Cannons Wood 4 Enfield Borough 3 - A brace from Alex Balisani plus goals from Somfechi Ikonu & Noah Adejokun saw Cannons Wood come back from two goals down to win seven goal Thurlow Nunn South thriller against Enfield Borough

Thurlow Nunn First Division South, Saturday 14th November

Part Two of my Aveley Parkside/Parkview double header (for Part One click here https://pedroslocalfootiefix.blogspot.com/2026/11/harold-hill-3-wakering-sports-2-goals.html) saw me in the main stadium known as Parkside, and it saw a Thurlow Nunn First Division South encounter between Cannons Wood & Enfield Borough, who are based in North London at Wingate & Finchley FCs Maurice Rebak Stadium.

It's the first time I'd got the chance to see either side this season, and the first time I'd seen the visitors for some time (in fact I haven't seen much of the hosts over time either!!!) so this was a good opportunity to check out two sides who were only separated by five points in the table, Wood are down in thirteenth position with twenty points from their thirteen games so far, they had only lost three, but too many draws (five) were potentially there issue, although they did have games in hand on most other clubs.

Their form though since mid September has been decent, since they lost 3-1 to today's opponents in North London back on September 13th, they have played seven league games since then and only lost once, and won four of those games too, with the last two back to back wins coming into this one, both 4-1 victories, so confidence was no doubt high amongst the home players.

They were up against an Enfield Borough side who had played four more league games than their hosts today, and picked up twenty five points in those contests, up in ninth spot and five points off the play off places, a minus one goal difference though certainly pointed to a mixed season results wise although since they defeated Wood at home in September, nine league games had yielded five wins and only one defeat, so their form had certainly become a bit more consistent as the season has gone on.

This one then was a hard one to call, but it turned out to be a utterly bonkers game and one of the most entertaining encounters I have witnessed for sometime,  a lively start to the contest didn't see a breakthrough until just before the half hour mark, and it was the visitors who broke through as a lovely pass through saw a neat finish applied under keeper Matthew Huggins, that was a nicely worked goal, but their second eight minutes before the break was very special.

It was a brilliant curling finish beyond Huggins from outside the box, and and this point you thought the visitors were taking control of this one, but, Cannons Wood found something before the break and hit back just two minutes later when Noah Adejokun got in down the left and squared for Alex Balisani (just about) applied the final touch into the net (he nearly missed it) and it gave the hosts a lift heading into the half time break.

It had been a lively end to end encounter so far but the second half was to be even more special, and Cannons Wood flew out of the blocks in the second period and levelled two minutes after the break, a long throw into the box by Casey Nolan-Samuels caused havoc, and eventually the ball fell to Balisani who prodded beyond the keeper and Wood had fought back from 2-0 down.

And just past the hour mark, the hosts completed an amazing turnaround when Balisani turned provider this time, running onto a lovely ball from Darnell Bromfield  before picking out Somfechi Ukonu who made no mistake by smashing home, and Wood were absolutely flying by now and were the ones with all the momentum, and when they added a lovely fourth goal eleven minutes from time, it looked like the game was over.

It was a superb move from the home side, Nolan-Samuels supplying Adejokun with a superb ball for him to apply a wonderful finish into the far bottom corner, it was scintillating stuff from the hosts, and they appeared to be cruising to victory after being two down late on in the first period.

Borough though didn't go away, and were awarded a penalty with six minutes of the ninety still to go, plus a rather hefty wodge of stoppage time no doubt, and they duly converted this spot kick, and all of a sudden the game was back in the balance again, what a contest it had been so far!!!

The final few minutes saw Wood holding on somewhat as Borough searched for what looked like a very unlikely leveller several minutes before, the hosts though did manage to hold on just about and record a superb win, it had been an absolute classic and one of those games you didn't want to finish, very entertaining for sure, & Wood were the ones to come out on top in the end. A sensational game of football!!!

Full time Cannons Wood 4 Enfield Borough 3

Well, what a game that was, certainly worth coming to see that's for sure!!!

Right, there were eight other league games over the weekend as well as one London Senior Trophy tie, let's see how those went..... 

Brimsdown 1-6 Marcelona (Friday)

AS London 2-2 Stansted

Athletic Newham 2-1 London Harts United

Burnham Ramblers 3-3 Lymore Gardens

Dunmow Town 5-2 London Fennecs

East Thurrock Community 3-3 May & Baker

Hoddesdon Town 5-1 Southend Manor

Rayleigh Town 2-1 FC Baresi

London Senior Trophy - NW London 6-1 Springfield

There were just the forty nine goals in this weekend's nine league games, and seven in the one London Senior Trophy tie, not a weekend for defences for sure!!! Brimsdown's woes continued as they were thrashed at home by Marcelona on Friday night, Stansted were held away at AS London in a top five battle, Athletic Newham edged out London Harts whilst their was a six goal thriller at Leslie Field.

