I begin my round up this week taking a look at the games played today in the Preliminary Round of the Ron Eaglen Challenge Cup. I am often asked why there is a need for a Preliminary Round of any cup particularly as sometimes there are only a handful of teams competing. The answer is to reduce the number of teams to numbers divisible by 32 or 16 so that as the rounds progress we end up with 4 teams in the semi final not 3 or 5!
The result of the round must go to St Helens FC from division 2 who knocked out Premier Division opposition in the form of Hykeham Memorial FC 2-1 today. The game of the round would appear to have been at Fen Lane North Hykeham where the goalkeepers of Railway Inn United and new boys Mareham United picked the ball out of the net on no fewer than 25 times between them as the game finished 6-6 after extra time with Railway edging it 7-6 on penalties.
Plough Sturton from Division 2 have started the season well and they visited first division newcomers Wishing Well Cherry FC today and returned home safely through to the next round with a 3-1 victory under their belts.
North Lindum Hawks edged a 9 goal thriller out at Newtoft Terriers, winning 5-4 in normal time. Newcomers Nettleham FC ran out 3-2 victors over higher division opponents Lincoln High Street FC at Mulsanne Park, and Bassingham Bugle Horn FC put last weeks County Cup disappointment behind them when they saw off the challenge of newly promoted Heighington FC, 3-1 the scorline out at Bassingham. Wragby FC took the honours in their all first division game against AFC Lincoln Green with a 3-2 win, whilst the battle of the Queens was won by Queen in the West FC by 3-0 when they visited Queen Athletic in an all 3rd division tie. Old Boys United have started the season brightly and they will be pleased with their work today after they ran out 3-2 winners at home to Waddington United.
Last week I reported on the first win in the Club history of The Blue Lion and they were hoping for back to back wins when they entertained same division opponents AFC West End at Bath Road. Alas it was not to be with the visitors booking their place in the next round thanks to a 2-0 victory. Dunston FC saw off the challenge of last season’s Jock Mitchell finalists Birchwood United 4-2 whilst the final game in the competition saw the newly named Sports Bar defeat League newcomers Shakespeare Imps 5-2 at Sudbrooke Drive.
PREMIER DIVISION
There were 3 games played in this division today. Metheringham FC opened up their League account with a handsome looking 6-0 home win over Saxilby Athletic whilst Lincoln Moorland/Railway enjoyed an impressive 5-2 win away at Newton United. Many people’s favourites for the title are New Swan but their 0-3 home defeat at the hands of Hykeham Town TRFC may have surprised a few readers to this site.
DIVISION ONE
AFC Golden Eagle got their season off to a flyer having been promoted to the division as Division 4 Champions last season and they recorded a fine 3-2 victory when they visited Welton Sports AFC, a team with plenty of Premier Division pedigree over the years. Trent Valley travelled to Dunholme to face Welton FC and returned home with maximum points thanks to a 4-2 victory and FVA Jerusalem netted maximum points from their visit to Railway Inn AFC courtesy of a 2-0 scoreline.
DIVISION TWO
Cherry Willingham opened their account in their new division today with an impressive 4-2 away win at Coningsby FC whilst the points were shared between Shakespeare Athletic and Newton United Reserves with the game ending 1-1.
DIVISION THREE
There was just one game played in this division today with Ruston Sports taking to their new home pitch in style when they netted 5 without reply at home to Lincoln RNA.
DIVISION FOUR
The highest scorers of the day were Nosey FC who rattled in 12 goals away at new boys Green Dragon whilst conceding one goal in the process. Branston Homeguard have started the season impressively and this was underlined by their fine 6-1 home win against The Shed FC today. Referee Michael Grant stated that it was a real pleasure to referee this game due to the overall conduct of both teams, well done to all involved in that game. Morning Star recorded a good 7-4 home win over HBW United whilst the final game saw FVA Jerusalem Reserves overcome Metheringham Reserves 4-2 at Monson Park.
Ian Stephenson.