March to the Arch. Bringing you Up to Date with Results and Merit Tables

Update to March to the Arch.


March to the Arch consists of 5 sections. Each section concentrates on a different cup competition. We have been a bit liberal in the title, because not every final is played at Wembley, but you get the drift.

In each of the tournaments featured in this series, we started with a tie, the home team in this match being our ‘adopted’ club for that competition. The winner of that game was followed into the next round, as our ‘adopted’ team. We repeat this action until the final; this is known as our tracker. Every round counts as an appearance for the club involved and also points are awarded as listed below. The points then go towards a Merit Table for each tournament featured. We will also have a ‘Super League’ that will cover the top five clubs across all competitions at the end of May.

The competitions we cover are the F.A.Cup, F.A.Trophy, F.A.Vase, F.A.Women’s Cup and F.A.Youth Cup.

F.A.Cup.

Results:

Barkingside 0 Southend Manor 2 Extra Preliminary Round

Southend Manor 0 Brentwood Town 4 Preliminary Round

Brentwood Town 4 Aylesbury United 0 1st Qualifying Round

Brentwood Town 1 AFC Hornchurch 0 2nd Qualifying Round

Replay after 0-0 at Hornchurch

Woking 1 Brentwood Town 0 3rd Qualifying Round

Replay after 1-1 @ Brentwood

Woking 3 Eastleigh 2 4th Qualifying Round

Brighton & Hove Albion v Woking 1st Round

Merit Table

Team                                              Pts   Apps   GF   GA   GD

Brentwood Town                             24     4        10      2      8

Woking                                            12     2          5      3      2

Southend Manor                                9     2          2       4     -2

AFC Hornchurch                               4     1          0       1     -1

Eastleigh                                            2      1         2       3      -1

Aylesbury United                               2      1         0       4      -4

Barkingside                                        1     1          0       2      -2

Brighton & Hove Albion                     0     0          0       0      0

F.A.Trophy

Results

Preliminary Round: Corinthian Casuals 0 Potters Bar Town 3

1st Qualifying Round: Potters Bar Town 1 Wealdstone 3

After Replay – 2-2 @ Wealdstone.

2nd Qualifying Round: Kingstonian 3 Wealdstone 5

3rd Qualifying Round: Brackley Town v Wealdstone

Merit Table

Team                                   Points   App    GF   GA   GD

Wealdstone                            14        2       10      6       4

Potters Bar Town                   11        2         6      5       1

Kingstonian                              1        1         3      5      -2

Corinthian Casuals                    1       1          0      3      -3

Brackley Town                         0       0          0      0       0

F.A.Vase

Results

1st Qualifying Round: St Blazey 3 Dartmouth 2

2nd Qualifying Round: St Blazey 5 Cullompton Rangers 2

1st Round Brislington 0 St Blazey 1

2nd Round St Blazey v Hengrove Athletic

Merit Table

 Team                                Points  App  GF  GA  GD

St Blazey                             22        3      9      4      5
Dartmouth                             2        1      2      3     -1
Cullompton Rangers               2        1     2      5      -3
Brislington                              1       1      0      1      -1
Hengrove Athletic                   0       0      0      0       0

F.A.Womens Cup

Results

1st Qualifying Round: Weymouth Ladies w/o Winscombe

*Will not count in Merit Table as an appearance, but Weymouth Ladies awarded 1 point

2nd Qualifying Round: Frome Town 1 Weymouth Ladies 3

3rd Qualifying Round: Stoke Lane Athletic v Weymouth Ladies

Merit Table

Team                              Points  Apps  GF  GA  GD

Weymouth Ladies                 9       1*     3      1     2

Frome Town                         1       1       1      3    -2

Stoke Lane Athletic               0       0       0      0     0

Winscombe                         w/o    w/o   w/o   w/o w/o

F.A.Youth Cup

Results.

