THE CHURCH SANG LOUD
...and Mullin landed top scorer
NON-LEAGUE interest ended a long time before the two Manchester giants met in yesterday’s final, but there were plenty of magic moments to savour along the way.
Back in August, Newport (IoW) teenager Finn Smith wrote his name into the record books when he became the youngest ever goalscorer in the competition. Smith, at 16 years and one day, netted the third in their 3-1 extra preliminary round win against Fleet Town.
Moneyfields’ Callum Laycock scored all five in his side’s 5-0 romp against Bemerton Heath Harlequins.
A team making waves were Northern League Ashington. In the first qualifying round, they beat Ashton United 3-0 in a replay and they followed it up with a 2-1 home success against Bradford Park Avenue.
In the third qualifying round, Isthmian South East outfit Sevenoaks Town pulled off a fine 1-0 victory at Bath City.
United Counties League side Anstey Nomads battled their way to the fourth qualifying round and welcomed National League side Chesterfield, who eased to a 3-0 victory. It was the start of an excellent Cup run for Paul Cook’s side. The Spireites beat EFL sides Northampton (1-0 home) and AFC Wimbledon (2-0 away) to land a tie against West Brom in round three.
An FA Cup classic saw Armando Dobra score twice to give Chesterfield a 3-2 half-time lead, but Brandon Thomas-Asante levelled for the Baggies in injury time and they won the replay 4-0.
In the final qualifying round, Coalville Town recorded a superb 3-2 win at Notts County, while South Shields and Needham Market earned excellent 1-0 home victories against Scunthorpe and Maidstone respectively. Bury AFC bowed out 2-1 at home against York.
There were shocks galore in the first round. Southern Premier Central Alvechurch led the way with a 2-1 win at League One Cheltenham, courtesy of a Danny Waldron double.
Joe Hanks backheeled Chippenham’s winner against Lincoln, while King’s Lynn (1-0 at Doncaster) and Farnborough (2-0 at Sutton) also progressed. Bracknell’s memorable run ended with a 3-0 home loss against Ipswich.
In round two, Boreham Wood secured a magnificent 2-0 win at Bristol Rovers, while Wrexham ended Farnborough’s hopes with a 4-1 triumph. You just couldn’t keep the Welsh club out of the limelight.
In round three, the Red Dragons savoured a sensational 4-3 win at Championship Coventry and they then came within a whisker of beating eventual semi-finalists Sheffield United at a bouncing Racecourse. Paul Mullin – who was at Wembley yesterday to pick up the top scorer prize – put Wrexham 3-2 up, but John Egan bagged a last-gasp equaliser for the relieved Blades, who won the replay 3-1 with two stoppage-time goals.