FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round - Friday/Saturday 7/8 August

[Rhodes]

Good luck to all twenty Spartan South Midlands League (SSML) Club's in action in the FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round on Saturday, unfortunately four all SSML ties. To quote Karen, rest her soul, there's a 'schoolboy error' on Full Time as Abingdon United v Risborough Rangers has been omitted:

Friday 7 August – (kick off 7.45pm)

FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round

Enfield FC v Welwyn Garden City

Saturday 8 August – (all kick off 3.00pm)

FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round

Abingdon United v Risborough Rangers

Baldock Town v Kempston Rovers

Biggleswade United v Woodford Town

Cockfosters v Potton United

Everett Rovers v Kings Langley

Harlow Town v Frenford

Harpenden Town v Hayes & Yeading United

Ilford v Dunstable FC

Newport Pagnell Town v Marlow FC

North Greenford United v Arlesey Town 

Reading City v Tring Athletic

Sawbridgeworth Town v AFC Welwyn

Tilbury v Wormley Rovers

Wells City v Aylesbury Vale Dynamos

Witham Town v Colney Heath

[Rhodes]

On 05/08/2026 at 10:58, Rhodes said:

Friday 7 August – (kick off 7.45pm)
FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round
Enfield FC v Welwyn Garden City

There should be a decent attendance at Potters Bar Town FC's Lantern Community Stadium this evening where Enfield FC groundshare:

Edited August 8 by Rhodes

[Rhodes]

On 05/08/2026 at 10:58, Rhodes said:

Saturday 8 August 
FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round
Harlow Town v Frenford

The Harlow Town v Frenford Extra Preliminary Round tie has been switched to Frenford's Jack Carver Centre home in Ilford, Essex, presumably due to the current state of the 3g pitch at the Harlow Arena:

https://www.yourharlow.com/2026/08/07/football-harlow-towns-fa-cup-switched-to-away-venue/

[Rhodes]

21 hours ago, Rhodes said:

Friday 7 August 
FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round
Enfield FC v Welwyn Garden City

What a win for Enfield FC who progress to the Preliminary Road where they will travel to Hashtag United, see a link to some brief highlights:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ha7rqGDDuaw

[Rhodes]

No doubt the Lantern Stadium was awash with groundhoppers last night including this one from another Forum:

FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round
Lantern Stadium, Potters Bar
Enfield FC 2 (1) Welwyn Garden City 0 (0)
White & Blue/All Maroon
Spartan South Midlands Premier Division (Step 5) v Southern League Division One Central (Step 4)
Attendance 275, Concession Admission £5 Programme £3 Badge £4, Bacon Roll £4, Soup & Roll £2.50
This was a revisit for me but as I explained in Where Are You Going, I have no recollection of my last visit, who the match was between or when it was played, other than it was sometime in the early 1990s.
I travelled down from Sheffield this morning and met up with an old friend I hadn’t seen for over thirty years before checking into my hotel for the night in London Colney. I arrived at the Lantern Stadium about 18:00 to ensure I got a parking space before heading to the nearby Cask & Stillage pub where I enjoyed an excellent pint of Timothy Taylor’s Boltmaker. Arriving back at the ground about 19.00 l had to queue at the turnstile, an encouraging sign
This Enfield club is the original that the majority of their fan base deserted to form Enfield Town after their original Southbury Road stadium was controversially sold for redevelopment back in 1999. Since then the club has led a nomadic existence playing at, if I’m not mistaken, seven different grounds. This season sees them starting ground-sharing at an eighth ground at Potters Bar Town’s Lantern Stadium.
The Lantern Stadium is a decent non league ground, fully railed with hard standing on all four sides. On the clubhouse and turnstile touchline are two good sized seated stands. At each end there is a small AtCost stand providing covered standing. The dug out touchline has an uncovered three step terrace running the length of the pitch. The clubhouse has a bar and a hospitality room. Between the clubhouse and the pitch is an area with picnic tables and there’s a tea bar serving hot food and drinks,
This evening’s cup tie matched Step 5 Enfield, relegated last season, against Step 4 Welwyn Garden City. Garden City dominated much of the first half but Enfield defended well. On twenty-five minutes the hosts, somewhat against the run of play, took the lead. A Joni Vikaj free kick from the right was turned in at near post by, according to Enfield’s X poster, a Garden City defender, 1-0. Just four minutes into the second half Garden City were reduced to ten men. A coming together just off the pitch led to a scuffle and Garden City’s right back Egan Ntege was rather harshly shown a red card. The visitors continued to dominate much of the game but Enfield were dangerous on the break. In the seventy-eighth minute a ball over the last defender sent Kuba Ollivererre clear. The attacker ran on and unleashed an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box, 2-0. That’s how it finished with Enfield claiming local bragging rights and a tie in the Preliminary Round away at Hashtag United.
A quick getaway at full time, two junctions of the M25 and I was in my hotel in fifteen minutes.