Dunmow thrashed London Fennecs to put daylight between them and the bottom three, and their was another six goal thriller at Rookery Hill as high flying May & Baker were held 3-3 by East Thurrock Community in another big game towards the top of the division, leaders Hoddesdon netted five at home to Southend Manor, and Rayleigh struggled to a narrow win over a relegation threatened FC Baresi.

And in the London Senior Trophy, NW London put their league woes to one side, thrashing Essex & Suffolk Border League Premier Springfield, yes they are Step Seven and not a senior outfit, but any win right now will do for the hosts who have lost eleven of their fourteen league games so far.

And let's see how those results affect the table.....

Hoddy are now three clear at the top after Stansted only drew, the top two are still way clear of the rest though, with Rayleigh now their nearest challengers after their win and May & Baker and AS London both only picking up points, East Thurrock are just outside the play off zone still, the top six have a five point gap down to Basildon Town in seventh.

In fact only six points separate seventh placed Bas Town and sixteenth placed Hertford Heath, it's ridiculously tight for sure, and down at the bottom Brimsdown remain rock bottom with just a single point so far, NW London were in cup action but will be happy that Manor, Baresi & Fennecs all lost meaning they don't lose ground on them.

Dunmow Town's win certainly helps them too, they now have a seven point gap to third bottom Fennecs although they have played quite a few games more, Manor are still looking over their shoulders and hope teams below don't start picking up points anytime soon.

Well, what a fun weekend it was in the Thurlow Nunn South, plenty of goals and entertainment, especially in the game I was at, lots of fun was had, if only every game could be like that one!!!

 

Harold Hill 3 Wakering Sports 2 - Goals from Charlie Morris, Archie Edwards & Sam Blackholly hand Harold Hill hard fought win over Wakering Sports to take them top of the Essex Olympian Premier Division

Essex Olympian League Premier Division, Saturday 14th November

It's been a while since I have done an Olympian fixture, and as I hadn't yet visited the new facility at Aveley's Parkside, called Parkview, I decided that this weekend was the weekend to go and watch a game there, and also check out high flying Harold Hill too who were taking on one of my local Olympian sides in Wakering Sports in a Premier Division fixture.

This was part one of a double header as over on the main pitch there was a game between Cannons Wood & Enfield Borough in the Thurlow Nunn South Division at 3pm, it's a league that Harold Hill are looking to be in next season, as long as they win promotion from this league of course, and so far Hill have began the season very well, sitting second and only a point behind leaders Shenfield AFC netting eight wins from their thirteen games so far.

In fact the leaders only loss this season had come against Hill, and the hosts were on a good run of form too, four wins in a row scoring thirteen and conceding just one, and last time out they won 6-0 away in the Essex Saturday Premier Cup, so they were bang in form let's say, and they would have fancied continuing that run against a Wakering Sports side who were down in eleventh spot and ten points worse off than their opponents today.

It's been a mixed bag for the visitors this season for sure, sixteen points have come from their thirteen games thus far, and October hasn't been too kind to them form wise either, four defeats in five in the league, and then last time out they shipped four goals at home in the Essex Saturday Premier Cup to crash out of that, making it seventeen goals conceded in those six games.

However, back in early September, they did hold Hill to a 1-1 draw at Cupid's, and they have also held leaders Shenfield AFC to a 1-1 draw too this season, so they are capable at times of putting in a decent showing, so Hill would have to be wary of that, but being at home they would have been confident of victory here and potentially take over top spot if the leaders slipped up of course.

The first half was a decent watch despite the lack of goals, but ten minutes before the break Hill got themselves in front, the superb Lindo Khumalo did well down the left hand side before squaring across goal for Charlie Morris to tap home at the far post, and it meant the home side were to go into the break a goal ahead.

And nineteen year old Kuhmalo was at it again for the second Hill goal in the second period, going down the right this time and somehow with great determination getting the ball across goal despite several challenges coming in to try and thwart him, and Archie Edwards duly tapped home the ball across goal, and Hill now had a two goal cushion and were now looking to go on and win this game comfortably.

