3rd Qualifying Round Draw...

Lancaster City FC or Curzon Ashton will face an away tie at Stourbridge FC in the 3rd Qualifying Round of the FC Cup 2013/14...  join me later in the week to see who wins the replay and to find out more about Stourbridge FC (they are based in the West Midlands). The game is scheduled for Saturday 12th October 2013.

The game on the 28th September...

I was excited about this contest. It felt like the most evenly matched game in the Giant Killing Adventure so far. I had to travel alone for the first time and I set off for my second visit to Tameside Stadium. My sat Nav told me it would take 54 minutes from my house (40 Miles). I’d arranged to meet my blog guest Tim Webster at the ground at 2.30 (he was cycling from Penistone in Yorkshire). Just before setting off I’d heard about possible traffic problems on the M60 and was worried about large queues. However, my journey was smooth as I contemplated life and listened to my ipod on shuffle - this threw out a strange mix of take that followed by Queens of the Stone age. The weather was sunny and life felt good.  

I arrived, met my friend Tim and our first test was to see if the Curzon staff would let Tim take his bike into the stadium -  the man at the Turnstile said it was okay as long as he didn’t ride it up and down or let the referee use it. £7.50 each and we were in. Program's were £1.60 each. 

The stadium seemed much busier than my last visit and the atmosphere felt lively.  I bought two £1 teas and then headed towards the away end – it was the sunny side of the stadium (weather 18 degrees and very sunny).  The away end was like a sun trap and for much of the first half I was hot – my legs felt like they were on fire and I could feel a nice tan coming on. Tim loves his food and he opened a packet of Walker’s ready salted crisps – these were really tasty - a good flavour and an excellent texture. I’m not trying to promote Walkers or infringe onto Gary Lineker's territory but they were good crisps (small print – other brands of crisps are available and the Giant Killing Adventure is not affiliated with any brand).

As the match kicked off I was surprised to hear the Giant Killing Adventure’s first stadium singers. A group of Lancaster FC fans opened up with songs like, ’Oh, Lanky, Lanky. Lanky, Lanky Lanky Lanky Lancaster,’ and, ‘this is how it feels to be Morecambe, this is how it feels to be small.’ I love the passion of local rivalries (Morecambe is roughly five miles from Lancaster) and it was a proper football atmosphere for the Giant Killing Adventure. It was surprising how much noise 12 people could make. They sounded like a much larger crowd of singers.   

The first half of the game was edged by Curzon Ashton. They pressured and kept the ball well for the first twenty minutes. Passing to feet and moving well. Both sides seemed organised and Lancaster came into the game in the last 15 minutes – however, they seemed to be playing more of an old fashion British long ball game.

At half time it was nil-nil.

At half-time Tim and I went into the excellent bar for food – yes, I bought a pie and yes, it was cheaper than the Football league pies. It cost £1.60 for a steak pie, £1.20 for chips and 70p for a can of coke – this was ordered twice.

           
We moved to the seated area in the home end to eat our food.  

Pie and Chips.

The Steak pie was excellent – it tasted almost like meat gravy filling. Tim really does love his food and as he finished he said, ‘that were reet good, that were.’ This comment sums up the excellence of the pies.  We watched the second half on these seats in the shade – a much more pleasant temperature.

The second half of the game was evenly matched. There were few chances as both sides seemed difficult to break down. Curzon seemed more creative but the teams cancelled each other out.  

In the last five minutes Lancaster pilled on some pressure and had a shot wiz past the keepers left post. After this it was Curzon’s turn. They returned with a whole heap of pressure and pinned Lancaster back for the remaining three minutes or so – also having a couple of close chances. At the whistle I felt a draw was a fair result because neither side had dominated.

This means that I get to Visit Lancaster City’s ground on Tuesday 1^st of October. 302 fans attended the game and this is the biggest crowd of the Giant Killing Adventure so far.

Speaking of so far; so far the Giant Killing Adventure has reported on 450 minutes of football, £60 on the turnstiles, 755 fans, 15 goals, 3 pints of bitter (£7.40), 1 pint of Guinness (£3.10), 7 £1 cups of tea, 1 £1.10 cup of tea (large), 2 70p cans of coke, 2 £1.20 chips, 2 £1.60 pies, 1 ham and pease pudding stottie, 2 £16.50 Lobsters, 4 2-4-1 cocktails, 1 City Break, 1 Sandy picnic battle, 2 website promises (Marine and Curzon), 2 Twitter retweets (Lancaster),  1 lower-league-victory and the journey has travelled 140 miles from the FA Cup’s current home in Wigan.

