FA Cup Preview - First Qualifying Round 2017/18
Fri 1st September 2017 | FA Challenge Cup | By Martin Fallon
This weekend sees the Emirates FA Cup roll around for the third time this season, with five of our sides looking to reach the Second Qualifying Round of the competition. City of Liverpool, 1874 Northwich, Abbey Hey, Ashton Athletic and Barnoldswick Town are in action in the World's Oldest Cup Competition, and we review all five matches in today's Cup Preview.
City of Liverpool v Nantwich Town
The action starts tonight with City of Liverpool taking on EvoStik League Premier Division side Nantwich Town at home. The Purples are in their first ever FA Cup tie, but manager Simon Burton is no stranger to FA Cup giant killings having masterminded Runcorn Town's victory at Barrow en-route to the Third Qualifying Round in 2014. His magic worked once more in the last round when they drew 2-2 away at Evostik League North side Prescot Cables before stunning them as they won 8-2 in the replay.
City of Liverpool started their season in the round before with a 2-1 victory at Padiham, and they have been in great form in their inaugural Premier Division season. They have lost just once at Northwich Victoria, but home victories against Charnock Richard and Irlam plus a 5-0 away win at Maine Road last Saturday see them come into this game sitting in fourth place in the table.
Goals are something that they certainly have in their locker and they have scored an impressive 29 goals so far in eight competitive games. Jamie McDonald leads the way with seven of those with Karl Noon just behind with six, but ten different goalscorers so far highlight the fact that there are goals everywhere in this team.
This is Nantwich's first FA Cup tie of the season, but they have played six league matches and lost just one. That came on the opening day of the season with a 1-0 loss at Stalybridge Celtic, and since then they have beaten Workington and Mickleover Sports plus registered draws against Altrincham, Stourbridge and Barwell.
Like City of Liverpool, Nantwich are also not reliant on one individual goalscorer with six different players finding the net this season, but they are nowhere near as prolific having scored just eight goals in their six games.
Nantwich's best FA Cup run came six season's ago when they reached the First Round Proper for the first time, losing 6-0 at MK Dons. Last season they went close to doing that again as they lost in the Final Qualifying Round, with last season also being a great league campaign as they finished in fifth place in the league, reaching the Evostik League Premier Division play-offs for only the second time.
Abbey Hey v Altrincham
Of all non-league teams playing in the FA Cup, none strike fear into Football League sides as much as Altrincham. They hold the record knocking out more Football League sides than any other club in history with 17 "giant killings", however they are the giants in this encounter.
Altrincham were relegated from National League North at the end of last season, finding themselves playing in the third tier of non-league football for the first time in their history. Because of this, they are entering the FA Cup at the First Qualifying Round for the First Time, so there is no real history in the competition to go off.
In the league, they currently sit in 10th place having won three of their six games. They struggled to adapt to life at Step 3 with losses to Stafford Rangers and Matlock Town and a draw with Nantwich in their first three games. Since then though, they have won their last three games against Whitby Town, Coalville Town and Witton Albion with two clean sheets also registered.
Josh Hancock has scored in all of those wins, and one weird stat is that of their eight goals scored this season, seven have been scored by a player whose name starts with the letter J!!! James Poole is another to look out for, as he has scored in their last two games also.
As for Abbey Hey, they have had a weird campaign so far. In the FA Cup they are great, winning at Irlam in the Extra Preliminary Round before beating Maine Road after both a replay and an abandoned game! In the league they have lost to Runcorn Linnets and Widnes at home, both without scoring, but a 2-0 win at Northwich Victoria on Saturday not only gave them a clean sheet, but also meant that they come into this game three games unbeaten themselves. Rhys Webb is leading scorer for Abbey Hey, including the winner on Monday in their win over Maine Road.
