FA Cup First Qualifying Round Preview - Saturday 12th September 2015
Thu 10th September 2015 | FA Competition News | By Martin Fallon
The First Qualifying Round of the Emirates FA Cup rolls around on Saturday, with eight of our sides looking to continue their journey on "The Road to Wembley".
Strangely for this round, five of our teams are playing teams from an equivalent Step 5 League, with just three facing teams from higher levels in the football pyramid.
The action starts on Friday evening with Northwich Victoria taking on AFC Blackpool at Wincham Park. This has been brought forward to the Friday as Northwich's landlords Witton Albion are also in Cup action on the Saturday.
After losing the opening two games of the season, the FA Cup kick started AFC Blackpool's season with a replay victory over Winsford United.
They then went on to shock EvoStik 1st Division side Ossett Town in the last round with a 1-0 home win, a victory that is sandwiched between three good league results, with away draws at Padiham and Congleton Town plus a home win over Ashton Athletic. Last Saturday saw them bow out of the FA Vase with a 3-0 loss at home to Maltby Main
As for Northwich Victoria, they have started their Evo-Stik 1st Division North campaign in blistering form, with eight successive victories in all competitions. In the last round of the Cup they won 3-2 away at Runcorn Town, whilst in the league they have a perfect 21 points from seven games. They warmed up for the Cup in convincing fashion with a 4-0 win over Burscough on Tuesday.
The game is the first meeting between the two sides in any competition, although Northwich did once host the Football League side Blackpool in the Second Round in 1987/88! AFC Blackpool have never progressed past this round of the competition so would be creating history with a win, whilst a glance through Northwich Victoria's FA Cup history has saw them square off against the likes of Watford, Charlton Athletic, Sunderland and Hull City.
Their best is the Quarter Finals back in the 1800's, but they have reached the Third Round Proper as recently as 2005/06.
Alsager Town are having a Jekyll and Hyde season so far. In the league, they are still looking for their first league win of the season, but having watched them, they play some really good football with half of their losses coming by just a single goal, suggesting that they are competitive in many of the games that they have played.
Outside of league action, they have been superb in the FA Cup, knocking out highly fancied Shaw Lane Aquaforce in the last round after a 1-0 win over Athersley Recreation in the previous round.
On Saturday, they entertain EvoStik 1st Division North side Burscough, the 2002/03 FA Trophy winners. Burscough have had a mixed start to the season, winning just two of their eight games, and will not relish the trip to Alsager, having not yet won on the road this season and losing heavily at Northwich on Tuesday.
Like Blackpool, Alsager will also be in unchartered territory if they win on Saturday having reached the 1st Qualifying Road on two previous occasions. As for Burscough, they have a long FA Cup history stretching back to just after the Second World War, with their best being the Second Round Proper which they reached in 2005/06.
The final club facing higher opposition is Padiham, who welcome Lancaster City to the Arbories.
Padiham have had a mixed start to life back in the NWCFL after relegation last season, and they lie in 12th place having won and drawn two of their opening seven games. Padiham reached this round in the FA Cup with two fine away wins at Whickham and Silsden, and were involved in a thrilling derby match on Wednesday with Colne, which they ultimately lost 3-1.
Like Padiham, Lancaster have also had a mixed start and have got nine points on the board having drew three of their six games. The teams have met before, and last season this was an Evo-Stik 1st Division North fixture with Lancaster winning 3-0 at Padiham, with the teams drawing 3-3 at The Giant Axe in the return fixture.
Padiham's FA Cup exploits are quite recent, having first entered in 2004/05. Like the previous two clubs, their best run is in reaching the 1st Qualifying Round and this will be the fourth time that they have reached this stage. History awaits with a win.
As for Lancaster City, their FA Cup days stretch back to 1937/38, and their best was in 1972/73 when they reached the Second Round before losing to Notts County. They have reached the 3rd Qualifying Round in two of the last four years.
Of the teams facing equlivalent Step 5 teams, only one is at home, that being AFC Liverpool who entertain Northern Counties East Premier Division side Armthorpe Welfare. The game is being played on Sunday with landlords Marine playing at the Marine Travel Arena on Saturday, and this could lead to a bumper crowd for Paul Moore’s men.
Liverpool started the season in blistering form, unbeaten in their opening six games of which they won five. This included two superb FA Cup results, beating Chadderton 9-2 at Andrew Street and following this up with a 3-2 win over Evo-Stik 1st Division North side Radcliffe Borough, scoring a 90th minute winner after coming from 2-0 down. Although they have stuttered in recent games, they will head into the game with confidence.
Armthorpe currently lie in 19th place in their league having picked up just four points from seven games, although their best form has come in cup competitions. They won 2-1 at Hemsworth Miners Welfare in the Preliminary Round and followed this up with a “giant killing” of their own when they beat New Mills 1-0 in the last round.
