I have seen at least one match in every round of the Emirates FA Cup so far this campaign and my choice in the third round qualifying at the weekend was Stourbridge v Rushall Olympic, both of whom play in the Northern Premier League’s Premier Division.
My sister Kathy, who lives with her husband in Smethwick, accompanied me on the train. I had never been to Stourbridge before. We had to take one train from Smethwick Galton Bridge to Stourbridge Junction and then another on a three-minute hop (or more like a bounce) to Stourbridge Town. We were in one of the turnstile queues by 2.30 but, having reached the front, were told that it was the wrong queue for concessions.
“There should’ve been a sign up,” said the man. Yes, there should have.
I went up to the programme kiosk and was told they had sold out. We went to sit in the stand but our seats dropped to about two inches from the ground. It would have been too uncomfortable to sit there, so we moved along to the wooden benches.
It was a match with a lot at stake. There was the money and the glory associated with the Emirates FA Cup, with the teams two wins away from a possible crack at a Football League club, and this particular match had been billed in the local press as ‘a rip-roaring Black Country derby’.
Understandably it was played at a fast pace, with nobody having time on the ball and a lot of passes going straight to the opposition. After six minutes Rushall’s No9 lobbed against the bar and three minutes after that the hosts’ No10 curled a free-kick into the net for the goal that put the Glassboys into the next round.
They will be delighted with their draw at home to Kidderminster Harriers, a real local derby.
Paschendale triumphed over Thimblemill on Sunday
My match on Sunday morning was Sporting Thimblemill v Paschendale in the Warley & District Sunday League’s Division Three at Thimblemill Rec. It’s next to the cemetery. Mill scored quickly but lost 4-2, watched by 14 spectators, while BNJS Mann & Co v Langley Town on the other pitch finished 7-3. There were plenty of goals either way.
David Barber, The FA’s historian and superfan, went to his first FA Cup match more than 50 years ago – a first round proper tie between Crystal Palace and Hitchin Town – and hopes to reach 500 in the competition by the end of this season.
Total matches seen: 6,916
Twitter: @thebarberfan
