doing the same journey again in 4 days time, two stops prior on the tube for their Premier League match at Chelsea just up the road.

ACCRINGTON STANLEY F.C.

1

LEEDS UNITED

3



28th Jan 2023



Wham Stadium



Round Trip: 374 miles



Ticket: £25.00



Food Rating: 7



Att: 5,268



Guess the crowd: Phil A

And so we march on to the 4^th Round and yet another trip to the Wham Stadium only 4 days after the Tuesday evening triumph over Borehamwood. With the (once) mighty Leeds United being the visitors the game was being televised and so a 12.30 kick-off meant a very early start. Based on the Tuesday night’s journey with several M1 delays, we made a precautionary 07.30 departure, only to have a trouble-free whizz up the M6 arriving to an empty car park at 10.30; not even Jim the attendant had turned up yet – but we donated a tenner to the honesty bucket all the same!

Steve had suggested we kill an hour by seeing the sights of Accrington town centre but having been there, my wry smile said it all and we headed instead to the merch shop and thankfully the excellent Coley’s clubhouse was already open.

But being barely mid-morning, do we go for coffee or the bar?

As the ground started filling to what was a capacity of 5,200, the atmosphere grew thanks to the 2,600 noisy travelling Leeds support. For the previous two visits to the Wham, the visitor end terrace was unused as the Barnet and then Borehamwood fans were easily accommodated in the away seats, so it was great to see the terracing jam-packed.

From the kick-off, it was Accy who was on the front foot with seven good attacking moves with near chances in the first 20 minutes. The tactic to attempt the early goal seemed obvious and nearly came off with McConville having an on-target effort saved, Whalley’s shot being blocked and the promising Tommy Leigh and Pressley looking dangerous.

But with almost the first decent Leeds surge forward, the first goal came on 23 minutes with a superb strike from Harrison giving warning of the gulf in class and perhaps what was to come.  Stanley did, though, hold on to just 0-1 down at half-time.

We had the well-reported tasty pie pre-match as brunch and so the clubhouse 15 minutes was more for watching the Sky match previews on the multi-screens. But also on reading the match programme, noted that the Leeds player Georginio Rutter who had caught the eye in the first 45 minutes, was Leeds’s record signing only two weeks ago – £35M Frenchman from the German club Hoffenheim. I couldn’t help wondering what was on his mind making a debut at Accrington Stanley after leaving the Bundesliga!

The second half started as a good cup tie should and the longer the half went, there was always the chance of the big upset until 66 minutes, Bamford laying on the assist for Junior Firpo to fire Leeds further ahead, and then just 2 minutes later it was all over with a cool finish from Sinsterra.

With nothing to lose, Stanley brought on 4 subs with 10 minutes left and within a minute, the young Adkeyoya scored in front of the Stanley terrace end, his first for the club, to make it an interesting 3-1 with 9 minutes plus added time remaining. Shortly after that, Adkeyoya headed just over, which raised the excitement level and noise all the way to the finish.

That was the end of the road for our time with Stanley, who now need to fight the remainder of the season to stay in League 1 and we wish them well; great little football club and we hope to re-visit one day.

So, we immediately turn our support to Leeds, which for the Manchester Utd fans amongst us is no easy task, but the rules of our project are the rules and so we eagerly await the 5^th Round draw on Monday…. Or as one Leeds fan we passed outside the Wham put it..” we now just need someone s**t at home in’t next round”

ACCRINGTON STANLEY F.C.

1

BOREHAM WOOD F.C.

0



24th Jan 2023



Wham Stadium



Round Trip: 374 miles



Ticket: £15.00



Food Rating: 7



Att: 1,940



Guess the crowd: Phil A

With the late Borehamwood equaliser in the first tie, the realisation was a mid-week replay up North again but this time on a Tuesday evening 7.45 pm kick-off!! So with thermals, scarf, gloves and a combination of Chelmsford City FC and Ampthill rugby club hats, the squad of two left at 2.00 pm for the replay to decide who we now know will face the mighty Leeds United at home on Saturday.

That 4th Round Leeds tie was only 4 days later and so surely not yet another trip to Accrington??

