I Dream Of Jeanfield (And Other Scottish Cup Ties)

The Scottish Cup First Round takes places this coming weekend with 30 ties scheduled and some intriguing clashes as the Highland and Lowland League clubs enter the fray alongside those victorious in the Preliminary Round.

Brechin City currently top the Highland League as they look to return to the SPFL ranks following their relegation in 2021, the culmination of a dramatic fall through the leagues having been promoted to the second tier Championship in 2017.

The club have worked hard off the field to re-engage with their local community while their on-pitch aspirations for a good cup run will be tested at Perth's Jeanfield Swifts, of the East of Scotland League this Saturday in 12.30pm kick-off.

Admission at the Riverside Stadium is priced at £6 adults, £3 concessions and free for under 16's.

Musselburgh Athletic and Newtongrange Star meet at Olivebank on Saturday and the clubs have agreed on free admission for U16's for this one. Adults are £8, concessions £4.

A long trip for Inverness Clachnacuddin as they travel to Dunbar United for a 3pm kick-off on Saturday.

Tickets are priced at £7 for adults, £4 for concessions with under 12's free.

Welling There

The first international break of the new season is almost upon us, a season of course in which there will be an extended period of no top-flight football in England and Scotland during the World Cup.

Plenty of opportunities to come, then, to watch matches lower down the pyramid and Welling United are looking to pack Park View Road for their National League South home game against Havant & Waterlooville on Saturday 24th September.

Tickets are priced at £10 for adults if purchased before the day of the game, alongside the promotion already in place for September fixtures which sees all adult female, concession and under 18 tickets priced at £5. Accompanied under 11's are free.

Update Reduced prices too at Maidenhead United on Saturday 24th for their televised National League clash with Gateshead.

Kick-off at York Road is at 3pm and all adult tickets are a fiver with under 17's free. 

A View From Norfolk

Some footballing views from a week spent in Norfolk, home to my favourite ground of all, the Wellesley, home of Great Yarmouth Town FC and the oldest surviving football grandstand in the country.

The public nature of the ground, just one street away from the seafront, means you can stroll around at almost any time and I always take the opportunity when I can even though my visits haven't coincided with a game for some years.

Next home game in the Eastern Counties League for The Bloaters is on Saturday 17 September when they entertain Haverhill Borough.

I was staying further along the coast at Sheringham where the Shannocks enjoyed one of the biggest wins in their history at the weekend, an FA Cup triumph at Lowestoft Town which earned them a place in the 2nd Qualifying Round and a trip to Needham Market a week on Saturday.

Cabbell Park in Cromer was the venue for an Anglian Combination Division 5 game between Cromer Youth OB and Sprowston Reserves, the home side taking a first-half lead from an excellent free-kick before a seven goal blitz from Sprowston after the break.

The ground itself has seen better days but it is good to see a long tradition (the plaque on the left is on display at the RNLI Henry Blogg Museum) of senior football in the town being carried on, and, more importantly perhaps, Cromer Youth FC is home to a large number of junior teams.

Head west along the coast road and you get to Wells-next-the-Sea and, just across from the harbour, the Beach Road home of Wells Town FC, a very pleasant spot to catch some Anglian Combination action.

Finally, all roads in Norfolk lead to Norwich and the same is true of the football club. The Canary Yellow is in evidence every where you go and it is pleasing to see a network of local buses heading off from the local villages and towns every matchday.

September Preview

The FA Cup continues in September, this weekend seeing the First Qualifying Round take place, followed by Second Round qualifiers on the weekend of the 17th.

Ipswich Wanderers, who had a special offer in place for their league game on Tuesday evening, admission and a pint for a tenner, have a home tie against Hornchurch this coming Saturday.

The road to Wembley also begins in the Women's FA Cup on Sunday 11 September while all paths lead to Hampden Park with the Scottish Cup First Round taking place on the weekend of the 17th.

Some interesting Lowland versus Highland League ties were drawn out of the hat on Monday, including Civil Service Strollers against last season's Highland champions Fraserburgh. BBC Scotland will show the meeting of Pollok and Huntly on Friday 16th.

The Strollers offer great value for their league fixtures, which are usually priced at £8/£5 and free for under 16's.

September 24th sees an international break in the top divisions in England and Scotland and some good opportunities to catch a match lower down the pyramid while before then there is a potentially vital World Cup qualifier for Wales Women, at home to Slovenia at the Cardiff City Stadium on Tuesday 6th. 

Tickets, priced at £8/£6 and £4 are selling fast with a record crowd already confirmed. 

There are also some interesting fixtures in the Premier League International Cup for under 21 teams, including Crystal Palace v PSG, scheduled for the 28th at Selhurst Park and Wolves v Porto two days later at Molineux (these games are sometimes subject to change).

City Are Back

Really good to see Sky Blues supporters finally getting a chance to see the side in action on home soil this season, with the pitch fiasco that has seen three Championship fixtures postponed and a League Cup tie moved now hopefully put to bed following this week's improvement work.

The midweek clash with Preston North End on Wednesday 31August has been given the go-ahead and tickets for the game will cost no more than £20 and I also like the fact that there is no increase on the day and cash turnstiles are available.

That element of deciding to go to a game on the spur of the moment has either been taken away completely or, at the very least, made more difficult at the top levels in recent years but it is something that the Sky Blues have maintained and very welcome it is too.

The Club Is The Hub

In his columns in The Non League Paper,  Chairman of the Northern Premier League Mark Harris often provides food for thought on the challenges facing clubs at that level of the game.

This week he reflected on the cost of living and how that can be both a threat and an opportunity as we head towards the colder months of the year.

A threat for the obvious reasons; costs are going up in all areas, whether that be hiring a coach for an away trip or switching on the floodlights.

But an opportunity because, in addition to matchday itself and the escape that can offer spectators (at an affordable price), many clubs are already hubs for their local community and that will become even more vital this autumn and winter, offering a warm welcome (literally) in the clubhouse before kick-off or a range of different events and activities throughout the week.

I've seen some great things from clubs in recent weeks, such as Newtown AFC of the Cymru Premier reducing their prices to help spectators who may be struggling and this tweet from Worsbrough Bridge FC of the Northern Counties East League.

Local clubs such as @WorsbroughBFC are going to be even more vital to the community this winter. #footballforafiver https://t.co/hzZGAq5Vdk

— Affordable Football (@AffordableFooty) August 16, 2022

The Euros Bounce

Just a few short weeks after the euphoria generated by England's victory in the UEFA Women's Euros, domestic action returns this coming weekend with the opening fixtures in the FA Women's Championship, the second-tier of the club game.

And for a top price of a tenner there are some great matches to choose from in the opening two rounds as the battle begins to win a place in the WSL.

Southampton FC Women get things underway at 12.30pm on Saturday with St Mary's the venue for their game against Charlton. Tickets are priced at £8 and £2.

On Sunday there are local derbies between Durham and Sunderland and London City Lionesses and Crystal Palace, Blackburn Rovers host Sheffield United at Ewood Park and St Andrew's is the venue for Birmingham City against Lewes.

With the ongoing pitch fiasco engulfing the Sky Blues, there will at least be some football in the city this weekend as Coventry United take on Bristol City.

The official WSL site has a good guide to the fixtures taking place and links to the various ticket pages.