RHOSTYLLEN (The Rec, Vicarage Hill)

FAW WELSH CUP 2nd ROUND, RHOSTYLLEN 0-2 FLINT TOWN UNITED, ATTENDANCE: 120 (est)

Today attention switched back to the Welsh Cup, as the competition reached the second round. After a visit to the island in the last round, it was a short trip up the A483 to Wrexham for today's action. When the draw was made, the only team left in the Northern section that I hadn't visited was Rhostyllen. When they were drawn at home to Flint Town United, it was a no brainer as far as I was concerned.


Rhostyllen is a former mining village, with many residents working at the nearby Bersham Colliery, which before closure in December 1986 was the last working coal mine in the Denbighshire coalfield.

There is evidence of football being played in Rhostyllen as early as 1879, which is the year displayed on the club badge. The Vicarage Hill field has been used to play football since 1955, when it was donated by Colonel Fitzhugh. The Rec ground is excellent for this level of football, with a railed off pitch and a small covered brick stand.

There have been many clubs who have taken to the field under the name of Rhostyllen (a Rhostyllen & Bersham won the Wrexham Area Division One in 1995 and a Rhostyllen MV also won Division One in 1989) with the last incarnation playing as Rhostyllen United when they folded in 2005.

 The reformed club joined the North East Wales League in 2015. Due to cup fixtures, the club have only played 5 league games and won them all, so they are, currently, well placed with games in hand.

In their debut Welsh Cup campaign this season, Rhostyllen have seen victories over AFC Brynford (6-0) Brymbo (1-0) and Berriew (2-1). The club are also through to round four of the Welsh Trophy.

Rhostyllen are the lowest ranked Northern side left in the competition so today would be their biggest test so far as they welcomed Cymru Alliance outfit Flint Town United to The Rec.

Unfortunately for the home side there would be no giant killing, as this game was a step to far, though they did make Flint work hard for their victory.

Stewart Carroll gave Flint the lead when he blasted home the ball from the edge of the area after 10 minutes. Rhostyllen worked their way back into the game and tested Flint 'keeper Ross Dalton with a few efforts. However just before half time, Carroll scored a superb free-kick to double Flint's lead (pictured below).

The Silkmen controlled most of second period and had chances they really should have taken to extended their lead and make their afternoon slightly more comfortable. However as the game moved into it's latter stages, Flint took their foot off the gas and allowed Rhostyllen chances to get themselves back into the tie, with one effort cleared off the line. However Flint held on to secure their passage to the next round and a home tie with Welsh Premier League Newtown.

ALTRINCHAM (Moss Lane)

FA CUP 4th QUALIFYING ROUND, ALTRINCHAM 1-0 CHESTER, ATTENDANCE: 1,603

The road to Wembley continued with a visit to a club with a long, proud FA Cup history. Altrincham have sixteen victories against Football League clubs to their name. The club history page lists them as follows:

1921/22 Tranmere Rovers
1965/66 Rochdale
1973/74 Hartlepool
1974/75 Scunthorpe United
1979/80 Crewe Alexandra and Rotherham United
1980/81 Scunthorpe United
1981/82 Sheffield United and York City
1982/83 Rochdale
1984/85 Blackpool
1985/86 Blackpool and Birmingham City
1988/89 Lincoln City
1992/93 Chester
1994/95 Wigan Athletic

Altrincham's win at St Andrew's was the last defeat of any First/Premier Division team at their own ground by a non-League club in the FA Cup. Other notable games include drawing with Everton, at Goodison, in 1975, before losing the replay at Old Trafford and drawing with Spurs, at White Hart Lane, in 1979, before losing the replay at Maine Road.

When the draw was made, throwing up a Cheshire derby with Chester, a Blues supporting mate of mine suggested a day out on the train to Altrincham, as it had been over decade since I last visited Moss Lane I thought "why not".