Despite the traffic delays, we arrived in good time to park at what is now our usual car park, with the assistance of Jim the attendant, and even better time to enjoy the previously reported excellent clubhouse.

Over a pint of Madri, we had a chat with some Preston North End supporters who were there for Borehamwood and not wanting to be top-trumped with such an oddity, we explained we were from Bedfordshire supporting Accrington!

As the teams took to the field, Borehamwood was in the all-white of Real Madrid, or was that a clue to tonight’s result by also appearing as Leeds, who would be the next opponents??

Either way, the first half produced very little goalmouth action with both teams displaying more spirit than class with the ball spending more time in t’thair than ont’floor as one disgruntled Accy fan said in the gents after the game.

Both sides had a couple of first-half chances, notably a Doug Harme header for Stanley, which was cleared off the line and despite the two league tiers separating the teams, the first 45 minutes were about even as the 0-0 scoreline suggested.

Our seats were in the main stand immediately outside the clubhouse and so convenient for refreshments, although as the driver I had to go for coffee which was some distance away behind the Accy terrace. Oh, and brought back two potato and meat pies of course, for us tea!

Stanley appeared the more dynamic in the second half, with Whalley and Tommy Leigh controlling much of the build-up play and having good chances, but as the half wore on, it was worryingly looking like extra time; which was the last thing we wanted, given the long journey home.

We did indeed enter into extra time and on 97 minutes, the energetic Whalley was fouled in the box and Man of the Match Tommy Leigh dispatched the penalty sending the keeper the wrong way. Further Stanley’s chances were cleared and Borehamwood themselves almost snatched an equaliser in the closing minutes of what was an exciting final 15 minutes.

But Stanley held on to the win, and the £105,000 3rd Round prize money that goes with it, which on balance was well deserved but Borehamwood do look a well-organised team and we wish them well in their National League target of promotion to the Football League Two.

We now continue our journey with Accrington to face Leeds United back at the Wham Stadium on Saturday for what will be a huge day for the League One club. We will be there, of course, tickets permitting, but when the disgruntled supporter’s mate asked him in the gents if he is coming along Saturday, he replied, “I’d rather stick me ed in’t bucket of boilin water”

He’ll be there of course. After all, it is the FA Cup.

BOREHAM WOOD F.C.

1

ACCRINGTON STANLEY F.C.

1



7th Jan 23



Meadow Park



Round Trip: 64 miles



Ticket: £10.00



Food Rating: 7



Att: 2,001



Guess the crowd: Phil

A relatively nearby tie for us, at only 32 miles, to support “Stannerly” in the 3rd Round proper.

On a bleak and chilly day, whilst dry on arrival, the rain was forecast.

We were surprised by the standard of facilities at Meadow Park, presumably assisted by financial input from Arsenal, whose Ladies use the ground for WPL matches.

That said, the away fans only had access to a single burger van and no bar facilities so the pre-match drink was coffee all round, and the away end was also open to the elements…

The match kicked off and Accrington had most of the early chances, perhaps unsurprisingly as “The Wood” is now the lowest-ranked team still in the competition.

Accrington had a new striker making his debut, Aaron Pressley, son of (not Elvis) Steven, a hard-nosed Scottish defender who had a long career spanning from Rangers in the early nineties to Falkirk almost twenty years later.

The deadlock was broken after only six minutes when Boreham Wood failed to deal with a long throw and Everton loanee Ryan Astley poked the ball in for his third of the season.

Boreham Wood reached the fifth round last season and was soon more than a match for their league one opposition, though no further chances were created in the first half for either team.

Another half-time coffee and a 7/10 pie and we were fortunate to be able to shelter in a stand from the now drizzle that was turning to rain.

The second half started more brightly for The Wood, who, with a lot of vocal support, were looking the more likely to score the next goal. Lee Ndlovu and Danny Newton both came close, but it wasn’t until the 78th minute that they finally got their reward when Femi Ilesanmi found Ndlovu in the area to cement his position as their top scorer of the season so far.

Then the rain really came down.

So a replay next week, who’s doing the 376-mile round trip to Accrington then boys??