As you can see from the imagine below - Lancaster is 60 Miles North West of Curzon (Curzon is near Manchester on the map).  Our FA Cup journey has travelled 200 Miles in four rounds from its current home in Wigan to Lancaster, via Ashton, Curzon,Crosby and Curzon.   

The draw for the 3^rd Qualifying Round will be announced today and the replay is 1 sleep away. It’s all happening on Tuesday 1st October at 7:45 pm. Giant Axe Stadium in Lancaster is a fitting name for our Giant Killing Adventure.  

Don't forget our facebook page -  https://www.facebook.com/thegiantkillingadventure

Curzon Ashton 0-0 Lancaster City FC

Replay this Tuesday 1st October

Kick off...

Arrived at Tameside

Tameside Stadium – second visit...

This is the Giant Killing Adventure’s second visit to Tameside Stadium.  Curzon Ashton’s average home attendance in the 2013/14 season has been 154 people.  They are currently top of the Evo-Stik First Division North, with 22 pts from 8 games (winning their last league game on Monday 23^rd September 5-0 against Wakefield). They are unbeaten in the league and look in top form, however on Wednesday 25^th September they lost a Cup game 2-0 away at Abbey Hay - this was in the Manchester Premier Cup, which is a County Cup competition.

Lancaster City’s average home attendance this season has been 210, so they may bring a decent number of away fans to Tameside Stadium. Lancaster City are currently 4th in the same league as Curzon Ashton with 18 pts from 8 games. They dropped a position due to a 2-2 draw away to Clitheroe on Tuesday 24^th September.  Lancaster are looking good this season and they are also undefeated in the league.   

This is Lancaster City’s first match in the Giant Killing Adventure – previously in the FA Cup they beat Farsley FC 1-3 in the Preliminary Round and then Spennymoor Town 0-1 in the 1^st Qualifying Round (two good away performances).  Curzon Ashton has already played twice in our Giant Killing Adventure. They beat Ashton Athletic 4-0, and then produced a lower-league victory away to Marine FC 2-4.  I still think this match will be close. Saturday 28^th September 2013, 2 days time, 2 sleeps.

In other news:-

Don’t forget about The Giant Killing Adventure Facebook page.  The page will hold images, comments and information about new blog postings.  Please feel free to be part of the community by ‘Liking’ the page. Click on link below:

https://www.facebook.com/thegiantkillingadventure

I had my first club retweet on Monday as Lancaster City FC retweeted my blog link – thank you very much to Lancaster City FC. Thanks again to Curzon Ashton as they mentioned our blog on their website.  I have emailed the Lancaster Guardian and the Manchester Evening News to try and promote this match and our blog – I have not had a reply as yet.  

Here is more from the You tube site by the journeymen – they are following their own road to Wembley by making short films of their matches.  It’s a bit sweary - just a warning to people who are offended by 4 letter words and any kids that might be reading. However, you can get a feel for the kind of grounds and atmospheres produced during these early FA Cup games.  Click the link below if you are interested in South Park V Horsham. 

South Park V Horsham

If they continue and we continue then at some point we’ll meet.
 

The FA has filmed a 1^st Qualifying Round match as they followed the tie between Leatherhead and Carshalton Athletic.  Click below for the FA’s report of that match. 

Leatherhead V Carshalton Athletic

I hope you’ve enjoyed the extras and we’ll see you on Saturday 28th of September 2013 for our blog’s match between Curzon Ashton and Lancaster City – 2 days (2 sleeps).  

The missing ingredient so far...

The Football Ground Pie

The top selling half-time snack at most football grounds in Britain is the humble pie. It is simple, easy to handle (it can be eaten one handed if need be) and seems to be the missing ingredient from our blog. I can’t believe that I’ve not taken the opportunity to try the lower-league pies on offer in the games that I’ve attended. What was I thinking?

As a kid, I wouldn’t have considered attending a football game without some kind of pastry filled treat - it’s like going to the cinema without buying popcorn.  The pie is part of football history - my Aunty told me that as a teenager she threw a pie at a referee for making a bad decision (that was okay behaviour in the 1960s).