The two sides have met twice previously, both in the FA Vase. The first meeting came in the First Round Proper in 2012/13 with Armthorpe winning 3-1 at Prescot Cables’ ground, and the following season Armthorpe made it a double when they won 3-1 at home in the 1st Qualifying Round.
Armthorpe’s best FA Cup performance came back in 1986/87 when they reached the 3rd Qualifying Round before bowing out at home to Chorley. This is currently AFC Liverpool’s best FA Cup run, so history will be made on Sunday regardless.
Last season's Team of the Year in the FA Cup were Warrington Town, and they were dumped out in the last round by Abbey Hey. Luke Gibson's men are doing well in the Premier Division having lost just twice all season, with their win over Warrington coming on the back of an equally impressive win against Worksop Town in the Extra Preliminary Round.
Abbey Hey's opponents this time are Northern Counties East Premier Division side Thackley. Their season hasn't been great, losing four successive league games after an opening day win. However they have excelled in the FA Cup, with two fine wins away at Northern League sides, with a 3-1 win at Durham City followed up by a 2-1 win at Ashington.
Both sides will know that a win on Saturday will equal their best ever FA Cup performance. Abbey Hey have reached the 2nd Qualifying Round once, in 2012/13 when they bowed out at FC Halifax Town, whilst Thackley have reached the next round on five previous occasions, most recently in the 2010/11 season.
The final three games see our sides on long bus journeys to Northern League sides with Runcorn Linnets travelling to Washington, Consett hosting Colne and Congleton Town on the road to possibly the longest name in the competition - Jarrow Roofing Boldon Community Association!
Runcorn Linnets, Premier Division runners-up in the last two seasons, have had a shaky start to this season by their standards, but they have roared back to form with six successive victories including a 1-0 away win at 1874 Northwich last Saturday and a 4-0 away win at Abbey Hey on Tuesday.
In the FA Cup, a 2-2 draw at Glasshoughton Welfare was followed up by a 6-1 win in the replay, a result they repeated in the last round when they hosted Pontefract Collieries.
Washington have had a great start to the season and are unbeaten after nine games. They sit in second place in NL Division One having dropped just two points, and have had two good away wins in the FA Cup at AFC Darwen and West Auckland Town. Their best performance of the season came in the FA Vase last Saturday when they won 7-2 away at Brandon United.
This will be the first meeting between the two sides and both clubs have a long way to go in order to even equal their best FA Cup runs. The best for Linnets came two seasons ago when they reached the 3rd Qualifying Round, whilst Washington reached the Final Qualifying Round in 1970/71. More recently though, they have not reached this stage since 1979/80, so it is somewhat unchartered territory for them.
Colne head into their match at Consett as the only unbeaten side in the NWCFL Premier Division with five wins and two draws from their seven games. Their 5-0 derby away win at Barnoldswick Town was followed up by one of the results of the last round when they won 5-2 away at Tadcaster Albion. Goals are Colne's speciality having netted 28 times so far, with the most pleasing aspect that they are coming from all over the field.
Consett sit in mid-table in the NL Division One having won and lost two of their seven league games, drawing the other three including a goalless draw at Newton Aycliffe in midweek. In the FA Cup, they followed up an 8-0 win over Billingham Synthonia (after a replay) with an impressive 2-0 win over Scarborough Athletic in the last round.
A Colne win will see them equal their best ever FA Cup performance, which came in the 2004/05 season when they were beaten by Brigg Town in the 2nd Qualifying Round. Consett have a long FA Cup history, stretching back to the 1930/31 season, and they have reached the First Round Proper on two occasions, in 1958/59 and 1996/97.
Congleton head into their Cup tie in good form, having lost just once in all competitions and that in the opening week of the season. They overcame Nostell Miners Welfare in both the FA Cup and FA Vase, with a Cup win over Handsworth Parramore sandwiched in between them to set up Saturday's tie.
Jarrow Roofing BCA, as they are more affectionately known, are 11th in NL Division One. They reached this round with two 2-1 away wins in the FA Cup, at Penrith in the Extra Preliminary and Bishop Auckland in the Preliminary. They look to have a decent home record, unbeaten in their three games having scored 13 goals, although they lost 3-1 at Penrith in the league on Wednesday evening.
Like most of the ties in this round of the Cup, this is a first ever meeting between the two sides.
As one of the leading sides in Cheshire over the years, Congleton's Cup history goes back to 1947/48, with the First Round Proper being the best back in 1989/90. This is their best Cup run since 2009/10 when they reached the 2nd Qualifying Round. As for Jarrow, their FA Cup debut was as recent as 1997/98, and victory on Saturday will see them equal their best ever run which they have done on two occasions.
As always, good luck to all our teams in the Cup!
