County Cups

[Ray de Galles]

There's a similar level of confusion in the Middlesex Charity Cup - one second round tie, the quarters and semis are all still to be played before the final on May 7th. Good luck with that.

I had hoped to see our derby match at AFC Hayes a couple of weeks ago as I happened to be back in town for a few days, but it was of course snowed off. If we win that q-f tie (if and when it ever takes place - AFC Hayes'/Brook House frequently has problems with waterlogging), the semi is away against Spelthorne or Broadfield. Would like to think we've got a good chance of making the final but am fairly certain that the club will focus on the league as we are in with a good chance of reaching the play-offs. Would be a shame though, the MCC is a beautiful trophy:

I tried to see that tie but in the end AFCH's waterlogging problem was so bad that they switched the tie and not even to H&Y's actual ground but to the 3G training pitch next to it. I didn't attend as, contrary to how it may seem, I do have some standards.

[JVL]

Even the prospect of free entry was not enough to tempt more than 49 people to watch through the fence at the training ground... our campaign for MCC glory will have to wait another year!

[JVL]

Karlsruhe progressed to the final of the Baden-Pokal yesterday, beating Waldhof Mannheim 3-0 in front of over 14000 spectators at the Wildparkstadion. They'll fancy their chances of beating 1. CfR Pforzheim in the final, which will guarantee a place in the DFB Pokal next season even if they don't manage to get back out of the 3. Liga via the play-offs.

There's no love lost between the two sets of fans and this was declared a high-risk match, meaning police were called in from all over the state and there were over 1000 officers in and around the stadium. Someone fired a flare-type rocket at a police helicopter and the Waldhof fans set off some smoke bombs, but both clubs seem pretty relieved that it was nothing more serious than that.

[Ray de Galles]

Leatherhead 1 Merstham 3
Surrey County Cup Final
Gander Green Lane

I’ve not seen a Surrey Cup Final for a while as they’re normally at Woking but the switch to Sutton’s charming if ramshackle ground and 3G pitch (which are potentially two games away from gracing the Football League I realised only last night) made it more accessible.

It was also a displacement activity from following Wimbledon’s quest for a point and safety at Doncaster too closely. It was actually nice to see heroes from The Dons’s last final week relegation escape, Sammy Moore and Jack Midson, as player-manager and player-coach for Leatherhead there even if the former didn’t pick himself in the squad. Their presence with other Wimbledon old boys & academy products and the fact that Merstham have always been a horrible bunch when I’ve come across them meant it was easy to throw my support behind The Tanners.

Not that it helped them, they never really turned up meaning Merstham went 0-3 up within the hour and were never really threatened even when Midson nodded in from a free kick with ten minutes left and forced a good save from another set piece a few minutes later. The fact that Leatherhead finished 6th in the Isthmian Premier (only missing the play-offs on goal difference) and Merstham 18th wasn’t apparent on the pitch.

The Leatherhead support who made up most of the crowd and made almost all the noise turned from singing to grumbling about Moore and Midson, the reason why became clear this morning when the duo left the club apparently bound for Concord Rangers a level up in the Conference South.

I feel it should also be noted that this was certainly the coldest game I’v ever seen in May, completely non Cup Final weather.

[Sean of the Shed]

Sutton might be two games away from the Football League but their 3G pitch isn't. Unless the League rules change sometime soon they will have to rip up the 3G to be accepted, and if they refuse they will be dumped into the Conference South, as per Conference rules for refusing to accept promotion.

[Ray de Galles]

I did caveat it with potentially, has their using the 3G should they go up been totally ruled out then?

[Kevin S]

https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/foo...-a3811421.html

[Uros Predic]

Wonder what that would mean for the clubs that currently share use of the pitch - Sutton Common Rovers and AFC Wimbledon Ladies. Presumably United they wouldn't want them putting wear and tear on a grass field

[Ray de Galles]

Great result in the Berks & Bucks Cup, Chesham United defeat Franchise on penalties after coming back from 2-0 down to 2-2 with an injury time equaliser. The match was played at the Stade de Franchise too.

[Kevin S]

Norwich United, relegated out of the Isthmian North back to the ECL Premier, have banished the blues by winning the Norfolk Senior FA Cup at Carrow Road.

https://twitter.com/NorfolkCountyFA/status/991066645102759936
https://twitter.com/NorfolkCountyFA/...66645102759936

[Patrick Thistle]

It's the Shropshire Senior Cup final on Tuesday. Shrewsbury v Telford.

Tickets cost more than for the Checkatrade Trophy games.

[longeared]

For the second time in four seasons there's going to be no Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup final. The competition was rushed through in the early stages, the quarter finals complete before Christmas and the semi finals in mid March and the finalists of Frickley Athletic and North Gawber Colliery confirmed. For some baffling reason the county FA decided to schedule the final for May 23rd at Bramall Lane, almost a month after Frickley's league season ended. Frickley have now withdrawn essentially claiming it's too long for them to wait. Presumably it's also too late to reinstate the losing semi finalists (Maltby Main and Staveley MW) so North Gawber end up winning by default.

Some extracts from Frickley's somewhat unhappy statement:

The club sought (and were given verbal assurances) at the end of last season that the competition’s final date would be normalised to mirror every single other County FA and be played by the end of the first week of May, at the very latest. This, despite earlier rounds being completed in plenty of time, has not happened.

Despite meetings, emails and conversations arguing our point for why the final date is wholly inappropriate and damaging for our football club none of these have been taken on board by the County FA Cups Committee who are insistent that despite additional concern detailed to them from governing bodies including our league, its decision remains.

The club has now been put in a situation where it has no choice (but now also a responsibility) to resign from the reminder of this year’s competition and therefore will not be participating in the final.

[Amor de Cosmos]

Hitchin beat Hemel Hempstead 2–1 on Tuesday to retain the the Herts Charity Cup. Some compensation for a disappointing league season for the boys from Fishponds Lane.

[Patrick Thistle]

Looking through all my Dad's programmes I've found quite a few from Shropshire Senior Cup finals. They're qiite nice little publications. I'm going to keep them while moving on most of the rest.

[mr smith]

The Nottinghamshire County Cup, contested annually by Forest, County and Mansfield, used to be a big(ish) thing back in the day. Used to get fair size crowds, but like penny farthings and high button shoes, is a thing of the past.

[Jumbo McGinnis]

I was quite looking forward to the Tolleshunt D’Arcy Cup Semi-Final between Stansted and Harlow Town that was scheduled for early April, as it was a competition I knew nothing about (is an invitational one, apparently), it would have been a new ground on what would have hopefully been a nice Spring evening and I watched a few Harlow games last season, so it would have been nice to see them mask a mediocre season with a Final, of some sorts.

[Ray de Galles]

I've sadly realised I haven't seen a County Cup Final since the 2018 Surrey Senior one upthread, I normally see at least a couple each season.

In fact, apart from my local club's Molesey's traditional early exits in the last two campaigns I haven't seen any other ties for two years.