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.
No comments:
Post a Comment