Abbey Hey have been the last remaining Hallmark Security League side in the FA Cup in two of the last five years having reached the Second Qualifying Round on both occassions. That is the best that they have managed in 16 previous campaigns. As for Alty, what do we say? Their best is the Fourth Round Proper, which came about in 1985/86 when they won away at top flight club Birmingham City 2-1. They have even earnt replays against Tottenham Hotspur and Everton in the past. Even struggling in recent years as they have, they have still done great in the FA Cup, reaching the First Round Proper in four of their last five FA Cup campaigns.
Ashton Athletic v Bamber Bridge
Ashton Athletic head into their FA Cup tie with EvoStik League North side Bamber Bridge in decent form after losing just once this season. They reached this stage with two emphatic wins, a 4-0 away victory at Squires Gate in the Extra Preliminary round which was followed up by a superb 4-2 home win over Runcorn Linnets in the Preliminary Round.
In the league they have also scored four, that being another 4-0 win at AFC Darwen, whilst last time out they showed their fighting spirit as they came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Widnes. Their only loss this season was a close one, going down 1-0 at home to Bootle to a very late goal in their first league game of the season.
As for Bamber Bridge, they sit in fifth place in the table after a good start themselves. They opened with two league wins at Radcliffe Borough and Goole - the last being a 6-1 win - but their last two league games have seen them lose at South Shields before being denied by Colwyn Bay on Monday when Bay scored a last minute equaliser in a 2-2 draw. Bamber Bridge reached this stage with a 3-2 win over Brighouse Town in the last round.
Both can therefore score, with 14 goals in five games for Ashton and 13 goals in five games for Bamber Bridge. At the other end though, Brig have conceded in every game whereas Ashton have two clean sheets so far. For Ashton, their front two have been in good form with Joel Brownhill hitting six goals this season whilst Dale Corie-Butler has hit five. For Bridge, Matt Lawlor is leading scorer with just three goals but they have had eight different scorers this season.
Ashton were the last remaining Hallmark Security League side in the FA Cup last season as they reached the Second Qualifying Round for the first time. At this stage last season they stunned Evostik side Mossley 7-2 before losing 5-0 at home to FC Halifax Town in front of a record gate at Brocstedes Park. They will want a repeat of that, but Bamber Bridge will have their eye on progression themselves, particularly after they went out at the first hurdle last season. Bridge have had success in the FA Cup before, reaching the Second Round Proper in 1999 before losing to Cambridge United, and they have also reached the Final Qualifying Round on three other occassions, most recently two seasons ago.
Albion Sports v Barnoldswick Town
Barnoldswick Town are in unknown territory on Saturday, but they have been drawn against a side from the same level as them in Albion Sports, who play in the Northern Counties East League Premier Division. Barlick have had a mixed start to their league campaign, with a 5-2 win over Burscough and a 3-1 win over Squires Gate coupled with 1-0 defeats to Winsford United and Runcorn Town. This sees them in 11th place in the table.
Albion have had a similar mixed start with two wins and a draw from their six Premier Division games. Their wins over Garforth Town and Worksop Town saw clean sheets in both ties, but a 3-3 draw at Staveley Miners Welfare and losses to Maltby Main, Pontefect Collieries and Athersley Rec sees them come into the game in 13th place in their league.
Daniel Craig has signed some great players over the summer, and the fact they have scored three or more in half their games shows that when it clicks then can be hard to stop. Danny Boyle has scored four goals in their six games, with eight different goalscorers indicating that they have goals all over the pitch.
Albion score at a similar rate to Barlick, and they have scored two or more goals in six of their eight games so far. Omar Habeeb is leading goalscorer for them with six goals, all of which have come in different games! They have had seven different goalscorers this season, so this could be one of the most open games this weekend!
This tie will see one of these sides reach the Second Qualifying Round of the FA Cup for the first time. Albion reached this stage in their first ever Cup campaign in 2013, but they had won just one match in the competition since then until they beat Nelson 2-0 in this year's Extra Preliminary Round. They followed this up with a 2-1 win over Newton Aycliffe in the last round. Barnoldswick Town's FA Cup record before this season read six campaigns and Extra Preliminary Round exits in all of them! Their first ever Cup win came against Jarrow Roofing in the Extra Preliminary Round and they had a superb 2-1 victory over Dunston UTS in the last round.