ACCRINGTON STANLEY F.C.

1

BARNET F.C.

0



26th Nov 22



Wham Stadium



Round Trip: 368 miles



Ticket: £10.00



Food Rating: 7



Att: 1,771



Guess the crowd: Tom

It was an odd emotion switching our allegiance to Barnet FC as we really enjoyed the Cup run with Chelmsford City and even more strange having to leave the bosom of the Southern regionalised grounds and for the first time in the campaign head North.

And when I say North, I mean North to the deepest Lancashire to face the once mighty Accrington Stanley. “Who are they” I can hear those of you of a certain vintage remember the 1989 milk TV advert saying..…..“Exactly!”

With a near 200 miles trip ahead of us to the Wham Stadium, I had to set the alarm to Wake Me Up Before We Go Go and arrived in good time as you never know what to expect for parking. But no need to worry, there was a large area of spare land next to the ground with an honesty box for donations. We were told to drive over to the far end and Jim will guide us in – like we know who Jim is!

We had our tickets scanned at the entrance to the excellent clubhouse rather than the turnstiles and our squad of 3 enjoyed a nice pint inside, overlooking the pitch after the long journey.

The Wham stadium is compact and very well looked after, but disappointing to learn that the name wasn’t from a past close association with the late George Michael or the Other One, but sponsored by a local firm Wham who makes commercial plastic boxes!

We were with the Barnet supporters, of course, in the away end and although there were only around 150 who made the trip north, they (and a certain member of our squad!) made a lot of noise, making for a great cup atmosphere.

Barnet started the livelier with Adedoyin hitting the post after only a few minutes and Longelo struck inside the box to force an early fine save from the Accrington keeper.
The very windy conditions didn’t help and with Accrington coming more into the game towards the end of 45 minutes, the sides went into the break even at 0 -0.

And so off for half-time refreshments and Accrington didn’t let me down with my expectation of the first pie of the cup run. Not a burger in sight, just a choice of 3 Pies!

The only problem was Veganism hasn’t yet found its way into Accrington and so there was absolutely nothing for one of our squad and so despite the fine pie, we agreed on only 7 for fanfare due to the lack of choice.

Accrington had the benefit of the strong wind in the second half and did start to have much of the possession as you would expect from a League 1 versus National League side. Barnet defended well and we were anxiously watching the clock to force a replay maybe back at The Hive, but then on 80 minutes, the inevitable happened. A congested goalmouth scramble and Ethan Hamilton tucked away the game’s only goal to take Accrington into the 3rd Round along with a very welcome £67,000 purse as 2nd round winners.

We now turn to Stanley who goes into Sunday’s draw for the 3rd Round for only the 5th time in their history, with all the excitement of the possibility of drawing a huge club as the Premier League and Championship teams go into the hat. Will we be drawn at home with another near 400 miles round trip or a local London-based Premier League “away” tie…..exciting times!

CHELMSFORD CITY F.C.

0

BARNET F.C.

1



15th Nov 22



Melbourne Stadium



Round Trip: 148 miles



Ticket: £15.00



Food Rating: 7.5



Att: 3,015



Guess the crowd: N/A

So it was back to Melbourne (Chelmsford) for the replay of the First Round Proper.

Barnet were dominant in the first meeting, but with a Chelmsford equalising goal in the 92nd minute we knew anything could happen!

The excitement built as we approached the ground. All of Chelmsford seemed to be out to support their team with queues stretching all down the car park.

Once in, we enjoyed our trip to their very good clubhouse – ‘Clarets’. Ron had to use all his willpower to turn down the ‘Pie and a Pint’ deal they had on offer.

He, however, couldn’t resist some merchandise and bought his first memorabilia of our FA Cup journey – a lovely ‘claret’ red hat. And you needed it on a Tuesday night in November!

Chelmsford started the game with a strong, first chance after just three minutes – a header only narrowly going wide of the goal.

There was then another good shot on target and save by Barnet’s Walker to keep the score as 0-0.

Barnet, not wanting a repeat of the last match upped the pace and struck two shots on goal in quick succession – but to no avail.