Preliminary Round: St Albans City 3 Thurrock 4

1st Qualifying Round: Thurrock 3 Ilford 0

2nd Qualifying Round: Thurrock 2 Stansted 1

3rd Qualifying Round Stotfold 0 Thurrock 3

1st Round Thurrock v Leyton Orient

Merit Table

Team                        Points  Apps  GF  GA  GD

Thurrock                      30       4      12     4     8

Stansted                         2       1        1     2    -1

Ilford                              2       1        0     3    -3

St Albans City                1        1        3    4     -1

Stotfold                          1        1        0    3     -3

Leyton Orient                 0        0        0    0      0

Points System:

The Merit Table has its own point system, as follows,

Away Win 8pts

Home Win 7pts

Away Win after Replay 6pts

Home Win after Replay 5pts

Away Defeat after Replay 4pts

Home Defeat after Replay 3pts

Away Defeat 2pts

Home Defeat 1pt

Additions:

If a tie is a walkover, the team unable to field a side will be shown as w/o in the Merit Table, with no score or appearance credited to them. The team progressing to the next round will be awarded 1 pt but no appearance is credited in the Table.

When a tie is based on two legs the goals will be still awarded as per score lines, however, the points will be awarded as based on away matches. as per the above system. Eg if the aggregate means defeat 2pts and a win carries 8 pts.



Points Equal:



If points are equal, positions are based on results in the following order: number of appearances, Goal difference then goals scored. If all still equal then the position is shared, but teams are shown alphabetically.



Men in Black: Harpenden wham Hampstead as Club Tropicano don't wake before we go-go

Thank you for our friends from Harpenden Rugby for providing the match report in full.  The original can be found on the Harpenden Rugby website, with references to George Michael, hence the headline.

Hampstead  11    Harpenden  27

The Barton Show was in full swing on Saturday in Hampstead as Harpenden built upon last weekend’s foundations to record a 27-11 victory. The Barton’s supplied all but 5 of the Men in Black’s points, with only the recently married figure of Kearns gate-crashing the Barton party.

The opening score came courtesy of Jonny Barton right boot which found its range from the outset of the game, a 35-metre penalty owing much to Harpenden pressure at the breakdown. The game initially failed to sparkle, with both sides falling foul of the deteriorating weather and both sides opting for a wider game which failed to suit the conditions.

Harpenden showed several glimpses of class as, hand-in-hand with quick ruck ball, intelligent running lines from Kearns and Jonny Barton gave Tennant the responsibility of finding the right set of hands. Both sides brought a fair amount to the first half party, with Hampstead offering chances out wide and Harpenden retaliating in-kind with several well-worked lineouts and driving mauls.

With the scores at 3-3 and fast-approaching half-time Harpenden stepped up a gear and found the gap in the home defense which yielded the 5 points. Several sturdy phases of close-quarter yards provided an invitation to the Hampstead backrow which they could only accept, from the resultant final phase an immaculately well-timed pass from stand-off Tennant found Alan Barton, as the diminutive fullback accepted the present to crash over out wide. His sibling, and rival for Hertfordshire’s smallest player, kicked the touchline conversion to provide his side with a tasty, but merited 10-3 halftime lead.


HT   Hampstead 3  Harpenden 10

The rain continued to fall and Harpenden continued to batter at the door of the Hampstead defense, utilizing an effective forward-orientated game through Messer’s Peck, Hoare and Jali. Hampstead’s frustrations at not being able to break the resilience offered by the centre combination of Kearns and Barton finally showed as an ill-fated chip found the greedy hands of Kearns, who raced away from the cover defense to convert a 50metre return. Barton gratefully extended the Harpenden lead with an inch-perfect conversion.

The Men in Black then allowed Hampstead to join in the party with some sloppy first-up tackling and some latent officiating by the corner flag, Hampstead helped themselves to a slice of the cake. The subsequent conversion was missed, but it served as a wake-up call to those in Black that deemed the Hampstead recovery lacking in credibility.

Harpenden went about restoring their lead with precision and nous. Tennant hit the corners with unerring accuracy and the forwards providing him some back-up in the form of a steady and consistent lineout. With the Men in Black camped in the Hampstead 22, it was an unfamiliar method of garnering points that pushed Harpenden back into a 9point lead with Alan Barton not missing an opportunity to remind his brother that he too can kick.