In 1988 I went to Old Trafford (Manchester United's Stadium).  I caught a coach from Chorley, 26 miles north of Manchester (£3.50 return), and it cost £5.00 at the turnstiles to get in.  I was in the standing area and pie sellers used to walk amongst the fans. Brain McClair become the first player since George Best to score 20 league goals in a season for Manchester United and I missed his 20^th goal because I was ‘chasing after’ the pie selling man – that’s how important pies are to a British football fan.   

A two-hander pie at a lower-league game

A recent survey has shown that the most expensive pies in the Premiership are the £4.00 Crystal Palace pies. At Chelsea and Manchester City they are £3.80 and the cheapest top flight pies are £2.80 at Stoke City. According to the Survey the cheapest football pies in England, cost £2 at League Two club Rochdale – I’ll see if Curzon Ashton can beat that on Saturday 28th September.

Big Stadium one-hander 

Back to the actual football:-

On Saturday 21^st September, Lancaster City won 4-1 in the Evo-Stik Northern Division One, against Radcliffe Borough.  Curzon Ashton dropped points for the first time this season as they drew 1-1 away to Nantwich Victoria. Both Curzon and Lancaster are playing League games mid week, but at the moment Curzon are still top of the league with 19 points from 7 games. Lancaster are 3^rd with 17 points from 7 games – only 2 points separate them, so next Saturday’s FA Cup clash should be close.  

I have created The Giant Killing Adventure Facebook page.  The page will hold images, comments and information about new blog postings.  Please feel free to be part of the community by ‘Liking’ the page. Click on link below:

https://www.facebook.com/thegiantkillingadventure

2nd Qualifying Round – Curzon Ashton V Lancaster City

Our blog seems to be living a healthy life at the moment.  We have been visited by lots of Marine FC fans. I now want to thank Curzon Ashton for giving our blog a mention on their website.  This is our second website promise and I have received a lot of traffic from Curzon Ashton fans this week. Welcome to any Curzon fans that are new to our blog. I've also had a recent surge in views from the USA, so I welcome the USA soccer fans too. 

In update news I am still waiting for Bev’s unofficial professional photographs from the Extra Preliminary Round game between St Helens Town and Ashton Athletic from the 17^th August 2013.  I have received correspondence to say that they will be sent over this week.  

Let’s get to business:-

It is the 2nd Qualifying Round of the FA Cup 2013/14, and in this round teams that are 5 divisions lower than the Premiership big boys are entered.   Our winner Curzon Ashton from the 1^st Qualifying Round has drawn a home tie against Lancaster City.  160 teams will fight it out during this round and teams from the Conference North and Conference South have entered the war.   

     

V

Lancaster is a historical City in the North West of England. It was originally built on the site of a Roman encampment that guarded a crossing over the River Lune. It later became a prosperous port from the proceeds of the slave trade and Lancaster Castle was built to keep Scottish invaders at bay. It has a Georgian Town Hall and various museums of interest. The City is very close to the coastal town of Morcambe (where Eric Morcambe was born and home to his statue).

Lancaster has a University with an excellent academic reputation. The actor Andy Serkis (of King Kong and Gollum fame) studied at the University and he was a member of the Duke’s Playhouse theatre in Lancaster.   

Lancaster Town FC was formed in 1911, and in 1937 it changed to Lancaster City FC following that year’s granting of the Royal Charter.  The team plays in the Evo-Stik First Division North and they are currently in 4^th place with 14^th points from 6 games. Curzon Ashton are top of the same league with 18 points from 6 games. Both teams are undefeated in the league this season, so the game should be close. Curzon has won all their games so far and they are the home team - I would make them favourites to win the tie but the FA Cup may disagree on match day - Saturday 28th September 2013 .   

As you can see from the map, we are travelling back the 52 Miles from The Arriva Stadium (B - Marine FC’s ground) to Tameside Stadium (A - Curzon Ashton’s ground).  Our FA Cup journey has travelled 140 Miles in four rounds from its current home in Wigan to Curzon, via Ashton, Curzon and Crosby.  

Marine versus Curzon Ashton – Saturday 14th September 2013 by Frazer...

