Good win for non league Tamworth! Their goal came from an extremely long throw in, which landed in the centre of the goal mouth. Very much like the long throw ins from Rory Delap in the past.
WORTHING 0-2 Morecambe It would have been too much to ask for three out of three, as League Two MORECAMBE take charge of the Purple baton for Round TWO
Round TWO Burton Albion v TAMWORTH The Brewers are in League One, which puts them two divisions above the visitors Their best cup run came in 2010-11, when they reached Round FOUR Last season they lost 0-2 at home to Port Vale in Round ONE They are here courtesy of a 1-0 win over Scarborough Athletic Kick Off 2pm on Sunday 1st December WEALDSTONE v Wycombe Wanderers The Chairboys are in League One so lie two divisions above their National League hosts They made it all the way to the Semi-Finals in 2000-01, whilst in the third tier Last season they went down 0-2 to Morecambe in Round TWO They are here, having beaten National League side York City 3-2 in the last round Kick Off 11:30am on Saturday 30th November. The game is being screened live on ITV1 MORECAMBE v Bradford City The Bantams are in League Two, the same as the hosts They are former winners of the cup, albeit many moons ago in 1910-11 Last season the fell 1-2 at home to Wycombe in Round ONE They are here on the back of a 3-1 victory at home over Aldershot Town Kick Off 3pm on Saturday 30th November The winners of these ties will be looking for a possible money spinner, as the sides from the Premier League and the Championship enter the race. This will of course include the Blue Baton, as POMPEY start the 'Jim Bowen - this is what you would have won' thread
Round TWO results: Burton Albion 1-1 TAMWORTH AET TAMWORTH won on pens WEALDSTONE 1-2 Wycombe Wanderers MORECAMBE 1-0 Bradford City Round THREE Draw TAMWORTH v Tottenham Hotspur WYCOMBE WANDERERS v POMPEY Chelsea v MORECAMBE Details to follow later
Round THREE TAMWORTH v Tottenham Hotspur One of only two non-league sides to reach Round THREE, Tamworth have been rewarded with a home tie against Premier League Spurs Spurs are eight times winners of the FA Cup, although they haven't won it in over 30 years; most recently in 1991. Last season they lost 0-1 to Manchester City in Round FOUR WYCOMBE WANDERERS v POMPEY In the years I've been doing these threads this is the earliest stage at which two baton holders have met each other. At the time of writing there is only one league place between the sides, with Pompey at the bottom of the Championship and Wycombe at the top of League One. Pompey have, as we know, won the cup twice, most recently in 2008. Last season they slipped up on a banana skin in Round ONE, going down 1-0 at Chesterfield. Chelsea v MORECAMBE Morecambe will put their League Two relegation battle to one side when they travel to Premier League Chelsea. The Pensioners have won the cup 8 times, most recently in 2018 Last season they went down 1-0 to Manchester City in the semi finals. Ties to be played over the weekend of 11th January
Friday Result WYCOMBE WANDERERS 2-0 POMPEY So no sooner did the BLUE Baton appear, it has disappeared in a flash, as Jim Bowen shows us the way, while we 'concentrate on the League'
Round FOUR Aston Villa v TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR The Villans welcome Spurs to Villa Park for an All-Premier League tie They have won the cup seven times , but you have to go all the way back to 1957 for their last triumph Last season they lost 1-3 to Chelsea in a Round FOUR replay, having played out a 0-0 draw at Stamford Bridge They are here on the back of a 2-1 home win over West Ham in Round THREE Preston North End v WYCOMBE WANDERERS The Lilywhites ply their trade in The Championship, so are a division above the visitors They are twice winners of the FA Cup, although most recently way back in 1938! Last seaon they fell in Round THREE, when they were soundly beaten 4-0 by Chelsea They are here courtesy of a 2-1 win over League One Charlton Athletic Brighton & Hove Albion v CHELSEA The Seagulls are the hosts in another All-Premier League tie, which completes a full set of away fixtures for our baton holders They were Runners-Up in 1983 Last season they progressed to Round FIVE, when they went down 1-0 at Wolves They have reached this stage thanks to a 0-4 win at Norwich City Ties to be played over the weekend of Saturday 8th February
First game played. Preston North End 0-0 WYCOMBE WANDERERS Preston won 4-2 on penalties So PRESTON NORTH END carry the green baton into Round FIVE. I'm working a night shift tomorrow (lucky me) so I'll update the other two games then. I'm back in chemo on Thursday so I'll while away the hours doing the round Five details
We complete Round FOUR with the other results: Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 CHELSEA Aston Villa 2-1 TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR This means that all three batons have changed hands as we go into Round FIVE
