The Magic of the Cup? Part I

Ah yes! The smell of the hot dogs, burgers and fried onions; the odour of sweat, greasepaint and liniment oil; the faint whiff of a distant commercial sell-out to an international brewer of poor beer; ten whole English pounds paid on the gate and a flutter on the 50-50 draw? All of these things must signal the arrival of the first qualifying round of The FA Cup ("with Budweiser"). With such heady excitement in the air, your correspondent has taken the unusual step of publishing a pre-match warm-up piece, for your delight and delectation. How else could you fully enjoy and savour the flavours of the "oldest and best" (according to the FA themselves!) domestic Cup competition in the world of club football? Personally, I'll be aiming to spend the day WITHOUT Budweiser.

Today's opponents for Enfield Town F. C. at the Queen Elizabeth II Stadium are "The Seasiders" of Felixstowe & Walton United Football Club. Not only do F&WUFC boast one of the longer club names in the English football leagues but they also possess a club badge bearing the hands of friendship. Their club slogan is "amici in ludo sumus". My very loose translation is "We are all friends, in the Beautiful Game". Today could be a good day to test out that claim.

            

The Seasiders home games, at The Goldstar Ground, have averaged 112, so far this season; making them one of the best supported clubs in the Eastern Counties League Thurlow Nunn Premier Division. For the uninitiated, that is in Level 9 of English football's pyramid; two whole levels below Enfield Town - making Town 'the big club' in today's fixture. The Seasiders' website incorrectly states the gulf of difference as just "one step up the Pyramid". Whether this is out of Suffolk ignorance or indifference - or a as a bit of psychological gamesmanship - is, as yet, unclear. The visitors have already had to play (and win, of course!) twice in preliminary, pre-qualifying games, just to reach this "qualifying round". That they have won both of those previous games on their travels in North London, after journeys down the A12, should sound the proverbial warning alarm bells loudly in the ears of Town's players and fans alike. These seasiders will be combing the 'beaches' of Enfield in search of further Cup glory, with little respect for club reputations or status. The visitors' club was formed by a merger of two clubs based on the Suffolk "Peninsula", as recently as the year 2000; but those merged sides had previous club heritage dating back to 1888.

As a further guide to form, it may help to know that today's visitors currently sit 10th (out of 20 teams) in their league; although to achieve this, they have played 4 of their 5 league games at home. They won only 50% of these; but also gained maximum points in their only away fixture. Although they also experienced the disappointment of leading an away game against Brantham Athletic by two goals to nil before the match was abandoned after 52 minutes. The club's website says: "they stood on the Leisure Centre pitch in darkness for 25 minutes or so until a whistle in the night from referee Jairo Marin called an official halt to the match". There is little risk of a floodlight failure again causing problems, on a sunny, warm, Enfield afternoon. It's worth noting that Felixstowe are, therefore, unbeaten on the road in all competitions this season.

As a guide to Suffolk wit, the following Joke of the Week is taken from the fanzone on the club's website:"I went for a job as a blacksmith the other day. He asked me if I’d ever shoed a horse? I said no; but that I'd once told a donkey to f**k off." To find this old gag humorous (or, indeed, relevant) you'd probably have to be reminded, once again, that the address of The Towners QEII Stadium (aka "The Donkey-Drome") is Donkey Lane. Better informed, you may now laugh! Seriously, though, the visitors' fighting spirit is clear for all to see - and prepare for - in this show of fan bravado.

The two sides have met just once before. In 2003 today's visitors again travelled; but to our former home, which we shared with Brimsdown Rovers at Goldsdown Road. That game was played in the 1st round of The FA Vase. Enfield Town at that time were playing in the (more junior) Essex Senior League. It was a game we won 2-0. The Seasiders seem to have no illusions about the task ahead of them. The following is copied from the club's website, with apologies for the syntax of this lengthy sentence and the lack of a question mark: "Enfield are a club on the up and there is no doubt we face a very difficult task to get anything from the match, but Kevin O’D, with nothing to lose as we are the complete underdogs, will set the side out to test our hosts and if we can produce anything like the kind of form we showed against Gorleston last week, who knows what might happen!"

If you're hoping to make a late change of plans and get along to witness this "David vs. Goliath" clash, use the following SatNav Postcode EN1 3PL. See you there!

The Time Capsule - an historical note: apart from its Landguard Fort, Felixstowe is arguably best known for its proximity in former times to the ground-breaking "pirate" radio station, Radio Caroline, when the station’s vessel was moored off Felixstowe in the 1960's. Landguard Fort is the site of the last opposed seaborne invasion of England, in 1667; and the first land battle involving the Royal Marines. The current fort structure dates from 1744. It overlooks the reaches to the strategically important Harwich Harbour.

Two hundred and seventy years on - Felixstowe in its glory days: The Seasiders will surely bring all their guns to bear on senior opponents Enfield Town F. C. today. Might this include the might of Landguard Fort's mighty arsenal?



Fifty years on - Felixstowe in its glory days: Radio Caroline DJ (and, later, behind-the-scenes producer) Gerry Duncan at the opening of the Caroline Snack & Coffee Bar, run by Dilys Calver, in Beach Station Road, Felixstowe, on U.S. Independence Day: July 4th, 1964.