[Rhodes]

Links to FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round match programmes where found:

Friday 7 August – (kick off 7.45pm)

FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round

Enfield FC 2 Welwyn Garden City 0

Saturday 8 August – (all kick off 3.00pm)

FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round

Abingdon United v Risborough Rangers

Baldock Town v Kempston Rovers

https://www.canva.com/design/DAHRbyqENB0/bLROimK21yYJncJb8k7TYQ/view?utm_content=DAHRbyqENB0&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=hfd6b5eda89

Biggleswade United v Woodford Town

https://mcp-cdn-fja5bvhth4eqercf.z01.azurefd.net/images/FileUploads/1382/180946/Woodford Town FA Cup Aug 2026_20260806_153047_0000_compressed.pdf

Cockfosters v Potton United

Everett Rovers v Kings Langley

Harlow Town v Frenford (at Frenford FC)

Harpenden Town v Hayes & Yeading United

Ilford v Dunstable FC

Newport Pagnell Town v Marlow FC

North Greenford United v Arlesey Town 

https://www.northgreenfordutdfc.co.uk/downloads/northgreenford/02---Arlesey-Town-Programme---8.8.26.pdf

Reading City v Tring Athletic

Sawbridgeworth Town v AFC Welwyn

Tilbury v Wormley Rovers

https://indd.adobe.com/view/e9390d00-0260-4b1e-82c0-33da7d30e901

Wells City v Aylesbury Vale Dynamos

https://www.wellscityfc.org.uk/news/8-august-2026-matchday-programme-2991473.html

Witham Town v Colney Heath

https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/withamtown/d/documents.html?group_id=25150

Edited Monday at 09:55 by Rhodes

[Rhodes]

Well known groundhopper 'Tales From The Riverbank' from another Forum was also in attendance at the Lantern Stadium for the Friday night all Hertfordshire encounter:

Enfield 2 v 0 Welwyn Garden City - FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round.
Programme 36 pages £3.00 - Admission £10.00 (nc) - Att. 275.
Enjoyable contest but one where for the visitors, the evening grew progressively worse and worse and at the end there were many somewhat disappointed faces amongst the large group of visiting supporters who had travelled the short distance and made up at least half of the crowd.
The understanding was that there is/was a certain level of expectation amongst WGC and their supporters taking into account wholesale close season changes at managerial and personnel levels. They appointed Gavin Kelsey as their manager who last season took Cockfosters to the Vase final and also to the SSMLP POF. As is the norm at this level, many of the players who turned out for Cockfosters last season have followed Kelsey to WGC and a quick cross reference showed that there were three times as many players (6/2) who played for Kelsey's former team at Wembley less than three months prior in the above mentioned final than what actually played for Cockfosters at Sawbridgeworth on Tuesday evening.
Being relegated from the SLM division last season normally means a complete overhaul of players but the same cross referencing saw that there were five Enfield players that started on this occasion that also played back in March when they were seen being beaten by Hitchin Town. The managers notes in the programme gave the distinct impression that there was not a huge amount of confidence in the current squad and he 'offered no illusions, we are nowhere near the finished article'. Comments almost certainly based on the fact that Enfield's opening two matches had seen them lose both.
Maybe it was the age old reference to 'the magic of the FA Cup' but there was little indication that the hosts had made such a poor start to their season and that the visitors with their new 'successful' team impressed in their opening game. Despite the visitors having the majority of possession, they continuously frustrated, barely having a shot on goal and floundering against a surprisingly effective Enfield defence. The visitors only truly threatened after they were numerically reduced and even then it was a matter of constant high crosses that were constantly cleared or were caught by the magnetic gloves of George Edgeworth.
For long periods of the contest, WGC impressed on the flanks but their crosses simply could not locate any openings with deliveries from Reece Mosanya and Luca Gordon being marginally out of reach of Kendall Gyamfi, the latter being the only WGC forward who carried any tangible threat. If only he had players in a supporting role.
For the hosts it was a question of being patient and they took the lead when a free kick sent over from the right by Luke Clark saw Joni Vukaj swing a boot at the delivery and although from this angle, if he did obtain a touch it was at best faint, however the ball ended up in the net almost certainly via a WGC defender.
The WGC response to falling behind was to maintain the levels of possession and pressure that they had exerted earlier, but it was to no great effect as virtually every attempt on goal was from Gyamfi who was unable to direct goalwards, heading twice wide on the rare occasions that he got the better of the home defence. Mosanya at least directed a shot on target but it was aimed straight at Edgeworth who uncharacteristically punched clear rather than catch. The direction of travel of a relatively entertaining first half failed to reflect the fact that the hosts were in front.
The visitors evening deteriorated further in the earliest minutes of the second half when Egan Ntege for the visitors and Clark clashed on the touchline with the former aiming a kick at the latter when on the ground and with the referee deeming the action to be 'dangerous play' he brandished the red card to a disbelieving Ntege.
Playing with a numerical deficit did not overly phase the visitors, however their attacks continued to be a succession of long crosses which were dealt with or on the rare occasions Gyamfi was able to reach it was still the case that he could not direct his efforts goalwards. Edgeworth continued to be an insurmountable barrier and dealt with ease to save efforts from Gordon and Cantello.
For all of their defensive qualities, Enfield were the better team where it actually mattered and they doubled their lead just after the halfway moment of the second half had been reached with a typical counter attack where Vukaj sensibly angled a pass forward to the onrushing Quba Olivierre who showed excellent composure to angle his shot into the left hand corner beyond Connor Sansom's dive.
For the remaining twenty or so minutes, the WGC attack continued to become ever more frustrated never actually varying their attacking approach and the substitutions that they made had little to no effect. Gyamfi continued to plough a solitary attacking furrow heading wide from a good position, but as was the case previously the home defence admirably dealt with the endless long crosses from the visitors. In fact the hosts could have increased their advantage still further when Clark broke away on the left in the final minutes of a somewhat elongated period of stoppage time, rounded Sansom but ultimately was defeated by the narrowness of the angle that was available and he shot into the side netting. Ultimately, an outcome that was hardly expected pre match but maybe the fact that on this occasion the fact that this was the hosts third competitive match of the season gave them the slight advantage over the visitors for whom this was their first competitive match.
A very quick and quite unscientific check of the app showed that Potters Bar was the eighth venue that Enfield have been seen at as they continue their nomadic tour of Hertfordshire groundshares, it always surprises that there are still several supporters and officials who were involved with the club when they were much higher in the food chain playing at Southbury Road. Dave B recollected on the journey back when they played in front of over thirty thousand in an FA Cup replay against Barnsley at White Hart Lane. Those days are long gone and the likelihood of the current Enfield team being able to play back in the borough is slim at best.
This turned out to be a longer day than is normally the case with an invasive and uncomfortable surgical procedure in SS9 early in the morning. Probably not the best idea to plough on as if nothing had occurred but as is so often the case, if the will is willing. Restful times were had under a large tree in a Potters Bar open space which was littered by shed twigs and branches as the tree population attempt to deal with the perpetual heat. The slowest of slow pints of Northumbrian Gold (again) was to be had at The Admiral Byng (JDW) before the traipse up The Walk up towards the ground.
With far less time available than was expected due to the long period of stoppage time, the mutual hobblings took full advantage that the surface down the walk towards Potters Bar station is almost entirely downhill. Just managed to board the scheduled train and with excellent connections at Alexandra Palace. Harringay/Harringay Green Lanes and Barking The Riverbank threshold was crossed with twenty minutes of Friday remaining.