To Chelmsford’s fans’ noisy delight, the score remained goalless into the half term.

BRING ON THE BURGER!

Having experienced ‘the most amazing cheeseburger’ when we were last here in the Fourth Round, opted for this Chelmsford delicacy once again. Perhaps it was the surprise of how ‘delicious and so worthy of the 9.0 score’ it was last time, or it was the two thousand plus more people they were trying to serve… but it didn’t quite live up to memory so gave it (a still positive) 7.5 this time round.

Back to the game.

We decided to get amongst the crowd and place ourselves in the stand behind the goal for the second half. In full support of the team, we had now seen play four times, we chanted our hearts out…

“One Charlie Ruff, there’s only one Charlie Ruff…”

Barnet had obviously had a talking-to in the changing rooms and came out in the second half strong. Or in the case of Barnet’s Sam Woods – a little too strong after he landed himself a red card after a challenge on one of Chelmsford’s players.

Okay, 10 men. Chelmsford can do this! Can they achieve a surprise goal like they did last time around?

Minutes later, the answer was no. Barnet’s Ryan De Havilland took the lead with a clever turn and shot into the goal.

As much as Chelmsford then tried in the closing minutes of the game, they just couldn’t get past Barnet’s defence.

Then, history started to repeat itself – a corner in the last seconds of extra time…

It was a strong shot but, unfortunately for Chelmsford and their record-breaking attendance of 3000+ fans, narrowly was pushed away by Barnet’s goalie, Walker.

After enjoying being a ‘Claret’ we move onwards and upwards to now Bee a fully-fledged member of Barnet’s fans – bring on the Second Round!

BARNET F.C.

1

CHELMSFORD CITY F.C.

1



5th Nov 22



The Hive Stadium



Round Trip: 68 miles



Ticket: £15.00



Food Rating: 4



Att: 1,725



Guess the crowd: Tom

After 6 qualifying rounds over 7 matches including a replay we are finally here at the First Round Proper, following Chelmsford City on an away tie at Barnet; although Barnet is actually closer to us than Chelmsford!

The sat nav was set for The Hive stadium but a bit concerned as we got closer and were approaching Edgware rather than Barnet. It turns out Barnet left their Underhill stadium for The Hive which is modern purpose-built stadium in 2013. And very impressive it is too with on-line ticketing with QR coded, unmanned turnstiles and very large car park again with QR coded payment and everything cash free. I guess we’ll find that is now the norm as we progress through higher tiers to the Premier League but certainly impressed with the overall set up and facilities of what is only a National League ground.

As our squad of 7 approached the away end at The Hive, the place was buzzing.

Our seats were fortunately high enough to protect from what was a very wet and windy afternoon and with great anticipation of Chelmsford continuing their cup journey kicked-off but within 60 seconds the Bees had the ball in the net right in front of use. Bit of a shock but disappointment turned to cheers from our Chelmsford end when ruled off-side.

Barnet pressed much of the first 15 minutes as expected of the higher ranked home team but it was the Clarets coming closest from a Jackson shot well saved by the Bees keeper.

Barnet should have taken the lead when a free-kick cross was deflected a couple of times and finished with a header to the top right-hand corner of the goal, only for Ejeheri to pull off a magnificent finger-tip save at full stretch.

An entertaining but goal-less first half and so off to sample the fanfayre. There was a large efficiently operated bar in the warmth below the full length of the stand but we were after the hot stuff given the weather. Disappointingly there was only a single tea hut on the outside with a huge queue which took 25 minutes by which time they had run out burgers to the annoyance of our two young Clarettes, but the seasoned sausage hot dog wasn’t too bad. Coffee was good but overall the offer was judged at just 5.5/10.

Only 5 minutes after the interval Barnet took the lead from Wynter’s close range shot and the rest of the half was evenly balanced with both sides testing the opposite keepers, especially Ejeheri who once again showed great athleticism enjoying his on-loan spell from Arsenal, denying further Barnet goals.

On 90 minutes the touchline board glowed 3 added minutes. Bees’ keeper Walker, who had earlier been booked for time wasting, turned a stinging Blackwell shot out for a corner. The corner came over and that man Charlie Ruff, man of the match against Aldershot in the previous round, was there to fire in an equaliser with an unstoppable last gasp header.