FA Cup First Qualifying Round Preview - Saturday 12th September 2015
Thu 10th September 2015 | FA Competition News
By Martin Fallon
The First Qualifying Round of the Emirates FA Cup rolls around on Saturday, with eight of our sides looking to continue their journey on "The Road to Wembley".
Strangely for this round, five of our teams are playing teams from an equivalent Step 5 League, with just three facing teams from higher levels in the football pyramid.
The action starts on Friday evening with Northwich Victoria taking on AFC Blackpool at Wincham Park. This has been brought forward to the Friday as Northwich's landlords Witton Albion are also in Cup action on the Saturday.
After losing the opening two games of the season, the FA Cup kick started AFC Blackpool's season with a replay victory over Winsford United.
They then went on to shock EvoStik 1st Division side Ossett Town in the last round with a 1-0 home win, a victory that is sandwiched between three good league results, with away draws at Padiham and Congleton Town plus a home win over Ashton Athletic. Last Saturday saw them bow out of the FA Vase with a 3-0 loss at home to Maltby Main
As for Northwich Victoria, they have started their Evo-Stik 1st Division North campaign in blistering form, with eight successive victories in all competitions. In the last round of the Cup they won 3-2 away at Runcorn Town, whilst in the league they have a perfect 21 points from seven games. They warmed up for the Cup in convincing fashion with a 4-0 win over Burscough on Tuesday.
The game is the first meeting between the two sides in any competition, although Northwich did once host the Football League side Blackpool in the Second Round in 1987/88! AFC Blackpool have never progressed past this round of the competition so would be creating history with a win, whilst a glance through Northwich Victoria's FA Cup history has saw them square off against the likes of Watford, Charlton Athletic, Sunderland and Hull City.
Their best is the Quarter Finals back in the 1800's, but they have reached the Third Round Proper as recently as 2005/06.
Alsager Town are having a Jekyll and Hyde season so far. In the league, they are still looking for their first league win of the season, but having watched them, they play some really good football with half of their losses coming by just a single goal, suggesting that they are competitive in many of the games that they have played.
Outside of league action, they have been superb in the FA Cup, knocking out highly fancied Shaw Lane Aquaforce in the last round after a 1-0 win over Athersley Recreation in the previous round.
On Saturday, they entertain EvoStik 1st Division North side Burscough, the 2002/03 FA Trophy winners. Burscough have had a mixed start to the season, winning just two of their eight games, and will not relish the trip to Alsager, having not yet won on the road this season and losing heavily at Northwich on Tuesday.
Like Blackpool, Alsager will also be in unchartered territory if they win on Saturday having reached the 1st Qualifying Road on two previous occasions. As for Burscough, they have a long FA Cup history stretching back to just after the Second World War, with their best being the Second Round Proper which they reached in 2005/06.
The final club facing higher opposition is Padiham, who welcome Lancaster City to the Arbories.
Padiham have had a mixed start to life back in the NWCFL after relegation last season, and they lie in 12th place having won and drawn two of their opening seven games. Padiham reached this round in the FA Cup with two fine away wins at Whickham and Silsden, and were involved in a thrilling derby match on Wednesday with Colne, which they ultimately lost 3-1.
Like Padiham, Lancaster have also had a mixed start and have got nine points on the board having drew three of their six games. The teams have met before, and last season this was an Evo-Stik 1st Division North fixture with Lancaster winning 3-0 at Padiham, with the teams drawing 3-3 at The Giant Axe in the return fixture.
Padiham's FA Cup exploits are quite recent, having first entered in 2004/05. Like the previous two clubs, their best run is in reaching the 1st Qualifying Round and this will be the fourth time that they have reached this stage. History awaits with a win.
As for Lancaster City, their FA Cup days stretch back to 1937/38, and their best was in 1972/73 when they reached the Second Round before losing to Notts County. They have reached the 3rd Qualifying Round in two of the last four years.
Of the teams facing equlivalent Step 5 teams, only one is at home, that being AFC Liverpool who entertain Northern Counties East Premier Division side Armthorpe Welfare. The game is being played on Sunday with landlords Marine playing at the Marine Travel Arena on Saturday, and this could lead to a bumper crowd for Paul Moore’s men.
Liverpool started the season in blistering form, unbeaten in their opening six games of which they won five. This included two superb FA Cup results, beating Chadderton 9-2 at Andrew Street and following this up with a 3-2 win over Evo-Stik 1st Division North side Radcliffe Borough, scoring a 90th minute winner after coming from 2-0 down. Although they have stuttered in recent games, they will head into the game with confidence.
Armthorpe currently lie in 19th place in their league having picked up just four points from seven games, although their best form has come in cup competitions. They won 2-1 at Hemsworth Miners Welfare in the Preliminary Round and followed this up with a “giant killing” of their own when they beat New Mills 1-0 in the last round.