Mossley v 1874 Northwich
Of all five of our sides remaining in the competition, 1874 are the only one that come into it with an unbeaten record this season. Four wins and three draws is their record this season, with two of those draws coming in the FA Cup. They reached this stage by despatching rivals Northwich Victoria 2-0 after a 2-2 draw, and then beating West Didsbury & Chorlton 3-1 after a 3-3 draw.
In the league 1874 have beaten Burscough and Padiham, keeping clean sheets in both of those games, and drew 3-3 at home to Barnton. Sixteen goals in their seven games is a healthy return, and they have scored in every game this season, scoring two or more goals in six of their seven games. Scott McGowan is their leading scorer, scoring six goals so far in six games including a hat-trick against Barnton.
Mossley currently sit in 14th place in the Evostik League North having won two of their opening five games of the season, and they are still searching for their first home win this season. In the opening game, they won 5-2 away at Kendal Town, but have picked up just two points since with 1-1 draws at home to Colne and Trafford.
In the last midweek they lost 2-0 at Droylsden, but in the last round of the Cup they picked up a fine result with a 2-0 win at former NWCFL Champions Glossop North End. That win over Glossop was Mossley's first clean sheet of the season having conceded in all of their league games. The Lilywhites have scored nine goals in their five games so far with Adam Latham leading their goalscorer charts with three goals.
Mossley have a long FA Cup pedigree having first entered in the 1948/49 season. They reached the Second Round Proper in their second season in the competition, denied a place in the Third Round Proper after a replay loss to Nuneaton Borough, and that is their best FA Cup run. They repeated this feat in 1980 when they lost to Mansfield Town, and they have reached the First Round Proper on six other occassions. More recently though, they have not progressed past this round since 2010 when they reached the Final Qualifying Round.
As for 1874, in four previous FA Cup campaigns, they have progressed past the Extra Preliminary Round but bowed out at the Preliminary Round in every season. They are in unchartered territory, and who is to say that they cannot go further?
FA Cup Preview - First Qualifying Round 2017/18
Fri 1st September 2017 | FA Challenge Cup
By Martin Fallon
This weekend sees the Emirates FA Cup roll around for the third time this season, with five of our sides looking to reach the Second Qualifying Round of the competition. City of Liverpool, 1874 Northwich, Abbey Hey, Ashton Athletic and Barnoldswick Town are in action in the World's Oldest Cup Competition, and we review all five matches in today's Cup Preview.
City of Liverpool v Nantwich Town
The action starts tonight with City of Liverpool taking on EvoStik League Premier Division side Nantwich Town at home. The Purples are in their first ever FA Cup tie, but manager Simon Burton is no stranger to FA Cup giant killings having masterminded Runcorn Town's victory at Barrow en-route to the Third Qualifying Round in 2014. His magic worked once more in the last round when they drew 2-2 away at Evostik League North side Prescot Cables before stunning them as they won 8-2 in the replay.
City of Liverpool started their season in the round before with a 2-1 victory at Padiham, and they have been in great form in their inaugural Premier Division season. They have lost just once at Northwich Victoria, but home victories against Charnock Richard and Irlam plus a 5-0 away win at Maine Road last Saturday see them come into this game sitting in fourth place in the table.
Goals are something that they certainly have in their locker and they have scored an impressive 29 goals so far in eight competitive games. Jamie McDonald leads the way with seven of those with Karl Noon just behind with six, but ten different goalscorers so far highlight the fact that there are goals everywhere in this team.
This is Nantwich's first FA Cup tie of the season, but they have played six league matches and lost just one. That came on the opening day of the season with a 1-0 loss at Stalybridge Celtic, and since then they have beaten Workington and Mickleover Sports plus registered draws against Altrincham, Stourbridge and Barwell.
Like City of Liverpool, Nantwich are also not reliant on one individual goalscorer with six different players finding the net this season, but they are nowhere near as prolific having scored just eight goals in their six games.