The Chelmsford end of the ground went wild and as the final whistle blew straight after the re-start, the scenes of celebration from the large travelling Clarets support was what the early rounds of the Cup is all about; fantastic!

CHELMSFORD CITY F.C.

2

ALDERSHOT TOWN F.C.

0



15th Oct 22



Melbourne Stadium



Round Trip: 148 miles



Ticket: £15.00



Food Rating: 9



Att: 1,142



Guess the crowd: Ron

It was another familiar drive over to Essex for the 4th and final qualifying round where our new team Chelmsford were hosting Aldershot Town from the dizzy heights of the National League.

Our squad was the same 5 as from the last round at Romford and so were not too overawed at the prospect of playing a side one tier higher having seen the Clarets thrash Romford with 5 second-half goals 2 weeks ago.

The Melbourne Park ground is a full-blown athletics stadium with a decent-sized seated stand along one side and curiously had mobile metal terracing behind one goal that can be wheeled away when hosting athletics. This meant fans were close to the goal line and not miles away behind the bend of the running track.

Two things were new to us on arrival; first of all a queue at the turnstiles and secondly around 5 police officers in attendance and so we knew we were going up in the football hierarchy. We pre-purchased tickets online complete with QR code, but the turnstile was manned and no QR scanner in sight; well at least they are on the right path.

Once inside the ground there was a very good clubhouse and an excellent mobile café serving the most amazing cheeseburger; a full 6 oz thick juicy burger – not 1 but 2 cheese slices which were melted when ordering by placing a metal pot over (never seen that before), onions of course and to cap it all was offered fresh salad of lettuce and tomato; delicious and so was worthy of the 9.0 score to take the lead so far on the FanFayre scoreboard. But then Chelmsford is bit posh!

The game started at the usual frenzied pace with Aldershot looking the more threatening but as Chelmsford grew more into the game, they took a deserved lead on 25 minutes when Charlie Ruff sprinted into the box and headed into the Aldershot goal from a precision Simeon Jackson pass.  “One Charlie Ruff, there’s only one Charlie Ruff”

Aldershot were looking for an equaliser with several chances as half-time approached but the mighty Ovie Ejeheri, who is currently on loan from Arsenal, kept the sheet clean, the most impressive being a finger-tip save over the bar just before the whistle.

We had great half-way line seats, but unfortunately no reserved seating so skipped the half-time refreshments so as not to lose them. We always do a “Guess the crowd” competition and it was clear to see we had probably tripled our previous highest attendance to date with what turned out to be a respectable 1,142 crowd.

As expected, Aldershot were fired up for the second half and early on forced another fantastic point-blank save from Clarets keeper Ejeheri but then it was Chelmsford adding a second on 60 minutes with Ochieng latching on to a cheeky back heel assist from Lodovica. The Shots finished strongly with several good chances missed or saved by Ejeheri but it was a great moment for the Chelmsford fans on the final whistle achieving passage into the 1st Round for the first time since 2012.

A great game with the Clarets collecting the £9,375 prize money for the win and having the excitement of the First-Round proper draw on Monday night. This is always a great Cup moment as the League 1 and League 2 Clubs enter the competition and so Chelmsford can spend the next few days dreaming for that once-in-a-lifetime clash against one of the famous Giants of the game currently languishing in the lower divisions; yes, the prospect of a glamour tie against the likes of Sheffield Wednesday, Derby County or Rochdale.

ROMFORD F.C.

0

CHELMSFORD CITY F.C.

5



1st Oct 22



Mayesbrook Park



Round Trip: 126 miles



Ticket: £12.00



Food Rating: 7



Att: 336



Guess the crowd: Phil A

It was a return to the Mayesbrook Ground Barking for another all-Essex clash with Romford entertaining Chelmsford City. Chelmsford being from the National League South are 2 tiers higher than our Romford Town and so this was always going to be a tough test; and so it proved.