However, that didn't happen, and from nowhere Sports got themselves back in the contest, full back Aaron Cooper fired a free kick from the half way line into the hosts box but with the keeper off his line, the ball sailed over him and into the far corner, there is no way at all it was meant to be a shot, but it ended up being a perfectly executed effort that caught out the keeper, it really was a bolt from the blue.

Hill though recovered from the shock of conceding such a goal by restoring their two goal cushion, the influential centre half Darren Phillips nodding back across goal for Sam Blackholly to nod home into the far corner, but Sports once again fought back to reduce the arrears once again, Luke Jackson with a fine finish across the keeper into the far corner, setting up a tense last few minutes.

Hill though did manage to hold on for the win, a very hard fought one against a tough Wakering Sports side, and it meant the hosts would take over at the summit of the division prior to the later games finishing in the day, and their promotion aspirations, albeit it with plenty of games still to go, and still very much alive and on track, and if they can hold onto Khumalo, they will certainly take some stopping, he is that good.

Full time Harold Hill 3 Wakering Sports 2

There were seven other games in the Premier Division on Saturday, so let's see how those went.....

ACD United 1-2 Hashtag United U23

Canning Town 0-1 Barnston

Corinthians 0-6 Bishop's Stortford Swifts

Harold Wood Athletic 3-2 Hutton Reserves

Leigh Ramblers 0-2 Catholic United

Shenfield AFC 1-2 Old Southendian

Sungate 2-3 Old Chelmsfordians

There were certainly some surprising results in the division today, Shenfield AFC lost for only the second time this season after losing at home to Old Southendian, and bottom side Hashtag United U23s stunned third placed ACD United by netting a 2-1 win there for only their third win of the season.

Barnston netted a very important win at Canning Town, and Stortford Swifts put a struggling Corinthians to the sword in Stambridge, netting six away from home, Harold Wood edged out Hutton Reserves, and Catholic United saw two goals enough to defeat Leigh Rams at Belfairs. And finally Old Chelmsfordians only just squeezed past struggling Sungate in the odd goal in five to maintain their top four position.

And let's see how that affects the table.....

With Harold Hill winning earlier in the day, and Shenfield AFC suffering a surprise home defeat, it means the former now lead the way by two points, albeit Shenfield have a game in hand on the leaders, it's a tight division though as you can see, and anyone who put's together a string of results will certainly be right up there.

Hashtag's win today means they are only a point behind Sungate now and just two behind Corinthians who both lost today, Barnston picked up a few places following their win at Canning Town who are only a point above them now, it's certainly as always a very competitive division and a fun one to follow.

Right, head over to my next blog for what happened in Part Two of my double header at Aveley.....https://pedroslocalfootiefix.blogspot.com/2026/11/cannons-wood-4-enfield-borough-3-brace.html

Billericay Town 7 Little Oakley 0 / Hutton 0 Aveley 5 - Scintillating Blues hit seven past Oakley whilst Millers hit five against Hutton, Stanway, Hullbridge, Witham & Daggers also reach Quarter Finals of BBC Essex Senior Cup

(Action between Hutton & Aveley on Wednesday night at New Lodge which saw the visitors run out 5-0 winners)

BBC Essex Senior Cup Fourth Road, Tuesday 10th/Wednesday 11th November

It was another midweek double for me in the same competition, and the latest round of the BBC Essex Senior Cup, which had now reached the Fourth Road stage and the final sixteen clubs still left in the competition.  Six of eight ties were taking place this week, with all but one taking place on Tuesday.

And there were two of those ties at the same ground in Billericay, New Lodge, one on Tuesday and then one on Wednesday, and I was present at both to see who would win through and join the other four clubs this week in the Quarter Finals of the competition, let's see how those two games panned out:-

Tuesday 10th November

Billericay Town Vs Little Oakley

This game pitted National League South highflyers and current holders of the BBC Essex Senior Cup Billericay Town against Isthmian North side Little Oakley who themselves were also flying in their new division this season, so both sides were playing with plenty of confidence heading into this Last sixteen County Cup tie.

The Blues have started their life back at Step Two in the non league pyramid very well indeed, and currently occupy the final play off spot in the division in seventh spot, having won half of their fourteen league games so far and only losing two, as well as being joint second highest goalscoring club in the division so far, Oakley though have also started life at their new level well too.

They sat sixth in the Isthmian North, which is Step Four, and one place and one point outside the play off zone having also won half of their sixteen league games so far, but both sides were looking to see if they could reach the Last Eight of this prestigious competition, obviously the hosts would start as favourites seeing as they were two levels above their opponents in the pyramid.