[Rhodes]

The, on the whole, disappointing Extra Preliminary Round results on Saturday: 

Saturday 8 August 

FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round

Abingdon United 1 Risborough Rangers 2

Baldock Town 3 Kempston Rovers 0

Biggleswade United 0 Woodford Town 1

Cockfosters 2 Potton United 2

Everett Rovers 0 Kings Langley 0

Harlow Town 0 Frenford 1 (at Frenford FC)

Harpenden Town 1 Hayes & Yeading United 3

Ilford 1 Dunstable FC 2

Newport Pagnell Town 2 Marlow FC 2

North Greenford United 6 Arlesey Town 0

Reading City 1 Tring Athletic 0

Sawbridgeworth Town 4 AFC Welwyn 2

Tilbury 2 Wormley Rovers 0

Wells City 3 Aylesbury Vale Dynamos 0

Witham Town 2 Colney Heath 1

[Winslow Boy]

Arlesey are really struggling. With Darren Ward there I had assumed they must have a good budget for him but it’s not looking good at the moment. 

[Rhodes]

35 minutes ago, Rhodes said:

Saturday 8 August 
FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round
Everett Rovers 0 Kings Langley 0

A groundhopper from another Forum was in attendance at Dodd Road:

FA Cup EPR
Dodds Road - new tick
Everett Rovers 0 (0) Kings Langley 0 (0)
Admission: £5 (conc) Paper online Attendance: 200+ (nothing official yet)
A 100-mile drive to NW Watford for this local derby between two Spartan South Midlands Premier sides. You can only access the club by car from the Northbound A41.
The last time I saw Kings Langley was a pre-season when they were at Step 3 - different times. The homesters are at Step 5 for the first time since forming. The old grass pitch, running parallel to the A41 is now a training area and they migrated to a 3G in 2023 which is the other side of the clubhouse. It's only a 2-sided affair with more work needed to stay at Step 5, mainly more seats. The single-storey Clubhouse is nice with a bar and function room (being used for a birthday party) and an enclosed area with picnic tables. The pitch is at a slightly higher level to the West but only 30yds away and is a multi-use one with all sorts of coloured lines on it.
As to the game...this broke my run of 40 games without the dreaded pair of spectacles. I reckon one third of my 0-0's have involved a missed/saved Penalty and so this came to pass here. On 13' a mass melee in the home box saw three attempts at goal, three cries for handball and the Referee agreed with the last appeal and awarded a spot-kick. He also red-carded the culprit. A very poor kick was palmed away by the home 'keeper. To be fair, Kings always looked more likely to score in a tight game and they hit the goal frame 5 times, saw several shots blocked by some sensational defending and had a shot cleared off the line. Rovers had their moments too, hitting the frame twice (once in the last minute!) but the remainder of the game was of a fairly poor standard.
A fair few from up the road, it's a shame we had no goals, but a new tick is always a good thing. Home in 135' via M25/M40/Marlow/M4/RWB/Calne.