This week’s drive over was an odd mix of nostalgia and frustration at the repeat of question time on radio 4...Oh and a bag of chocolate éclairs. The nostalgia was passing the five-a-side ground where my last attempt at competitive football took place. This ill fated attempt resulted in my side being 22-0 down at half time (each half was only 10 minutes). We stopped the rot in the second half however with the game ending 29-1 with me having scored. I think this is an indication of the passion and competitiveness of football of all levels in Liverpool. I won’t put the Shankly quote in here as everyone knows it anyway. Traffic to Marine was not good so only got parked up at 2.45. The ground consisted of a main stand with terracing and a covered seating area; a covered terrace down the left and an away terrace at the far end.

First half I thought I’d go to the far end as it was a beautiful sunny day. At the toss Marine were defending the away end. As the match kicked off I feared it was going to be a one sided affair as Marine made much of the early play and Curzon seemed not able to get hold of the ball, Marine were passing well and created a couple of good early chances.  However Curzon opened the scoring in the 16th minute as they began to settle. It got worse for Marine at 20 minutes as Curzon hit the back of the net for the second time. Marine fought back well and got one back 8 minutes later – it was 1-2 at half time.

The second half started and 4 minutes later Curzon went 1-3 up. Once again though Marine came back into it and on 57 minutes it was 2-3. After that, there were few chances for either side and Curzon put the tie to bed in the 86^th Minute with another goal....Final whistle leaving it Marine 2- Curzon 4    

Attendance: 233.

It was £10 to get in and £2 for a Program. £3.10 for a Guinness and £1.10 for a cup of tea; was a big cup of tea mind!

By Frazer Sanderson

I would like to personally thank Frazer for going to the game.  He’s thrown a pint of Guinness into the mix and an expensive cup of tea (10p more than previous, but like Frazer said – it was a big one).  

It is a shame that Frazer didn’t get to meet Dave McMillan and I want to thank Dave again for his help with our blog.  I will be saying goodbye to The Arriva Stadium for 2013/14.

It is excellent Geeky Stats time:-

RIP Stadiums and teams from The Giant Killing Adventure - 16th September 2013

RIP Team	RIP Stadium
St Helens Town	Brocstedes Park
Ashton Athletic	Brocstedes Park
Marine FC	The Arriva Stadium

The Giant Killing Adventure number of fans – 16th September 2013

Team	Stadium	Round	Fans
Marine FC	The Arriva Stadium	1st Qualifying	223
Curzon Ashton	Tameside Stadium	Preliminary	101
St Helens Town	Brocstedes Park	Extra Preliminary	71
Ashton Athletic	Brocstedes Park	Extra Preliminary	58

The Giant Killing Adventure League table for FA prize money – 16th September 2013

Team	Prize money/Round	Total Winnings
Curzon Ashton	£1925 Preliminary Round £3000 1St Qualifying Round	£4925
Ashton Athletic	£1500 Extra Preliminary Round	£1500

Extra Preliminary Round £277,500 was paid in prize money (185 winners).

Preliminary Round £308,000 was paid out (160 winners).

1^st Qualifying Round £348,000 was paid out (116 winners).

The Giant Killing Adventure Program Price league table (cheapest first) – 16th September 2013

Team	Program Cost
Curzon Ashton 31st August	£1.60
St Helens Town 17th August	£2.00
Marine FC 14th September	£2.00

The Giant Killing Adventure Top 10 Leading Goal Scorers – 16th September 2013

Matt Warburton           3 (Curzon Ashton)

Chris McDonagh          2 (Curzon Ashton)

Simon Lakeland           2 (Curzon Ashton)

Adam Gilchrist             2 (Ashton Athletic) 

Ryan Brooke               1 (Curzon Ashton)

Will Jones                    1 (Marine FC)

Sam Barnes                 1 (Marine FC)

Neil Weaver                1 (St Helens Town)

Greg Harrison              1 (St Helens Town)

Nathan Ward               1 (Ashton Athletic)

The Giant Killing Adventure League table – 16th September 2013

Team	Won	Drawn	Goals For	Goals Against	GD	Points
Curzon Ashton	2	0	8	2	6	6
Ashton Athletic	1	1	3	6	-3	4
St Helens Town	0	1	2	3	-1	1
Marine FC	0	0	2	4	-2	0

So far the Giant Killing Adventure has reported on 360 minutes of football, £45 on the turnstiles, 453 fans, 15 goals, 3 pints of bitter (£7.40), 1 pint of Guinness (£3.10), 5 £1 cups of tea, 1 £1.10 cup of tea (large), 1 ham and pease pudding stottie, 2 £16.50 Lobsters, 4 2-4-1 cocktails, 1 City Break, 1 Sandy picnic battle, 1 Marine FC website promise, 1 lower-league-victory and the journey has travelled 88 miles from the FA Cup’s current home in Wigan.