Nantwich's best FA Cup run came six season's ago when they reached the First Round Proper for the first time, losing 6-0 at MK Dons. Last season they went close to doing that again as they lost in the Final Qualifying Round, with last season also being a great league campaign as they finished in fifth place in the league, reaching the Evostik League Premier Division play-offs for only the second time.
Abbey Hey v Altrincham
Of all non-league teams playing in the FA Cup, none strike fear into Football League sides as much as Altrincham. They hold the record knocking out more Football League sides than any other club in history with 17 "giant killings", however they are the giants in this encounter.
Altrincham were relegated from National League North at the end of last season, finding themselves playing in the third tier of non-league football for the first time in their history. Because of this, they are entering the FA Cup at the First Qualifying Round for the First Time, so there is no real history in the competition to go off.
In the league, they currently sit in 10th place having won three of their six games. They struggled to adapt to life at Step 3 with losses to Stafford Rangers and Matlock Town and a draw with Nantwich in their first three games. Since then though, they have won their last three games against Whitby Town, Coalville Town and Witton Albion with two clean sheets also registered.
Josh Hancock has scored in all of those wins, and one weird stat is that of their eight goals scored this season, seven have been scored by a player whose name starts with the letter J!!! James Poole is another to look out for, as he has scored in their last two games also.
As for Abbey Hey, they have had a weird campaign so far. In the FA Cup they are great, winning at Irlam in the Extra Preliminary Round before beating Maine Road after both a replay and an abandoned game! In the league they have lost to Runcorn Linnets and Widnes at home, both without scoring, but a 2-0 win at Northwich Victoria on Saturday not only gave them a clean sheet, but also meant that they come into this game three games unbeaten themselves. Rhys Webb is leading scorer for Abbey Hey, including the winner on Monday in their win over Maine Road.
Abbey Hey have been the last remaining Hallmark Security League side in the FA Cup in two of the last five years having reached the Second Qualifying Round on both occassions. That is the best that they have managed in 16 previous campaigns. As for Alty, what do we say? Their best is the Fourth Round Proper, which came about in 1985/86 when they won away at top flight club Birmingham City 2-1. They have even earnt replays against Tottenham Hotspur and Everton in the past. Even struggling in recent years as they have, they have still done great in the FA Cup, reaching the First Round Proper in four of their last five FA Cup campaigns.
Ashton Athletic v Bamber Bridge
Ashton Athletic head into their FA Cup tie with EvoStik League North side Bamber Bridge in decent form after losing just once this season. They reached this stage with two emphatic wins, a 4-0 away victory at Squires Gate in the Extra Preliminary round which was followed up by a superb 4-2 home win over Runcorn Linnets in the Preliminary Round.
In the league they have also scored four, that being another 4-0 win at AFC Darwen, whilst last time out they showed their fighting spirit as they came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Widnes. Their only loss this season was a close one, going down 1-0 at home to Bootle to a very late goal in their first league game of the season.
As for Bamber Bridge, they sit in fifth place in the table after a good start themselves. They opened with two league wins at Radcliffe Borough and Goole - the last being a 6-1 win - but their last two league games have seen them lose at South Shields before being denied by Colwyn Bay on Monday when Bay scored a last minute equaliser in a 2-2 draw. Bamber Bridge reached this stage with a 3-2 win over Brighouse Town in the last round.
Both can therefore score, with 14 goals in five games for Ashton and 13 goals in five games for Bamber Bridge. At the other end though, Brig have conceded in every game whereas Ashton have two clean sheets so far. For Ashton, their front two have been in good form with Joel Brownhill hitting six goals this season whilst Dale Corie-Butler has hit five. For Bridge, Matt Lawlor is leading scorer with just three goals but they have had eight different scorers this season.
Ashton were the last remaining Hallmark Security League side in the FA Cup last season as they reached the Second Qualifying Round for the first time. At this stage last season they stunned Evostik side Mossley 7-2 before losing 5-0 at home to FC Halifax Town in front of a record gate at Brocstedes Park. They will want a repeat of that, but Bamber Bridge will have their eye on progression themselves, particularly after they went out at the first hurdle last season. Bridge have had success in the FA Cup before, reaching the Second Round Proper in 1999 before losing to Cambridge United, and they have also reached the Final Qualifying Round on three other occassions, most recently two seasons ago.
