Where is he now? The scorer of the very first goal on The Road to Wembley from Scotland now plays in the Scottish Lowland League!

On Saturday the 6^th August 2016 the Road to Wembley from Scotland began with match between Penrith and Sunderland Ryhope Community Association at Frenchfields Stadium in Cumbria. A week on Saturday it will conclude at Wembley Stadium when Chelsea take on Arsenal in the final of the FA Cup. Back in August the match at The Frenchfields was won by a single goal scored by the Penrith midfielder Jake Smith. Almost 10 months later I decided to try find out what happened to Jake after scoring that historic goal for the Bonny Blues.

A quick tweet exchange with Craig McGlasson the stadium announcer at Penrith revealed that Jake Smith was now playing his football north of the border in the Scottish Lowland League with Gretna. I was delighted to hear that the scorer of the first goal on the Road to Wembley from Scotland was now based in Scotland. Apparently the Penrith manager at the time of the FA Cup ties in August, Matt Henney, left the Frenchfields to manage Gretna back in October and a few Penrith players, including Jake, followed their gaffer over the border. I contacted Jake via twitter with a view to trying to catch a Gretna game before the end of the season and he was kind enough to give me details of who they still had to play and where. I became quite animated when I found out that Gretna still had to play an away match at Whitehill Welfare to complete their Lowland League season, as Rosewell (home of the Welfare) is only 4 miles from my home in Penicuik Midlothian. The match was scheduled for last night and yesterday was also the 30^th birthday of my darling daughter Joanna – aka ‘Shweetie Pie’.

Shweetie Pie! Jo in traditional pose while husband Al looks on nervously!

Not many things, but some things, are more important than football. Being present at your oldest daughter’s 30^th birthday meal is obviously one of them so I was marked absent at Ferguson Park Rosewell last night. Incidentally, Joanna herself has a lifetime link with the FA Cup. She was born on cup final day in 1987, the day that Coventry City beat Spurs 3-2 to lift the cup for the only time in their history. I vividly remember my wife Anne going in to labour just as the second half was about to start and me enquiring ‘are you sure? – this could go to extra time!’.

A good pal of mine, John Blair, is both the official photographer and the treasurer of Whitehill Welfare. I popped round to his house yesterday and delivered a ‘Road to Wembley from Scotland’ T shirt to be presented to Jake to mark his unique achievement in this absurd project. Unfortunately the Gretna coach arrived only 5 minutes before kick off so no time for the presentation and after the game the men from Gretna beat a hasty retreat having bean walloped 5-1 by the Welfare. I suspect the visitors were not in the mood for any friendly banter before boarding their carriage home as they also had two men sent of in what was reportedly a feisty encounter. John did however manage to take a couple of great pics of Jake plying his trade for the ‘black and whites’. Both the pictures below are reproduced with the kind permission of John Blair photography. Thanks John for all of your help over the last couple of days.

From  Frenchfields to Ferguson! Jake Smith in action in Midlothian for Gretna last night

Deep in thought. Smith wonders how far from Rosewell to Cumbria!

I note from the ‘player profiles’ on the internet that Cumbrian Jake Smith started his footballing career with Workington as a full back and developed into a goalscoring midfielder when he moved from Workington Reds to Penrith. According to John Blair he was effectively combining both roles last night playing in a wing back position. By the way Jake, if you are reading this nonsense and you wish to receive the commemorative T shirt then get in touch.

Meanwhile, the teams involved in the latter stages of the Road to Wembley from Scotland have both been involved in Premier League action since I last posted. Chelsea won an entertaining match against Watford and Arsenal recorded an important victory against already relegated Sunderland.

The Chelsea v Watford match on Monday night had the feel of an exhibition match about it. Chelsea clinched the league title last Friday and hence their last couple of league games are meaningless. They chose to make wholesale changes to their team for Monday nights match and they also played with the carefree abandon of footballers who had already achieved what was asked of them. The changes to the Blues line up meant that John Terry got a rare start and in tune with the cavalier atmosphere he ventured upfield from his defensive post to open the scoring.

Terry's all goals! JT celebrates scoring at Stamford Bridge for (probably) the last time

Six more goals followed and the Blues emerged victorious by the odd goal in seven in a match that was very easy on the eye.

Last night while I was celebrating Shweetie Pie’s birthday the Arsenal were getting the better of Sunderland in a match that really did matter. Six weeks ago it looked as if it was impossible for Arsenal to finish in the top four and qualify for the Champions League in season 17-18. Since then they have won six of their last seven games and although it is still unlikely, they could still be one of the fab four in a season when Wenger has been pilloried for under-achieving. Last night they comfortably accounted for the hapless Sunderland with two strikes from goal machine Alexis Sanchez.

Pick that one out. Sanchez scores from close range against the doomed Mackems last night.

If Arsenal beat Everton in their last league match on Sunday and either Man City or Liverpool slip up then the Gunners could yet qualify for the Champions League. Chelsea will also complete their league programme on Sunday when they host Sunderland.

Before Sunday I will be checking up on other players and teams who have made their mark on The Road to Wembley from Scotland. Come back later in the week to find out more … and keep reading.