Being only one tier off the National League, Chelmsford had a decent following of supporters noticeably doubling the previous Mayesbrook crowd for Hashtag’s visit and providing a good atmosphere with spectators lining the full perimeter of the pitch for the first time in our Journey.

Chelmsford began lively and had the better of the chances during the first half, but Romford’s keeper Jake Anderson made several fine saves including a point-blank stop from City’s Da Costa followed shortly after by two further top-class saves just before the break to keep the scoreboard 0 – 0 at half time. Could this be a big cup upset we started to think?

Not so as on 56 minutes Khale Da Costa swept in a low cross from close range and when Adebola Oluwo fired in a volley on the hour, it was in effect all over. It certainly was when Da Costa scored a deflected goal with 72 minutes on the clock and rounded up a hat trick and fine display with a penalty on 78 minutes after Romford’s George Allen pulled back a City striker denying a goal-scoring opportunity for which he received his marching orders.

Blackwell rounded off the second half-rout with the 5th and Romford’s FA cup hopes for this year were over.

We really enjoyed our time with Romford who can take consolation of exiting with over £10,000 in cup prizemoney and achieving their highest crowd for 17 years at 336. We of course must now move on to Chelmsford City for the 4th Qualifying Round with high anticipation as they do appear a well-organised and entertaining outfit…. despite yet more travelling over to Essex!

POTTERS BAR TOWN F.C.

1

ROMFORD F.C.

2



17th Sep 22



Parkfield



Round Trip: 68 miles



Ticket: £12.00



Food Rating: 7.5



Att: 204



Guess the crowd: N/A

And so the journey continues, a lovely bright sunny day and a trip down to Potters Bar, a relatively short journey, only 34 miles each way, almost on our doorstep.

Potters Bar (The Bar as they are affectionately known by their fans, The Scholars are their proper nickname) have a compact ground, The Lantern Stadium, surrounded on two sides by housing. They play in the Isthmian Premier League, two league structures above Romford, so we feared the writing was on the wall.

There was certainly a buzz when we arrived at the ground, with plenty of fans milling around outside the main bar area. There was also the smell of fried onions to accompany our pre-match pints (£14.20 for 3) coming from the burger counter nearby.

We found our initial viewing point, pints in hand, as the match kicked off and certainly Potters Bar had the best of things in the opening exchanges with a close header after the first corner in the 15th minute and even closer after a free kick on the edge of the box a minute later brought a scrambling save from Romford’s keeper Jake Anderson.

Romford were under pressure, and the Bar Army were in full song after Jacques Kpohomouh bundled in a whipped corner in the 20th min for 1-0.

This was accompanied by one of the best put downs we’d ever heard from a fan to a complaining Romford official “Watch your language, you prick, just cos you’re playing s*&t!”

After that, Romford seemed to begin to find their feet and were level after 36 minutes when Charlie Morris scored from a well-worked corner routine and they stayed just on top for the rest of the half.

The half-time burgers, freshly cooked, earned an 8/10 from Phil and Ron and the coffee got a 7 from me.

We were eagerly awaiting the second half, thinking there were more goals to come for sure, hoping not to have to travel all the way to Barking (where Romford play) for a replay on Tuesday.

The action resumed and after a very lively start, Bars No 8 Tyler Christian Laws was given a straight red after a skirmish with Calvin Dickson in the 48th minute, Dickson received a yellow – this certainly helped to level things up.

The arrival of Quentin Monville (a name you couldn’t forget) for the Scholars in the 55th minute brought some reminiscence for Ron and I as he had played previously for Bowers & Pitsea back in 2019 when we had tried the FA Cup run previously (aborted by Covid 19) and had followed them after they had put out our beloved Canvey Island.

Another incident of note was to follow when the Potters Bar assistant manager was also sent off in the 62nd minute for “strongly verbally remonstrating with the ref”, shall we say.

Romford certainly now had the wind in their sails and Emmanuel Robe was causing all sorts of problems for Potters Bar with his pace on the left wing. Eventually, he scored a cracking solo winner in the 77th minute and the home fans were silenced at last.

So the writing was indeed on the wall “THERE’S ONLY ONE F IN ROMFORD”. Onward and upward.