November Preview

Start your FA Cup weekend off at Hillsborough where Sheffield Wednesday host Morecambe under the lights on Friday 4th.

Tickets are priced at £10 adults and £5 concessions. Why not come back the following lunchtime for a 12pm start in the FA Youth Cup, where the Owls youngsters take on Burton Albion. Admission for non-season ticket holders is priced at £3 adults and £1 for concessions.

Cardiff City Women are in action at the Cardiff City Stadium on Wednesday 16th, against Abergavenny Town.

Tickets for the 7.30pm kick-off are priced at £5 adults, £2.50 for under 16's and £10 for a family ticket.

For West Bromwich Albion Women there is a Hawthorns clash with Derby County on Sunday 6th at 2pm. Tickets are priced at £5 adults and £3 for under 18's.

The weekend of the 12th/13th sees 64 FA Vase Second Round ties and 56 games scheduled for the FA Women's Cup First Round as these competitions continue on the road to Wembley.

Windsor Park in Belfast hosts the Women's Challenge Cup Final between Glentoran and Sion Swifts on Saturday 5th at 5.30pm. Tickets are priced at £6 adults and £3 for juniors.

And, of course, there's a tournament beginning in Qatar this month which will leave a top-flight-shaped hole in the football schedule, one that clubs lower down will be more than happy to see filled by some additional numbers through the gate.

Update: There also may be some clubs, in the Championship especially, who do not have too many players on World Cup duty and look to arrange a friendly or two during their enforced break.

Millwall, for instance, take on Brondby IF of Denmark at The Den on Saturday 26th with tickets costing a maximum of £10.

Kings For A Day

 

A view from the smart main stand at Butlin Road, home of Rugby Town FC, taken in 2016.

'The Valley' are currently sitting at the top of the United Counties Premier League Division South and host second-placed Coventry Sphinx this coming Saturday (admission £8/£4) at 3pm.

They don't begin their FA Vase campaign until the 2nd Round Proper in a few weeks time but it would be a fitting season in which to land some silverware as next year will mark 40 years since a famous Wembley triumph for the club, then known as VS Rugby.

I was in the stands on that day as Jimmy Knox's side defeated Halesowen Town by a single goal, a landmark occasion that is rightly celebrated every year by the surviving members of the team, while, as the Rugby Observer reported in 2020, paying tribute to Knox and others they have lost as they do so.

It's a great reminder that playing both the Vase and FA Trophy finals at Wembley means so much to those players, officials and supporters from the teams that make it through so many rounds to get there and that, hopefully, the current policy of both matches taking place in a double-header at the national stadium can continue.

In another 40 years time I'm sure there will be get-togethers for those who played their part in Newport Pagnell Town FC lifting the trophy earlier this year.

The First Round proper of the Vase takes place this weekend and there are 103 ties taking place in total. You'd be hard-pressed to find any that will cost more than a tenner to watch so get along to see your local side if possible.

Northern League Brandon United, for example, have a Family Fun Day around their tie with Thackley AFC on Saturday. Admission is just £5 adults, £3 concessions and free for accompanied Under 16's 

Steel Works

A picture, from a few years back, of the main stand at Bracken Moor, home of Stocksbridge Park Steels FC.

I like this ground and it's jumble of terraces and vantage points from which to change your angle of the game.

Steels enjoyed an excellent 3-0 victory against Cleethorpes Town in the Northern Premier League East last Saturday but are looking to boost numbers through the gate after attracting just 141 to that game.

They are at home to Lincoln United on Tuesday evening, 18th October, and admission prices are £8 adults, £5 concessions and free for under 12's.

Stay On Track

 With a visit to Harrogate Railway Athletic next weekend. The tweet probably says it all...

A Beer Festival like no other “The Rail BeerFest” at Station View, Saturday 15th Oct from 1pm. Just £5 gets you entry to @THERAILFC v @SelbyTown_FC Access to Loads of Real Ale, Rugby Pirates v Leeds Corinthians, Live Music and Food Contact Anne on 07880 491757 pic.twitter.com/191fPT7QyB

— Harrogate Railway Athletic FC (@THERAILFC) October 6, 2022

World Cup Warm-Up

Nearly 12 years after Qatar was named as the host nation, the 2022 World Cup is within touching distance as national team managers prepare to name their squads and top-level clubs and leagues across Europe prepare to shutdown for the duration of the tournament.

Opportunity knocks, hopefully, for those leagues that will continue (from League One downwards in England for instance) and certainly the Saturday before the competition begins, 19th November, has the feel of a day when crowds could increase with top-flight supporters looking elsewhere for a game to go to.

Notts County attracted 12,843 through the Meadow Lane gates last season when offering football for a fiver. They are repeating those prices for the visit of Yeovil on Saturday 19th and there are sure to be some other good offers about.