FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round Draw on Friday: I might be heading for Penrith, Morpeth or Ashington but unfortunately definitely not Alnwick!

Only three days to go until the draw for the Extra Preliminary round of the FA Cup season 2016-17 and the anticipation is building. If you have been following this blog from day one you will know that the way ‘The Road to Wembley from Scotland’ works is that once the draw for the Extra Preliminary round of the FA Cup is made I will establish which of these ties will be staged closest to the Scotland / England border. I will attend that match and I will then follow the winner into the Preliminary round. The winners of that match will then be followed into the first qualifying round ... and so on ... and so on - until I end up at the FA Cup final next May. For each match I will be trying to find a Scottish link and reporting not just on the match but the circumstances surrounding the tie.

So, unable to contain my anticipation I thought which league nearest to the border would supply possible venues for my first tie on Saturday August the 6^th? The EBAC Northern League seemed to be the answer. Looking at a map of the locations of their member clubs I reckoned that Penrith and Alnwick Town were closest to the border. So I got my internet based measuring tape out and found that Penrith are 29 miles from the Scottish border but as the crow flies Alnwick are only 24 miles from the border as it crosses the Cheviots. Brilliant ! Alnwick it is if they are drawn at home.

I then sought out the web presence of Alnwick Town and found they had a great wee web site and an up to date and informative twitter feed. I tweeted them and asked: “Hi ... have you guys been advised that you will definitely be in the FA Cup Extra Prelim rd?”. I got a reply back from Alnwick Town FC and it surprised me: “Just in the FA Vase this season. Need to finish higher in the league for the FA Cup unfortunately.” So, I reckon there must be a rule that only teams in the Northern League Division One (Alnwick are in Division Two) are eligible to compete in the FA Cup. Good luck to Alnwick Town in the FA Vase and thanks for your response. At the risk of sounding like Ted Rogers on the 80s game show “3 2 1” here is the prize I could have won!

The grassy bank behind the goal at Alnwick

 

The pavilion at St James Park Alnwick

So, assuming I have got the bit about Northern League Division One teams being in the draw then it would appear that if Penrith are drawn at home then I am Penrith bound. If Penrith are away then I am headed for either Morpeth or Ashington. If all three are away I may be ploughing a furrow to West Allotment Celtic!