It was soon apparent that the hosts were bang up for this contest and despite a number of changes quickly took control of the tie, finding themselves two goals up inside eight minutes, opening the scoring on six minutes as James Mauges & Charlie Ruff combined to set up Elliot Long who finished well, before doubling that lead less than two minutes later as a cut back found Odei Martin Sorondo who applied the finish, and it appeared the visitors would be in for a long night.

The hosts were relentless and looked dangerous everytime they came forward, and midway through the first period it was three and a goal all the making of the visitors sadly for them, as keeper and defender collided, and saw the ball fall nicely for Jon Benton who had the simple task of side footing home into an empty net, and the tie seemed pretty much over already.

And it definitely was over twelve minutes before half time when after Benton had struck the bar with a fantastic effort, skipper Ryan Scott was quickest to react to head the rebound back past keeper Askew and make it 4-0, and the hosts added another goal before half time when Long got his second of the game, tapping home following a superb run from Mauges down the left hand side.

It had been a scintillating performance from The Blues in the opening forty five minutes, they had totally blown away their opponents who had no answer to their quality of play, and they had been ruthless too, the tie was over but how many would Billericay get, Oakley's only thing to play for now was pride and not be totally humiliated, although being outplayed by a side as good as the hosts are isn't something to be embarrassed about, they were that good.  

A number of changes came from both sides after half time, but it was Billericay who found a sixth goal just before the hour mark, Benton grabbing his second of the contest, and it was another lovely move that ended with Benton and Ruff playing a one two that saw the former thump home first time into the bottom corner, and with eleven minutes remaining the hosts completed the scoring as Ruff got his goal to cap a decent showing, finishing off a lightning counter to slot home following a pass from Frankie Merrifield.

The holders then breeze through to the last eight and will take some stopping in this competition if they play like this, it was a painful experience for Oakley for sure but they came up against probably one of the best sides in Essex right now, and were totally outclassed by their National League South opponents. This should not discourage from what has been a very good season so far for the visitors.

The Blues though were brilliant, and ruthless, and rampant, a superb performance.

Full time Billericay Town 7 Little Oakley 0

Wednesday 11th November

Hutton Vs Aveley

The game saw Essex Senior League new boys Hutton attempting to cause another shock in this competition, they were up against Isthmian Premier Aveley who held a two level advantage over their opponents this evening, but they would have been wary of a Hutton side who arguably caused one of the shocks of the season when they came from two goals down to dump National League South Braintree Town out in the last round at New Lodge.

Hutton started their season at their new level, Step Five, slowly but over the last few weeks have picked up, and are sitting ninth in the ESL having won five of their fourteen league games so far, most of them coming recently, Aveley's start to their campaign sees them down in 15th spot in the Isthmian North, that's step three, having lost half of their sixteen league games so far, although they have also won six of them too and are only five points off sixth spot.

But tonight is was all about who could reach the Final Eight of the county cup, with the visitors favourites ahead of the tie, but Hutton like being the underdogs and would have no fear in this one, especially after their stunning comeback win in the last round, and for the first twenty minutes or so in this contest, there wasn't much in it, but once that period had passed Aveley began to create chances, and just before the half hour mark, they took one, as Harry Critchley rose to head home an Albie Armin corner.

Hutton continued to stay in the contest and battle hard against their higher league opponents, and at half time they were only one goal behind and still very much in the contest despite not creating too much of note going forward, but, five minutes into the second period Francis Mampolo fired home an unstoppable effort into the top corner of the hosts net, and doubled Aveley's advantage, and you felt then it was now going to be too a big a mountain to climb for the home side.

The Millers were now in total control of the contest, and made some changes to freshen things up, and after the restart following those substitutions, Aveley added a third goal, Mampolo turning provider this time, bursting down the left before firing across goal for an easy tap in for Shad Ngandu, 0-3, and the game was well and truly won with twenty minutes still to go.

Hutton to their credit kept fighting and battling hard, as they always do, but they struggled to make much of an impression on their opponents in this tie, and even when they tried to attack and search for a goal back in this one, Aveley kept them at arms length, and sadly for the home side they were to gift the visitors a fourth goal in the 88th minute, a ball forward saw the keeper slide and appear to claim the ball on the edge of his box.

But, the ball then squirmed from his grasp, and he was unable to regather and saw the ball fall to Said Mariche who turned and fired the ball into the empty net and Aveley were now rubber stamping their authority in terms of the score line too, and they still had time to add a fifth goal before the end, good play between Mampolo & Luke Kelly ended with Alejandro Machado being sent through to fire beyond the keeper, and cap a fine performance from the visiting side.

