1st Round Proper Stourbridge FC V Biggleswade Town FC

I want to welcome Biggleswade Town FC to our Giant Killing Adventure and thank them for mentioning our blog on their Website (this is our 5^th website promise after Marine, Curzon, Stourbridge and Workington). 

I want to give individual thanks to Gavin Gorley from Workington; Andy McDonnell from Biggleswade; Steve Hyde and Richard Clark from Stourbridge and a special thanks to Samantha Beddall from Lees Cafe (home of the handmade balti eggs). 

Stourbridge fans Matt Bullock, Neil Stevens-wood, Steve Coyle, Stuart Hill and others have offered to buy me pints and take me out... thanks for the support. 

We have hit the big time – it’s time for fanfares, trumpets, red carpets, party hats and fireworks because...

It is the 1^st Round Proper of the FA Cup 2013/14, and in this round teams from the Football League’s Sky Bet League One and Sky Bet League Two have been entered.  We have teams that are at least 2 divisions lower than the Premiership big boys and the ties are now National – this meant that we could have ended up anywhere in the country.

I had mixed feelings as I listened to the FA Cup draw on Sunday 27^th October.  Firstly I’d made a mistake and thought the draw was at twenty past two. I made some lunch and sat down in front of the TV at twenty to two to hear on ITV that the draw would be after the commercial break. I had to give up on eating, rush into my bedroom to grab my laptop, take it into the living room, switch it on and get everything ready to broadcast live the draw for Stourbridge and email their opponents to explain what our blog is all about. The draw went on 'forever' and my lunch got colder as I eagerly awaited Stourbridge to be pulled from the ‘hat.’ Part of me wanted a local draw so that I wouldn’t have to travel and part of me wanted an adventure as far away as possible.  Stourbridge were one of the last teams to be drawn and it was painful as I waited and my lunch grew cold (it was the excellent beef, black pudding and caramelised mushroom pie that I had bought from Tebay Services on the way to Workington).  

Our winner Stourbridge FC from the 4th Qualifying Round has drawn a home tie against Biggleswade Town FC.  80 teams will fight it out during this round.   

V

Biggleswade is a market town located on the river Ivel in Bedfordshire. It is situated along the A1 road between London and the North, as well as having a rail link on the main line from the North to London (the East Coast Main Line).

Biggleswade Town FC were originally formed as Biggleswade FC in 1874. The club are known as the ‘Waders’ and they first entered the FA Cup in 1904. In the 2008/09 season the club had its very first home ground The Carlsberg Stadium (previous to this they had shared stadiums).  In 2012/13 they approached their best ever season as they were promoted to the Calor League - Premier Division which is the highest tier of football since their inception over 130 years ago. In the 2013/14 season they are currently in 12^th position with 14pts from 11 games. 

Stourbridge also play in the Calor League - Premier Division.  Stourbridge are currently in 5th position with 24 points from 12 games.  They have won their last 9 games in a row in all competitions which makes them a team in current top form. The two teams are yet to play this season.

I welcome all fans to our Giant Killing Adventure facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/thegiantkillingadventure

As you can see from the map, we are travelling downwards 221 Miles from Borough Park (home to Workington AFC) to the War Memorial Athletic Ground (home to Stourbridge FC).  Our FA Cup journey has travelled 783 miles in seven rounds from its current home in Wigan to Stourbridge via Ashton, Curzon, Crosby, Curzon, Lancaster, Stourbridge and Workington.  

Draw for 1st Round Proper

It is the draw for the 1st Round Proper right now. Live on ITV... Here we go... where is the Giant Killing Adventure going. 80 balls are about to be drawn...

Stourbridge FC will play at home against..