To the best of my recollection, the ground hasn't changed much in the intervening years. Segregation was in force today and, as I was with my Chester mates, I ended up on the open terrace, fortunately the predicted heavy rain held off.

The game was largely forgettable but there can be no complaints with the result.

The winner came in the 51st minute when a Jordan Sinnott a free kick (pictured below left) was saved by Jon Worsnop but the ball was parried into the path of Damian Reeves who fired the ball home.

There was a bizarre incident shortly after the goal when Worsnop rushed off his line to prevent Simon Richman getting an effort at goal. The Chester goalkeeper got there first but took both ball and man.

Referee Richard Wigglesworth pointed to the spot and the Altrincham player stepped up to take the penalty. The Chester players protested and the referee then changed his mind! I can't recall ever seeing that in all the years I have been watching football. The game restarted with a drop ball.

Chester naturally increased the pressure and although Altrincham goalkeeper Tim Deasy made a couple of decent saves, the Robins were able to comfortably see the game out, ensuring they were in the hat for the first round draw on Monday evening.

Altrincham is a top place for a beer or two so, as the train was taking the strain, it would have bad form not to have one or two! Pre-match was spent in Costello's Bar, the Brewery Tap for Dunham Massey, which was excellent and post-match it the Old Market Tavern was so we could watch Everton slump to their annual defeat at the Arsenal live on TV.

EVERTON (Goodison Park)

FA PREMIER LEAGUE, EVERTON 0-3 MANCHESTER UNITED, ATTENDANCE: 39,553

The Toffee's were comprehensively dispatched by the Red Devils thanks to goals from Morgan Schneiderlin (18) Ander Herrera (22) and Wayne Rooney (62) however this was deemed irrelevant when in the hours before the game news came through that Howard Kendall, Everton's greatest ever manager, had sadly passed away. It meant there was a sombre atmosphere at Goodison Park.

Legend is an overused word in football these days, but in the case of Howard Kendall, it is wholly appropriate.


Lest we forget that Howard Kendall was a fine player making over 200 appearances, after famously choosing to sign for the Blues instead of Liverpool.

My family had regaled this young blue with tales of his exploits as part of 'the holy trinity' with Alan Ball and Colin Harvey, but it as a manager his legend, for many, will live on.

Howard Kendall, who was Everton manager on three separate occasions, was responsible for putting together a team in the mid 1980's that won the league title in 1985 and 1987, the FA Cup in 1984 and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1985.

Around 1983 is when my interest in football began in earnest, indeed my first game was the aforementioned 1984 cup final where somehow my Uncle acquired a pair of tickets for my dad and I. My immediate family were all blues so I guess it was my destiny!

At the time our neighbours from across Stanley Park were the dominant team in Europe, so as you can imagine in school I was surrounded by loads of little Kopites who needed, and probably still do, a map to find their way to Anfield.

I was bought my first season ticket in the Autumn of 1984, just at the time things were beginning to stir at Goodison and the successful team Howard Kendall built allowed myself and every other Evertonian to hold their head up high and go toe-to-toe with the Kopites.


It was a genuinely sad day in 1987 when Howard Kendall left for Bilbao, and Everton went into quick decline, from which we have never really recovered. He returned for two further spells between 1990 - 1993 and 1997 - 1998 but it wasn't the same, indeed in 1998 Everton only survived relegation on goal difference from Bolton.

However, it is for that glorious period from 1984-1987 when Everton were the greatest team in the country (and possibly Europe) that Howard Kendall will be remembered by me, you made a small boy very happy indeed, for that for that I am eternally grateful. Rest In Peace.

Meeting the great man

Some fine moments under the management of Howard Kendall...

1984 FA Cup Final

1985 "Bayern Munich"

1985 European Cup Winners Cup

1985 Champions (1)  (2)  (3)

1987 Champions

FC UNITED of MANCHESTER (Broadhurst Park)

FA CUP 3rd QUALIFYING ROUND, FC UNITED of MANCHESTER 1-1 BUXTON, ATTENDANCE: 2,357

The second part of my weekend FA Cup double led to me to the Moston area of Manchester, where FCUM's brand new ground, Broadhurst Park, is located.