Round FIVE ASTON VILLA v Cardiff City The Bluebirds are in the Championship so are a league below the hosts They won the cup in 1927 and this remains the only season when the FA Cup left England Last season they crashed out in Round THREE with a 4-0 thumping at Sheffield Wednesday They have advanced to this stage at the expense of Sheffield United and Stoke City. Kick-Off at 20:00 on Friday 28th February Live on ITV1 PRESTON NORTH END v Burnley The Clarets, like their host, are currently in the Championship Their solo triumph in the FA Cup came in 1914, with a 1-0 win over Liverpool They fell at the first hurdle (Round THREE) last season, with a 1-0 defeat at Tottenham They have so far seen off Reading and Southampton this term Kick-Off at 12:15 on Saturday 1st March Live on BBC iPlayer Newcastle United v BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION The Magpies welcome The Seagulls for a battle of the birds in this all-Premier League tie They have won the cup an impressive six times, although their last victory was exactly 70 years ago, in 1955. Last season they reached the Quarter-Finals, before going down 2-0 at Manchester City They have so far beaten Bromley and Birmingham Ciy in this season's competition. Kick-Off at 13:45 on Sunday 2nd March Live on ITV1
With the Quarter Finals being played over the weekend of the 29th March, I'll update the thread at the weekend
Round FIVE summary: ASTON VILLA 2-0 Cardiff City PRESTON NORTH END 3-0 Burnley Newcastle United 1-2 BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION In contrast to the previous round, when all three batons changed hands, this round saw all three batons holders win. Onto the QUARTER FINALS PRESTON NORTH END v ASTON VILLA Three batons will become two after this game as green baton holders PRESTON NORTH END of the Championship entertain Premier League outfit and red baton holders ASTON VILLA Kickoff on Sunday 30th March at 13:30. This match is live on BBC1 and BBC iPLAYER. BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION v Nottingham Forest Forest travel to the south coast for one of three all-premier league ties They have won the cup on two occasions, although their last victory was way back in 1959. Last season they fell in Round FIVE, with a 0-1 defeat at home to Manchester United. This season they have so far knocked out Luton Town, Exeter City and Ipswich Town. Kickoff on Saturday 29th March at 17:15. This match is also live on BBC1 and BBC iPLAYER.
Quarter Final results (sorry about the delay - it's so much easier doing this on the PC at work than on my phone) PRESTON NORTH END 0-3 ASTON VILLA BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION 0-0 Nottingham Forest AET Nottingham Forest won 3-4 on penalties
Semi Finals The two remaining Baton-Holders have avoided each other in the draw! Crystal Palace v ASTON VILLA The Eagles sit comfortably in mid table, while their opponents are pushing for a second consecutive spot in the Champions League. They are looking to win the cup for the first time in, what would be their third final. They were runners up in 1990 and 2016. They have so far knocked out Stockport County, Doncaster Rovers, Millwall and Fulham. Last season they fell at the first hurdle, going out to a 1-0 Third Round replay at Everton, after a 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park. This match is live on BBC1 and BBC iPlayer on Saturday 26th April. Kick-off at 17:15. NOTTINGHAM FOREST v Manchester City The Cityzens have had a poor season by their standards and are in a dog-fight for a place in next season's Champions League, with Forest (at the time of writing) currently occupying one of those berths. They have won the cup seven times, with three of those occasions being in the 21st Century. Their most recent win was two seasons ago. They have so far seen off Salford City, Leyton Orient, Plymouth Argyle and Bournemouth. Last season they were runners up, with Neighbours, Manchester United depriving them of a League and Cup Double; inflicting a 2-1 defeat. This match is live on ITV1 and ITVX on Sunday 27th April. Kick-off at 16:30
Apologies for not completing the thread on time - a mixture of illness and a much needed holiday. I am back at work today so might be able to do something while I'm here. Failing that I have anight shift on Thursday so will have plenty of time then
Here we go then - better late than never: Crystal Palace 3-0 ASTON VILLA This sees CRYSTAL PALACE carry the red baton into the final ------ NOTTINGHAM FOREST 0-2 Manchester City This result meant that both batons changed hands going into the final ------- CRYSTAL PALACE 1-0 MANCHESTER CITY CONGRATULATIONS TO THE EAGLES!
Let's end this thread with a recap of the journeys of all FOUR batons. Lets just remind ourselves where each baton joined the road to Wembley. The RED and GREEN batons kicked off right at the start, in the EXTRA PRELIMINARY ROUND. The PURPLE baton started in the FIRST QUALIFYING ROUND and finally, the BLUE baton joined in ROUND THREE. EXTRA PRELIMINARY ROUND WEST AUCKLAND 0-2 BISHOP AUCKLAND BRIXHAM 2-0 SALTASH UTD PRELIMINARY ROUND Ashington 1-1 BISHOP AUCKLAND. .. replay BISHOP AUCKLAND 1-2 Ashington Exmouth a-a BRIXHAM (Exmouth were 3-0 up). .. rematch Exmouth 0-2 BRIXHAM FIRST QUALIFYING ROUND Crook Town 2-1 ASHINGTON Willand Rovers 1-0 BRIXHAM HAVANT & WATERLOOVILLE 3-0 Wallingford & Crowmarsh SECOND QUALIFYING ROUND CROOK TOWN 1-2 Witton Albion Oxford City 6-0 WILLAND ROVERS Worthing 3-2 HAVANT AND WATERLOOVILLE THIRD QUALIFYING ROUND Macclesfield 6-1 WITTON ALBION OXFORD CITY 2-3 Gosport Borough WORTHING 3-1 Dartford FOURTH QUALIFYING ROUND Tamworth 4-2 MACCLESFIELD Wealdstone 4-1 GOSPORT BOROUGH Plymouth Parkway 0-4 WORTHING