Biggleswade Town FC

The game on 26th October 2013

My mood and my head were in a much better place than on my last game report.  Time is a great healer and I was feeling much more optimistic and happy about life.  My blog guest Frazer Sanderson had offered to drive and he arrived at my house at 11:50am. It was another 200 mile round trip and my Sat Nav system had estimated it would take 2hrs and 7mins to arrive at Borough Park.  We set off with plenty of time and the drive was relaxed and chatty.  Neither of us had eaten lunch so we decided to stop off at Tebay services on the M6 – it was approximately half way and although this sounds sad, it is my favourite service station in England.  It is an independent services with a farm shop and a duck pond and much more interesting than the average ‘Burger King’ and ‘Simply Foods’ stop off.  I ate a pork, stilton with apple and ginger chutney pie and bought some excellent sausages for Sunday’s breakfast and a Beef, black pudding and caramelised mushroom pie for Sunday’s lunch. We continued our journey up north, which consisted of an excellent winding A66 and some fantastic views of mountains and autumn coloured trees.

On arrival into Workington we had to cross the river twice and as we crossed the 2^nd bridge the whole of Borough Park was on view. It cost £12 each to enter the ground and it was unusual to find only one turnstile and only one small entrance.

The back of the turnstiles for the only entrance to the ground.

The entrance to the ground through a small opening, from here we walked across the stadium and into the bar.

Frazer bought a pint of Strongbow and a bitter for me and it cost £5.50 in total. The only place left to sit was on a tiny little stage in the centre of the bar and I imagined the number of quality ‘artists’ that had played on that stage over the years.  It reminded me of my teenage years as I collected glasses at ‘Chorley Labour Club’ on a Saturday night. I could almost hear the songs and the bingo caller as I sat and drank my pint of bitter. 

This looked like an old unused exit to the stadium.

This looked like an old entrance to the stadium.

We moved around to the seated area of the ground and took our seats.

We sat down, it was 12 degrees and a little windy and as the game kicked off I felt very close to the pitch and the players – it seemed a small pitch and our view was obscured  slightly by the cantilever pillar of the stand. 

It was an even game at first as both sides had early chances. Stourbridge capitalised with a goal after 10 minutes from a corner. They seemed in control for parts of the half and things looked worst for Workington when they had a man sent off after 35 minutes of play.  Stourbridge had a very passionate and vocal fan that would often stand and shout huge amounts of criticism to the team.

It is interesting to watch these games as a neutral observer.  The referee had a huge amount of abuse hurled his way after every single decision.  A free kick awarded to Workington was a good decision according to the Workington fans but an awful terrible ‘blind-man’s’ decision to the Stourbridge fans and vice versa.  Every time any player went to ground he was a 'cheat' and one fan would repeatedly shout when they got back up ‘I see you’ve recovered from your broken leg.’ It is fantastic to hear as a neutral how passionate the fans at all levels of football can be – the away Stourbridge fans behind Workington AFC’s goal were the loudest and most passionate as they intermittently sang for their team.

At half time we moved to Reds Pantry and I bought 2 £1 teas (standard order) 1 chips (£1) and 1 chips and gravy (£1.80).  We got back to our seats as the 2^nd half kicked off. Then it started to rain. The rain got heavier and the wind got windier.  The 2^nd half was similar to the 1^st.  Stourbridge didn’t really dominate but Stourbridge deserved to win as they created more chances.  The Workington AFC fans behind Stourbridge’s goal became more vocal with the odd song and the Stourbridge fans behind the opposite goal continued to sing intermittently and I admired their persistence of staying together as the weather deteriorated.     

We set off home and I was back by 18:50. The weather was terrible for the whole journey back, very windy and rainy until we pulled up outside my house and the rain miraculously stopped – things were looking up.  Later that night I received a tweet from Richard Clark @glassboy66 that simply said ‘The adventure continues.’ For Stourbridge fans it does but I will be saying goodbye to Borough Park for 2013/14.

The draw for the next round is Sunday 27^th October (later today). Let’s see where the adventure takes us.   