A 25 meter drop goal, coming via several deep raids by Chichester-Miles and Humphries respectively, allowing Barton time and space to deliver a dagger to Hampstead hearts. The breathing space that the drop goal afforded gave Harpenden a chance to claim the valuable bonus point on offer. It never materialized, but the Men in Black came might close, first courtesy of a cheeky break by centre Jonny Barton, which he himself converted with aplomb and then, in the dying moments a similar run by his namesake Alan. The pocket-sized full-back seizing upon a loose ball and, from fully 50meters, began the long cross-country style amble to the line. Alas, Shetland ponies were not designed for short distances, and he was hauled down some 5 yards from glory, and the family bragging rights.

Team:

Jali, Tennant T, Blake, Peck, Macca, Cornthwaite, Hoare, Chichester-Miles, Humphries, Tennant J ©, Muskett, Smith, Barton J, Kearns, Barton A.

Subs:

Whey for Cornthwaite (35”) and Payne for Kearns (70”). Not used; Haddock.

Charlton Community Trust form an alliance with Catch 22

Football and other sports frequently get a bad press. Players greed, morals and commitment questioned,  The truth is professional clubs and players put a lot back into the community, never reported because it is deemed not news worthy. Every club will have a designated charity, that all the players and staff will fully support, as well as other more personal projects.  As an example we would like to share the following, taking in full from the Charlton Athletic website by Tony Hudd.

The Charlton Community Trust has formed an alliance with Catch 22, the national children's charity, and also received an award from Canterbury Christchurch University.

Catch 22 supports young people who are disadvantaged, in care or have emotional or educational needs.

The trust's Kent manager, Alan Dennington, explained: "We shall be working together on initiatives around education support, while mounting joint bids for funding from government initiatives.

"We also intend working together to secure European social funding. Together we can draw down funding for short courses to assist those bridging the gap between compulsory and further education and employment.

"To sum up, we're an alliance of two like-minded organisations which will become stronger by working together to help the needs of disadvantaged people."

Meanwhile, the trust has received a quality in study support award after Canterbury Christchurch University monitored the delivery of Football Association Level One coaching courses as part of Bexley Council's summer university programme.

Among the trust staff involved in the project were Barry Simmons, Mikey Cole and Nicky Potts.

Trust football development manager Sean Daly said: "Every Easter and summer we run FA Level One courses for 16 to 19-year-olds.

"The idea is to get young people doing activities while gaining qualifications. Christchurch came to evaluate our courses and to see if the youngsters involved would be employable, and we're delighted they've honoured us with an award."

Sol y Futbol: From time to time a Football Match broke out - still nice weather

Ian Lane reports from Arrecife on a drab local derby. UD Lanzarote earned a point but their lead at the top closes too. Still it was a nice warm night. Winter is upon us, Mr Lane is beginning to tell us about the fantastic weather on the island.  It is coming to a popular time to visit Lanzarote, remember, Ian's stalls can be found at the old Teguise market every Sunday.  If its an away game, Ian will even turn up. Tip, when visiting Mr Lane at the market, a Walnut Whip may just seal the deal.

MARÍTIMA 0 LANZAROTE 0


The game many local fans had been waiting for, the islands oldest club Orientación Marítima, versus the islands most successful club U.D. Lanzarote. The setting was perfect on a warm late October evening but the poor performance by both sides made this an evening that will not hang long in the memory of any fan.

With both sides sharing the pitch U.D. Lanzarote found themselves in the away dressing room and playing in their away colours of white and blue.

The home side got off to a better start with striker Miguel Yunes creating problems for the Rojillos back four. The only notable strike at goal in the entire first half came from this player. The Rojillos got caught on the break and a superb pass through the centre put Maritima´s star player away. From 10 yards the striker fired in a fierce drive which flew past the Lanzarote keeper but thundered off a rattled crossbar.

Lanzarote looked by far the more classier team in the second half but Marítima looked the more dangerous around the goal mouth. The Rojillos gradually began to force the play but it wasn’t until the final fifteen minutes that the fans began to edge towards the edge of their seats.

The best chance of the match for the Rojillos came in the 73rd minute. A ball hoisted deep into Marítima territory was not dealt with by the awkward looking centre back Aridane and Torres latched onto the mistake and from the edge of the box the Lanzarote marksman delightfully chipped the oncoming keeper and as the 800 or so crowd held their breathes the ball came back off the inside of the post and safely into the hands of the relieved goalkeeper.