The two sides have met twice previously, both in the FA Vase. The first meeting came in the First Round Proper in 2012/13 with Armthorpe winning 3-1 at Prescot Cables’ ground, and the following season Armthorpe made it a double when they won 3-1 at home in the 1st Qualifying Round.
Armthorpe’s best FA Cup performance came back in 1986/87 when they reached the 3rd Qualifying Round before bowing out at home to Chorley. This is currently AFC Liverpool’s best FA Cup run, so history will be made on Sunday regardless.
Last season's Team of the Year in the FA Cup were Warrington Town, and they were dumped out in the last round by Abbey Hey. Luke Gibson's men are doing well in the Premier Division having lost just twice all season, with their win over Warrington coming on the back of an equally impressive win against Worksop Town in the Extra Preliminary Round.
Abbey Hey's opponents this time are Northern Counties East Premier Division side Thackley. Their season hasn't been great, losing four successive league games after an opening day win. However they have excelled in the FA Cup, with two fine wins away at Northern League sides, with a 3-1 win at Durham City followed up by a 2-1 win at Ashington.
Both sides will know that a win on Saturday will equal their best ever FA Cup performance. Abbey Hey have reached the 2nd Qualifying Round once, in 2012/13 when they bowed out at FC Halifax Town, whilst Thackley have reached the next round on five previous occasions, most recently in the 2010/11 season.
The final three games see our sides on long bus journeys to Northern League sides with Runcorn Linnets travelling to Washington, Consett hosting Colne and Congleton Town on the road to possibly the longest name in the competition - Jarrow Roofing Boldon Community Association!
Runcorn Linnets, Premier Division runners-up in the last two seasons, have had a shaky start to this season by their standards, but they have roared back to form with six successive victories including a 1-0 away win at 1874 Northwich last Saturday and a 4-0 away win at Abbey Hey on Tuesday.
In the FA Cup, a 2-2 draw at Glasshoughton Welfare was followed up by a 6-1 win in the replay, a result they repeated in the last round when they hosted Pontefract Collieries.
Washington have had a great start to the season and are unbeaten after nine games. They sit in second place in NL Division One having dropped just two points, and have had two good away wins in the FA Cup at AFC Darwen and West Auckland Town. Their best performance of the season came in the FA Vase last Saturday when they won 7-2 away at Brandon United.
This will be the first meeting between the two sides and both clubs have a long way to go in order to even equal their best FA Cup runs. The best for Linnets came two seasons ago when they reached the 3rd Qualifying Round, whilst Washington reached the Final Qualifying Round in 1970/71. More recently though, they have not reached this stage since 1979/80, so it is somewhat unchartered territory for them.
Colne head into their match at Consett as the only unbeaten side in the NWCFL Premier Division with five wins and two draws from their seven games. Their 5-0 derby away win at Barnoldswick Town was followed up by one of the results of the last round when they won 5-2 away at Tadcaster Albion. Goals are Colne's speciality having netted 28 times so far, with the most pleasing aspect that they are coming from all over the field.
Consett sit in mid-table in the NL Division One having won and lost two of their seven league games, drawing the other three including a goalless draw at Newton Aycliffe in midweek. In the FA Cup, they followed up an 8-0 win over Billingham Synthonia (after a replay) with an impressive 2-0 win over Scarborough Athletic in the last round.
A Colne win will see them equal their best ever FA Cup performance, which came in the 2004/05 season when they were beaten by Brigg Town in the 2nd Qualifying Round. Consett have a long FA Cup history, stretching back to the 1930/31 season, and they have reached the First Round Proper on two occasions, in 1958/59 and 1996/97.
Congleton head into their Cup tie in good form, having lost just once in all competitions and that in the opening week of the season. They overcame Nostell Miners Welfare in both the FA Cup and FA Vase, with a Cup win over Handsworth Parramore sandwiched in between them to set up Saturday's tie.
Jarrow Roofing BCA, as they are more affectionately known, are 11th in NL Division One. They reached this round with two 2-1 away wins in the FA Cup, at Penrith in the Extra Preliminary and Bishop Auckland in the Preliminary. They look to have a decent home record, unbeaten in their three games having scored 13 goals, although they lost 3-1 at Penrith in the league on Wednesday evening.
Like most of the ties in this round of the Cup, this is a first ever meeting between the two sides.
As one of the leading sides in Cheshire over the years, Congleton's Cup history goes back to 1947/48, with the First Round Proper being the best back in 1989/90. This is their best Cup run since 2009/10 when they reached the 2nd Qualifying Round. As for Jarrow, their FA Cup debut was as recent as 1997/98, and victory on Saturday will see them equal their best ever run which they have done on two occasions.
As always, good luck to all our teams in the Cup!