Attendance: 519

Excellent Geeky Stats time:- 

RIP Stadiums and teams from the Giant Killing Adventure – 27^th October 2013

RIP Team	RIP Stadium
St Helens Town	Brocstedes Park
Ashton Athletic	Brocstedes Park
Marine FC	Arriva Stadium
Lancaster City FC	Giant Axe Stadium
Curzon Ashton	Tameside Stadium
Workington AFC	Borough Park

The Giant Killing Adventure number of fans – 27^th October 2013

Team	Stadium	Round	Fans
Stourbridge FC	War Memorial Athletic Ground	3rd Qualifying	633
Workington AFC	Borough Park	4th Qualifying	519
Curzon Ashton	Tameside Stadium	2nd Qualifying	302
Lancaster City FC	Giant Axe	2nd Qualifying	249
Marine FC	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 – 27^th October 2013

Team	Prize money/Round	Total Winnings
Stourbridge FC	£7500 3rd Qualifying Round £12500 4th Qualifying Round	£20000
Curzon Ashton	£1925 Preliminary Round £3000 1St Qualifying Round £4500 2nd Qualifying Round	£9925
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).

2nd Qualifying Round £360,000 was paid out (80 winners).

3^rd Qualifying Round £300,000 was paid out (40 winners).

4^th Qualifying Round £400,000 was paid out (32 winners).

The Giant Killing Adventure Program Price league table (cheapest first) – 27th October 2013

Team	Program Cost
Lancaster City FC 01st October	£1.50
Curzon Ashton 31st August, 28th September	£1.60
St Helens Town 17th August	£2.00
Marine FC 14th September	£2.00
Stourbridge FC 12th October	£2.00
Workington AFC 26th October	£2.50

The Giant Killing Adventure Goal Scorers – 27th October 2013

Matt Warburton          3 (Curzon Ashton)

Chris McDonagh          2 (Curzon Ashton)

Simon Lakeland            2 (Curzon Ashton)

Adam Gilchrist             2 (Ashton Athletic) 

Jamie Oliver                2 (Stourbridge FC)

Luke Benbow               2 (Stourbridge FC)

Ryan Rowe                  1 (Stourbridge FC)

Will Richards               1 (Stourbridge FC)

Phil McLuckie              1 (Workington AFC)

Chris Rowney               1 (Curzon Ashton)

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)

Mark Jackson              1 (Lancaster City FC)

Neil Marshall              1 OG (Lancaster City FC)

The Giant Killing Adventure League table – 27th October 2013

Team	Won	Drawn	Goals For	Goals Against	GD	Points
Curzon Ashton	3	1	10	6	4	10
Stourbridge FC	2	0	6	1	5	6
Ashton Athletic	1	1	3	6	-3	4
St Helens Town	0	1	2	3	-1	1
Lancaster City FC	0	1	1	2	-1	1
Marine FC	0	0	2	4	-2	0
Workington AFC	0	0	1	3	-2	0

So far the Giant Killing Adventure has reported on 720 minutes of football, £108 on the turnstiles, 2156 fans, 25 goals, 4 pints of bitter (£9.90), 1 pint of Guinness (£3.10), 1 pint of cider (£3), 3 70p cups of tea,  10 £1 cups of tea, 1 £1.10 cup of tea (large), 2 70p cans of coke, 2 £1.20 chips, 1 £1 chips, 1 £1.80 chips and gravy, 2 £1.60 pies, 2 £1.50 pies, 1 pork, stilton with apple and ginger chutney pie, 1 ham and pease pudding stottie, 2 £16.50 Lobsters, 4 2-4-1 cocktails, 1 City Break, 1 Sandy picnic battle, 4 website promises (Marine, Curzon, Stourbridge and Workington), various Twitter retweets (too many to keep track of from clubs, fans and supporter's clubs),  2 lower-league-victories, 1 relationship breakdown and the journey has travelled 562 miles from the FA Cup’s current home in Wigan.

The draw for the 1^st Round Proper is Sunday 27^th October at 13:45 (today).  Let’s see where The Giant Killing Adventure takes us.

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