Lanzarote then upped the tempo with midfielder Jotha orchestrating most of Lanzarote´s best moves. In the 76th minute the Rojinegros (red and blacks) startled the away side with a shot from Alex Yunes which came crashing off the left hand post.

With only six minutes remaining left winger Ito flew down the left flank turning his defender once and then as he turned him again to come inside both players collided on the edge of the box and Ito went down and every face in the crowd looked at the ref. To the shock of many the ref waved away the wingers good shout for a penalty.

The final five minutes at last looked like a derby match with tackles flying in from both sides but as the ref blew his whistle not many would argue a draw as a fair result.

Marítima like Lanzarote have only lost once this season but with 8 draws in 10 matches this solitary home point just pushes them out of relegation positions on goal difference.

Meanwhile Lanzarote have seen their lead at the top cut to just one point following a 2-1 victory by Las Palmas B over deadly rivals Tenerife B.

Lanzarote will be hosting another derby next week against Playas Jandia from Fuerteventura.

Chieftains win Essex derby

The Romford Raiders made the short trip up the A12 in large numbers to create another huge crowd at the Riverside to witness a close,exciting, end-to-end game that could have gone either way for most of the game. 
 
Referee Yuri Solojanovs and Chieftains forward Blaho Novak will have tongues wagging for various reasons, however the real stars of the show on the night were the two netminders with Michael Gray and Ben Clements being in outstanding form. Both kept their sides in it throughout the game and it was going to take something exceptional to break the deadlock and it took until the 42nd minute for the first goal to be scored, however not the first time the puck hit the net, when Aaron Connelly fired home from close range as Michael Gray gave up a rebound on a Ross Brears shot. Both Gray and Clements, in the Chieftains net, made 41 saves each on the night, with Gray having 42 shots on him. Rightly both players were awarded the man of the match beers and both sets of fans can be very proud of their goalies after this game. Midway through the first period the puck bounced back off the plexi behind Clements's net and Danny Marshall was on hand to put the puck in the net, however the goal was ruled out for high-sticks as Solojanovs adjudged the contact to have been made above crossbar height.

The game was filled with controversy and players on both sides were invoking the wrath of the opposing fans with Pierre Wilhelmsson firstly getting tempers to rise with a nasty hit from behind along the boards which in many people's eyes should have been given more than a 2minute minor penalty. Blaho Novak managed to upset the Raiders fans and players twice in the game for doing the same thing. In ice hockey if your stick goes up and draws blood from an opponent it's an automatic match penalty, however Novak accidentally caught Raiders player-coach Danny Marshall in the face in the second period and drew blood, yet nothing called and in the third period, with just over 3minutes to play, again caught Marshall in the face, but this time Solojanovs called it by the book and sent Novak for a straight match penalty. Earlier in the game, former Chieftain JJ McGrath took his stick to Danny Cox's forearm behind the play and Cox struggled off the ice and the Chieftains bench was going mad and demanding a penalty be called, however Solojanovs didn't call anything as he hadn't seen the incident.

Back to the hockey though and it was an exceptional game, even though it only had 1 goal. Both sides created plenty of chances and put a lot of shots in on the goaltenders, however neither side was keen to give up anything as they knew what the Essex derby meant and the reaction of the victors after the game showed that. Ice hockey fans normally like to have lots of goals to talk about, but this game will live long in the memory as it was one of the most exciting games seen at the Riverside for some time and both sets of fans can be proud of their teams after this barnstorming game.

After the game Dean Birrell said "The fact of the matter is, is that Romford didn't let us play. Romford came at us tonight and made it uncomfortable and stopped us playing our game. They clogged up the neutral zone and the slot, they worked our defensive unit hard, they gave our forwards some hits and they played at a high tempo, probably the highest tempo game we've played this season. We have a number of players who are not experienced in games like this and that counts for something. With no disrespect to Romford, but I felt we could have, should have got something more from this game than a 1-0 result, but that's not to take anything away from their goalie who was outstanding but I'm pleased we won. Ben Clements was immense for us tonight and stood strong at everything fired at him and in games like this you need to have game makers and he was ours tonight." 

