Cup Draws

It looks as though some balls were put into a fancy felt hat and drawn whilst I was away as Cheadle Town know their opponents in two of the cup competitions for next season. Actually, I wonder if the NWCFL's budget stretches to a fancy felt hat and wooden balls to do their cup draws...you know, like what the FA used to use in the "good ol' days" before they got celebs to pluck the balls out of a plastic cauldron that jiggles them about a bit. Perhaps the NWCFL just use folded up pieces of paper with the teams written on them, all strategically placed into and subsequently drawn out of an IKEA mixing bowl.

I digress.

I had mixed emotions all round when I saw the two cup draws. In the Division Two Trophy, Cheadle Town have been given a home tie but have been pitted against their bogey team par excellence, Holker Old Boys. Cheadle enter that competition at the second round phase with that tie being played, weather permitting, on Saturday 22nd December.

The League Challenge Cup has sent us away to Eccleshall, scene of a quite remarkable away match last season where Cheadle claimed a 2-1 win in a torrential downpour and in two inches of mud. Again, Cheadle enter this competition in the second round with the tie being played on Saturday 10th November. I'm already ruled out of this one as I'm at a wedding.

This leaves the FA Cup, FA Vase and Cheshire Senior Cup ties to be sorted out. Polardin and I have discussed our "wish list" for these and it's "a good, long journey and day out", "somebody easy at home so we can have a bit of a cup run" and "Altrincham away" respectively.