SHOREHAM FAIL TO OUT MUSSEL THE WOOD

Printed in the Slough Town FA Cup preliminary round game v Corinthians
Saturday 26th August 2012. We won 4-2

A beautiful sunny day in Brighton. But this wasn’t the time to join the hoards on the beach but instead board the FA Cup fever train to Shoreham for an extra preliminary round tie against Colliers Wood United. Five of us did a quick tour of Shoreham boozers before heading to Middle Road to see if the Musselmen could pocket a grand and get a plum away trip to Maidstone United’s new ground in the next round.

There are fourteen more rounds before the final and it’s probably safe to say that none of the 370 teams that play at this round will get to the first round proper let alone the final but that doesn’t mean the cup doesn’t mean as much for the minnows.

Shoreham are in the Sussex County League Division One and to say their league has got itself in a bit of a pre season pickle is a bit of an understatement.

Under threat from re-organisation plans by the FA the Sussex County League were looking at losing all their top clubs. Eventually the FA plans were shelved but the league has decided to fight their corner by increasing Division One to twenty two teams. This meant despite finishing in the relegation zone for the second consecutive season Shoreham didn’t face the drop. Infact no one was relegated in the whole three divisions including Chichester City United who finished bottom and didn’t turn up for three games but rather cheekily appealed their relegation and won! So did Dorking Wanderers who won their ground grading appeal. This meant Littlehampton who had been promoted were told ten days before the season started they were back in Division Two.

Meanwhile in Division Three two clubs pulled out leaving just 12 teams to compete for the season!

Over in north London some people have been losing the plot at Budweiser’s cup plans. Terry Venables became Wembley FC technical director while ex-pros Ray Parlour, Martin Keown, Graeme Le Saux, Claudio Caniggia and Brian McBride were given one last shot at competing in order to get the Combined Counties Premier Division side into the first round proper. The game also made football broadcasting history, being the first extra preliminary round game ever to be shown live on TV.  This has sent some people into anaphylactic shock but I’m sorry but I can’t see how Wembley could turn this down. The cash and the profile will keep them afloat for quite a few seasons and you never know they even grab a few extra regular supporters along the way. As the Wembley FC manager pointed out "A year ago we were playing in front of an empty grandstand and the club house was falling down." 

Yes we would like all our clubs to be run on goodwill and magic fairy dust but with a crowd of 71 for the Shoreham game clubs need to grab any opportunities to help them survive.

Survive and prosper is something Colliers Wood United have been doing for 136 years and are one of the oldest teams in the country. With a move to a new ground in 1991 they have risen up the pyramid and are now in the Combined Counties Premier League. They only entered the FA Cup for the first time in 2006/7.

Shoreham aren’t wet behind the ears either being 120 years old.

As for the game, in the first half Shoreham keep getting caught on the break and it was no surprise when Colliers Wood scored. When the Wood got a second there looked no way back for the Mussels who piled on the pressure but with little effect. Then in the 82 minute they pulled a goal back and it was game on. And with five minutes of inquiry time and the last kick of the game Shoreham’s Callaghan equalized and the Musselmen earnt themselves another crack of the cup whip on Wednesday. 

GOAL! Thanks to official Shoreham photographer Mike Dinsdale for letting me reproduce his photos