Birrell was less complimentary about the officiating "I was disappointed in the inconsistency of the officiating and the way in which calls were made, but we have to learn to deal with that. We had one guy smashed into the boards from behind that could have been a nasty incident, but not called anything other than a minor penalty, yet two players get tangled up and they get the same thing. What happens if the stick goes up high and draws blood it's a penalty, deliberate or not, but he didn't call it in the first, yet in the third he did. Again we come back to the inconsistency."

Kult & Punk, As useful as a Cat in a Frankfurter. Unlucky St Pauli

Kult & Punk strike again. Another guest ale of some note and a comfy seat in Zoe's Bar.  Checking when the new CD by My Chemical Romance was out. Fortune shone, as a Frankfurt fan left his notes on Kults seat and quicker than a St Pauli forward, Punk had the Match Report in a flash.  Nice work guys, try the match next time though.

FC St. Pauli 1-3 Eintracht Frankfurt


Theofanis Gekas raced to the top of the goalscoring charts as his double at St. Pauli put the Hessen on their way to an ultimately deserved three points.

St. Pauli started well and took a deserved lead just five minutes in. A weak punch away from Oka Nikolov allowed Carlos Zambrano to charge the ball goalwards. Marco Russ managed to block the initial effort, but Zambrano followed his effort and nodded through the legs of Maik Frantz and into the net from the tightest of angles.

Hard-fought encounter

A battling encounter ensued, punctuated by several fouls as the visitors continued to struggle. Nonetheless Michael Skibbe's side were handed a route back into the game three minutes before the interval as Zambrano clipped Theofanis Gekas' heels in the box. The Greek international stepped up personally to send the resulting penalty high into the top-right corner.

The tables would turn completely shortly after the restart as Gerald Asamoah was dismissed following a second bookable offence for the hosts, and although the Kiezkicker continued to fight, they soon found themselves under considerable pressure.

Goal-den Gekas

First a deflected Caio shot had to be tipped over superbly by Thomas Kessler, but the Pauli shot-stopped was helpless in the 70th minute as Gekas controlled a ball over the top from Pirmin Schwegler before firing through the goalkeeper's legs to make it 2-1 to Frankfurt.

Ciao added a third in the final minute with a header from Georgios Tzavellas' free-kick, ensuring Frankfurt's unbeaten streak extends to six matches as they move to third at least for a few hours. St. Pauli fall to 13th.

Report in full and with our thanks to our friends at the Official Bundasliga Website.

The Sting: Wasps buzz off the Hornets on the Wirral

Wasps continue their fantastic start to the season on the Wirral.

Wirral Hornets 50 Hull Wasps 84

HULL Wasps shrugged off the absence of player-coach John Brignell to hand Wirrall Hornets a comprehensive 84-50 defeat in one of their most complete performances of the season.

It stretched their winning start to the National League Division Four season to four games, by an average winning margin of more than 34 points.

Player-assistant coach Jamie Goodwin said the absence of 6ft 8in Brignell, who is averaging more than 27 points and 10 rebounds, provided an important test for the side.

The forward said: “We have talked all week about the strength of our squad, so this was a perfect way for us to go out and prove it.

“Wirrall are a decent side. They beat us last season with just about the same group of players. In fact, since then, they have signed former Hull guard Neil Smith, who is a good player.

“But not one of our players showed any doubt we would carry on our winning streak. We dominated the game from start to finish.

“It’s good to know we can still play at a high level without John – although I’ll feel a lot better when he’s back in the line-up next weekend.”

The Wasps kept their hosts to 10 points in the first quarter and repeated the feat in the second.

They did most of their scoring damage from beyond the three-point arc as shooting guard Adrian Blatherwick, who led all scorers with 17 points, hit four three-point shots.

Fellow guard Matt Fawcett hit 15 points, including three threes. Centre James Rayner, replacing Brignell for his first start of the season, also had 15, and Goodwin added 10. Both had a pair of three-pointers.

Brignell will be back for Hull’s double-header at the weekend, when his side take on Tees Valley Mohawks in the league on Saturday at 7.30pm at the Bonus Arena in Walton Street, west Hull, before welcoming Durham Wildcats in third round of the National Shield the next day at 6pm.