The story of the club set up in reaction to Malcolm Glazer taking over Manchester United is well documented (click here) so I won't bore you with the details but a decade after the club was set up, and after groundsharing at Bury's Gigg Lane, the red rebels finally have a place to call home.

Broadhurst Park is the first new ground to be built and funded by a supporter owned football club. I have to say I was hugely impressed. The ground cost £6.5m and funding came from a variety of sources, with FC United fans themselves raising £2 million from a Community Share Scheme and a further £1 million from other fundraising. The supporters truly putting their money where their mouths are.

The opening match was a friendly between FC United and Benfica on 29 May 2015. In the first ever competitive game at the ground though, in August 2015, Stockport County beat United 2-1. At the moment the 4,400 capacity ground is effectively two-sided, with the Lightbowne Road end and the North Stand flat standing (these parts of the ground will be developed in the future when funds allow).

The Main Stand has a mix of standing and seating whilst the large St Mary's Road terrace behind the goal was once the Dane Bank terrace at both of Northwich Victoria's old grounds, which FC United bought (with the blessing of the Northwich Supporters) when the Victoria Stadium was demolished in 2013.

The ground is easily reached by bus from Piccadilly and, as luck would have, the 81 bus to Moston Lane stops right outside the Marble Arch pub on Rochdale Road. It would have been incredibly rude not to pop in for a couple of halves!




A fellow groundhopper visited Broadhurst Park a few weeks ago and remarked that it was the closest he had come to a German football experience in England. After my visit I got exactly what he meant.

The entrance fee was £9, which is amongst the cheapest in the division, the beer was £2.60 a pint and there was bottle bar underneath the terrace, meaning there was time for a pint of Holt's at the interval, and there was a vast array of food on sale, but being a traditionalist I stuck to my pie, peas and gravy, despite the temptations of proper sausages and chilli.

Then there is the fans. I find the majority good natured and the banter/chanting is amusing. The banners are superb with lots of references to some of my favourite bands. The Megastall (a pun on 'big' United's Megastore) even has a fantastic champions t-shirt in the style of the New Order 'Substance' album cover. 

The aforementioned champions t-shirt refers to the Northern Premier League, which FC United won last season to reach the promised land of the Conference, sorry, National League North (this does beg the question that if they were ultimately to go up, what will happen regards the shifting of games for television?)

Today though was all about the FA Cup and the road to Wembley. FC United's best performance came in 2010 when, after beating Rochdale in the first round proper, the lost to Brighton & Hove Albion in the second round, after a replay

United were hosting Buxton, who my mate informed me are a bit of a bogey side for the reds, especially at home.

After FC United had dominated the first half they got sucker punched right on the stroke of half time when Warren Burrell gave Buxton the lead.

Despite the pressure being ramped up further in the second half, the Buxton defence held firm. With 11 minutes remaining Tom Greaves prodded the ball home to draw the reds level. It appeared that would be the point in which United went on to win.

When Buxton’s Glenn Belezika was shown a second yellow card for a foul and then almost immediately went down to nine men when Alistair Taylor limped off, after Buxton had used all their substitutes, United piled forward but still could not force a winner and Buxton managed to hold on for a lucrative, and I would say deserved, replay.


I stayed behind after the game and headed to the clubhouse at the top of the main stand where there was 'Broadhurst Park' real ale on sale (produced by Red Willow Brewery, it was top stuff) before catching the bus back to Piccadilly in order to get my train home. A most enjoyable way to spend a Sunday.

Supporters of HFC Falke had made the trip over
for today's game. Falke, based in Hamburg,
are another fans owned club

with thanks to Jim for the guided tour and information