Curzon Ashton has drawn a home tie with Lancaster City in the 2nd Qualifying Round of the 2013/14 FA Cup.  Join me again to learn more about the next round and more about Lancaster City.  The match is currently due to be played on Saturday 28th September 2013...

Draw number 6 - 2nd Qualifying Round

Curzon Ashton has been drawn at home against Lancaster City.  The game is scheduled to be played on Saturday the 28th September at 15:00 - at Tameside Stadium. More to come...    

Marine FC 2-4 Curzon Ashton

The giant killing adventure's first lower-league-victory. Join me later for Frazer Sanderson's story of the day and to see who Curzon draw in the next round...

The Arriva Stadium

Marine FC’s highest home attendance in the 2013/14 season has been 458 people.  They are currently in 11^th position in the Evo-Stik Northern Premier Division, with 12 pts from 8 games. Curzon Ashton’s biggest home attendance this season has been 162, so it should be a larger crowd than they are used to.  Curzon Ashton are currently top of the Evo-Stik Northern Division One with 18 pts from 6 games.  They have played 6 and won 6 and this makes them a team in hot form.     

  

This is Marine FC’s first match in the 2013/14 FA Cup as they received a bye in the previous two rounds.  Curzon Ashton has already played in our Giant Killing Adventure. They beat Ashton Athletic 4-0 in the Preliminary Round. Normally, Marine FC would be favourites to win the game, as they play in 1 division higher than Curzon Ashton, but it should be close.  Curzon are undefeated in the league this season - Curzon may surprise and produce our blog's first lower-league-victory. It's gonna be a great game and we’ll find out in 3 days (2 sleeps).  

In other news:-

Writing this blog has been a big commitment but also a lot of fun.  It was good to receive a positive response from Dave McMillan at Marine FC.  He offered to put a link to our blog on the club’s website and also said I could ‘look him up’ on match day and told me where he would be.  My guest blogger Frazer Sanderson will be attending the game because I have a work commitment that I cannot get out of - it should be the only game I will miss (providing I can get tickets once the bigger clubs join in).  Frazer attended the previous game with me and he is a worthy replacement to report on the day.  I hope he gets to meet Dave McMillan and find some interesting information for our blog.  

Our blog has been alive for 1 month now and here is a breakdown of the number of page views and their origin of country. It’s our own little version of a World Cup League. 

Top ten country page views for The Giant Killing Adventure - 13^th August 2013 to 12^th September 2013

Country	Number of Page Views
United Kingdom	1206
United States	134
Serbia	14
Russia	9
Germany	8
Ireland	6
France	5
Romania	5
Cambodia	3
Israel	2

As you can see, the United Kingdom are massively ahead with 1206 page views so far.  They are likely to win unless the United States soccer fans start to love our blog. The real competition lies in the ‘Champions League’ spots of 3^rd and 4^th place.  Serbia and Russia are having a tussle with 14 and 9 apiece but Germany’s knocking on the door of qualification with 8.  We’ll keep a close eye on this next month to see who’s vying for position and to see if any other wildcard countries get a real taste for our blog.     

Here is more from the You tube site by the journeymen – they are following their own road to Wembley by making short films of their matches. It’s a bit sweary - just a warning to people who are offended by 4 letter words and any kids that might be reading.  Click the link below if you are interested in Guildford City v South Park.

Guildford City V South Park

If the journeymen continue and we continue then at some point we’ll meet.

Finally the FA has filmed a Preliminary Round match as they followed the tie between Stourport Swifts and AFC Wulfrunians .  Click below for the FA’s report of that match.

Stourport Swifts V AFC Wulfrunians

I hope you’ve enjoyed the extras and we’ll see you on Saturday 14th of September 2013 for our blog’s match between Marine FC and Curzon Ashton – 3 days (2 sleeps).  It is Frazer Sanderson’s big moment...