So the first tie of a long journey took me to Boldmere St Michaels on a sunny Saturday, and if this is anything to go by, I have some mouthwatering ties coming up. With the first round proper not beginning till November, I felt it was important to witness an interesting game right from the start, and it couldn't have started better than this.
Not that the afternoons excitement would have been remotely apparent to me during most of the first half however, with the home side's sole attacking tactic being spraying long balls from defence to the big lad up front. The game in its early stages beared all the hallmarks of a classic Wimbledon league match. It was as if the midfield were invisible. Though Boldmere managed to muster a 1-0 lead, the team looked lethargic, dazed, slow, and even uninterested. Bartley Green, for their part, threatened to spoil the party by daring to equalise. Though by half time Boldmere had regained the lead, the home side were looking distinctly bad value for money considering the £5 admission fee.
It is said that those small 15 minutes between halfs can change the course of history. Whatever happened in the dressing room, it was clear that Boldmere had been given something of a talking to by the way they set about in the 2nd, though it wasnt till they scored their 3rd that they began to actually play football. Halfway through the 2nd half, it was Bartley Greens turn to show the FA that they hadn't been included in the competition merely to make up the numbers, and provide the tie with a genuinely comic moment, bringing on their diminutive number 15, who must surely be the worlds shortest footballer. Sadly for Bartley, not even this cross between Maradona and Steve Sidwell could alter proceedings in their favour, and Boldmere rounded off the game with a moment of genuine quality in the dying minutes, a classic training ground rehearsed set piece finish.
And so it was Boldmere, the long ball specialists, who make it to the next round of this years greatest football cup competition, with a local derby against Coleshill Town in the next round. Though I silently fancied a trip to the other side of Birmingham to take a peek at Bartley Green's gaff, on this showing I won't begrudge a return to the Trevor Brown Memorial Ground in a few weeks time. Apparently, the winners take on Leamington, so it seems il have to wait a while for my first real FA Cup journey.
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