A good night for the Millers then who take their place in the Quarter Finals of the County Cup, they proved far too strong for their opponents this evening, an opponent who dumped out National League South opposition no less in the last round of course, it wasn't to be for Hutton this evening, they were well beaten in the end, and must now turn their attentions back to the league, but for them to reach the Last 16 of the County Cup was a very good achievement nonetheless.

Full time Hutton 0 Aveley 5

There were four other ties that took place on Tuesday, let's see how those went and who joined Billericay Town & Aveley in the Quarter Finals of the BBC Essex Senior Cup:-

Stanway Rovers 3 Waltham Abbey 0 (Rovers are into the Quarter Finals after victory over Abbey at The Hawthorns, the hosts led thanks to a goal seven minutes before half time, and it remained this way till late on when the hosts added two late goals to end up with a 3-0 win)

Rayleigh Town 0 Hullbridge Sports 4 (Sports grabbed a comfortable win against Rayleigh Town at The Len Salmon to progress into the last eight, Jack Unwin gave them a 15th minute lead and the lead was doubled six minutes before half time through Denzel Effah. Fred Agyemang then added a third early on in the second half before the scoring was completed with eleven minutes to go courtesy of a Nick Dembelle spot kick)

Wivenhoe Town 1 Witham Town 2 (Witham survived a scare against opposition two levels below them to squeeze through in the competition, the visitors took the lead but were pegged back thanks to a leveller from Mason Gillam, however the visitors were to net again which proved enough for them to take the win)

Tilbury 0 Dagenham & Redbridge 2 (The Daggers saw off a side two levels below them to progress, this despite going down to ten men before the half hour mark.  Freddie Ingram had given the visitors a seventh minute lead but then saw Jack Bateson sent off in the 27th minute, but, Tilbury could not take advantage of this and when Wiktor Makowski buried a spot kick with eighteen minutes to go, it sealed victory for the Daggers)

So, six of the Quarter Finalists are now known, with two more still to be decided in games to come in the following two weeks, Colchester United host Hashtag United on the 17th November, and then Redbridge host Grays Athletic on the 23rd November, the draw for the Last Eight takes place on Friday 13th November.

That completes my latest blog, thanks once again for reading and taking your time too, it is very much appreciated. 

Burton Albion 4 AFC Rushden & Diamonds 0 - Northern Premier Midlands AFC Rushden & Diamonds historic Emirates FA Cup run comes to an end after they were seen off by EFL League One side Burton Albion

Emirates FA Cup First Round Proper, Saturday 7th November

The first Saturday in November saw the next round of the FA Cup take place, and also saw EFL sides enter the fray, with clubs from League One & League Two beginning their journeys in this season's competition, and those forty eight sides joined the thirty two non league sides who had managed to get themselves into the First Round Proper after getting through their Qualifying Round ties.

That made eighty sides and forty ties across the weekend, but only two of those non league sides had actually began right at the start of the competition this season, the Extra Preliminary Round, which is an incredible achievement it has to be said, and quite rare too, they both played at Step Four in the non league pyramid, and both had to get through six rounds just to be here.

One of those sides were AFC Rushden & Diamonds, who reside in the Northern Premier Midlands Division, and they were taking on League One Burton Albion at the latter's Pirelli Stadium, that's five levels and a massive 139 places between them, it really was a David v Goliath showdown in every sense, and just one of many reasons that I love this competition.

And with Stafford Rangers (the other Step Four side who began right back in the Extra Prelim) being second in their division (Northern Premier West), it meant that AFC Rushden & Diamonds were officially the lowest ranked side left in the competition as they are twelve in their respective division, so this was a massive occasion for the club who were only formed fifteen years ago from the ashes of the deceased Rushden & Diamonds, who themselves had quite a story in their short existence of around twenty years.

And today they had the opportunity of causing quite an upset against football league opposition, they had never reached the First Round Proper in there short history before, the furthest the got was the Fourth Qualifying Round back in 2015/16, but in the last eight seasons they hadn't been past the First Qualifying Round and last season they lost in the Extra Preliminary Round, so this season's run was certainly an historic one.

And they would be backed by a sold out away end at The Pirelli too, with nearly 2,000 AFCRD supporters, the very same supporters who some of them no doubt set the club up back in 2011, there to cheer on their side, and one of those players would be none other than Billy Sharp, the forty year old striker who signed for the club recently, and twenty one years on from a loan spell at the old Rushden & Diamonds club where he made sixteen appearances and netted nine times.