Albion Sports v Barnoldswick Town
Barnoldswick Town are in unknown territory on Saturday, but they have been drawn against a side from the same level as them in Albion Sports, who play in the Northern Counties East League Premier Division. Barlick have had a mixed start to their league campaign, with a 5-2 win over Burscough and a 3-1 win over Squires Gate coupled with 1-0 defeats to Winsford United and Runcorn Town. This sees them in 11th place in the table.
Albion have had a similar mixed start with two wins and a draw from their six Premier Division games. Their wins over Garforth Town and Worksop Town saw clean sheets in both ties, but a 3-3 draw at Staveley Miners Welfare and losses to Maltby Main, Pontefect Collieries and Athersley Rec sees them come into the game in 13th place in their league.
Daniel Craig has signed some great players over the summer, and the fact they have scored three or more in half their games shows that when it clicks then can be hard to stop. Danny Boyle has scored four goals in their six games, with eight different goalscorers indicating that they have goals all over the pitch.
Albion score at a similar rate to Barlick, and they have scored two or more goals in six of their eight games so far. Omar Habeeb is leading goalscorer for them with six goals, all of which have come in different games! They have had seven different goalscorers this season, so this could be one of the most open games this weekend!
This tie will see one of these sides reach the Second Qualifying Round of the FA Cup for the first time. Albion reached this stage in their first ever Cup campaign in 2013, but they had won just one match in the competition since then until they beat Nelson 2-0 in this year's Extra Preliminary Round. They followed this up with a 2-1 win over Newton Aycliffe in the last round. Barnoldswick Town's FA Cup record before this season read six campaigns and Extra Preliminary Round exits in all of them! Their first ever Cup win came against Jarrow Roofing in the Extra Preliminary Round and they had a superb 2-1 victory over Dunston UTS in the last round.
Mossley v 1874 Northwich
Of all five of our sides remaining in the competition, 1874 are the only one that come into it with an unbeaten record this season. Four wins and three draws is their record this season, with two of those draws coming in the FA Cup. They reached this stage by despatching rivals Northwich Victoria 2-0 after a 2-2 draw, and then beating West Didsbury & Chorlton 3-1 after a 3-3 draw.
In the league 1874 have beaten Burscough and Padiham, keeping clean sheets in both of those games, and drew 3-3 at home to Barnton. Sixteen goals in their seven games is a healthy return, and they have scored in every game this season, scoring two or more goals in six of their seven games. Scott McGowan is their leading scorer, scoring six goals so far in six games including a hat-trick against Barnton.
Mossley currently sit in 14th place in the Evostik League North having won two of their opening five games of the season, and they are still searching for their first home win this season. In the opening game, they won 5-2 away at Kendal Town, but have picked up just two points since with 1-1 draws at home to Colne and Trafford.
In the last midweek they lost 2-0 at Droylsden, but in the last round of the Cup they picked up a fine result with a 2-0 win at former NWCFL Champions Glossop North End. That win over Glossop was Mossley's first clean sheet of the season having conceded in all of their league games. The Lilywhites have scored nine goals in their five games so far with Adam Latham leading their goalscorer charts with three goals.
Mossley have a long FA Cup pedigree having first entered in the 1948/49 season. They reached the Second Round Proper in their second season in the competition, denied a place in the Third Round Proper after a replay loss to Nuneaton Borough, and that is their best FA Cup run. They repeated this feat in 1980 when they lost to Mansfield Town, and they have reached the First Round Proper on six other occassions. More recently though, they have not progressed past this round since 2010 when they reached the Final Qualifying Round.
As for 1874, in four previous FA Cup campaigns, they have progressed past the Extra Preliminary Round but bowed out at the Preliminary Round in every season. They are in unchartered territory, and who is to say that they cannot go further?