It was certainly a boost for the club ahead of such a massive cup tie, but even so they were up against a League One side away from home, so realistically their chances of success were very limited, and Burton themselves were keen on a cup run themselves knowing that two wins in this competition would see them have the chance of drawing one of the big boys in Round Three.

Burton themselves had been having a mixed campaign in League One, down in 15th spot with just seventeen points from their fourteen league games thus far, so this cup match was a welcome distraction from the league although they had everything to lose in this one and nothing to gain, other than a place in Round Two and potentially one win away from drawing an Arsenal or a Man City for example. The prize money was also a attraction too no doubt.

The Brewers, as Burton are known, have been around since 1950, and they only reached the EFL seventeen years ago, and were once managed by a certain Nigel Clough & also Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, and since reaching the third tier in 2015/16, they have managed to stay at this level ever since, which for a club of Burton's size is a very good achievement, and last season they reached the Fourth Round of the FA Cup before losing to West Ham United who were of course a Premier League side then.

That was only the second time in their history they had reached that round, so they were keen to repeat that success again this season, but first they had to get past AFCRD who although were many many places below in the football pyramid, would no doubt make it tough for their opponents, the start then was all important to maybe set the tone for the rest of the afternoon.

The underdogs from Northamptonshire did well in the opening twenty minutes and there wasn't a lot between the two sides, however, midway through the first half Burton were to edge ahead although AFCRD and their fans packed in behind that goal were not happy as they claimed the ball had gone out for a goal kick, but play went on and an eventual ball into the box fell to Raphael Borges Rodrigues, and although his effort was saved by Charlie Woods, Will Collar was the quickest to react and poke home the rebound.

The visitors though continued to make life difficult for the hosts, but they were to be punished ten minutes before the break, Diamonds took to long to try and clear a ball in from Emeka Adiele, and Borges Rodrigues pounced to thump an effort beyond Woods and into the roof of the net, sending the hosts into the break two goals to the good, Diamonds had competed well in the opening forty five minutes but needed something special after the break to have any chance of causing what now looked an even more unlikely cup shock.

And fair play to Diamonds, they really took it to the Brewers after the break and were the better side for the opening fifteen or twenty minutes of the second period, Freddie Findlay almost pulled one back, forcing a good save from Corey Addai, as they attacked the end their magnificent support was based, they made such a good noise throughout the whole game, making the atmosphere if truth be told. (The atmosphere was added to by the misty conditions as well!!!).

However, Diamonds were unable to find a goal despite all their pressure, and as the half wore on Burton began to see more of the ball, unsurprisingly, and saw a wonderful dipping effort strike the bar before hitting Diamonds keeper Woods on the back and going narrowly wide, but Woods will want to forget the third Burton goal, which came with fifteen minutes to go, as a long range effort from Charlie Webster saw the keeper unable to hold onto the shot, and see it squeeze just over the line before he could stop it going over.

It was a shame for Woods, he had been solid throughout but this was an unfortunate moment for him, and it pretty much ended the contest, Sharp almost got his fairy-tale goal, and a 300th of his career, near the end but saw an effort go just wide of the far post, which would have been the story of the day no doubt in this one, and would have handed Diamonds a deserved goal to reward their decent showing here.

It wasn't to be though, and deep into added on time, Burton added a fourth thanks to a rasping drive across Woods from Zac Scutt, finding the bottom corner emphatically, and sealing a good days work for the hosts who were made to work hard for this despite winning by four goals in the end.

The Brewers then got the job done and avoided a huge shock on what was Gary Bowyer's 100th game in charge of the club, that was their main aim today, but Diamonds can be very proud of their performance, they really took it to their opponents in the second half and had they got one back, who knows, their historic run in this competition is at an end, but they did their club very proud today and throughout the competition this season.

Full time Burton Albion 4 AFC Rushden & Diamonds 0

So, well done to Burton Albion on their victory and progression into the Second Round Proper, and are just one win away from a potential meeting with a Premier League side, I must say the Pirelli Stadium is a lovely little ground, and the hospitality is also very good for the price it was, and was nice to chat to some people on my table and also in the stands, a very good day all round, so cannot complain.

I also wish AFC Rushden & Diamonds all the best for the rest of the season too, their fans sang loud and proud all game, and made up almost half the attendance today, a great effort from them and from their side too, and they will no doubt try and get up that league table for the remainder of the season now this cup run is at an end.