Shrimpers struggles set to continue
Boreham Wood 2.01/1 v Southend 4.03/1; the draw 4.03/1
Saturday November 7, 15:00 kick-off
Boreham Wood think the world of Thomas Sorba, their 21-year-old striker – and so do a host of Football League clubs apparently. He’ll only leave, says chairman Danny Hunter, if their valuation is met. Charlton failed to do so before the transfer deadline.
Sorba has come through the Academy system at the mid-table National League club. He hasn’t scored yet this season for boss Luke Gerrard. Agitating for a move, he pulled out of a midweek game to try to force one, but returned as a substitute as Wood beat Wimborne at Meadow Park in the last round. He’ll know the FA Cup is a huge opportunity to make his mark.
The striker will no doubt have heard about the joys of the FA Cup from midfield Mark Ricketts, 36, a former Woking captain – although not in the club’s biggest cup heydays – and the bright lights of the Football League from fellow striker Matt Rhead (Lincoln and Mansfield) and defender Jamal Fyfield (York City). Several others started in Football League academies.
Sorba has to ensure he keeps his head in the right place to start, alongside Kabongo Tshimanga, 23, who netted against Wimborne.
A cup upset depends on many factors, but a team struggling at the foot of any division should be examined to see if they are ripe for plucking. A minus 20 goal difference suggests so.
A 3-0 defeat at Bradford City on Tuesday – a 14th game without a win – prompted Southend skipper Jason Demetriou to demand a “massive reaction” in the FA Cup. The nickname The Blues has never seemed to have fitted better, after two points in 11 League Two games.
Off-field struggles – the Shrimpers have recently settled a six-figure tax debt and have had a transfer embargo – haven’t helped. An honest and frank discussion in the dressing room at Valley Parade on Tuesday might have done. Boss Mark Molesley hopes absent midfielder Kyle Taylor and defender Richard Taylor can return soon.
Demetriou has scored one of just five Southend league goals this season. Also, only one of Southend’s goals has been away. Strikers Brandon Goodship and Emile Acquah, who have a goal each, will be eager to prove their worth.
Men against boys – against another struggling team – was one of the kinder comments by fans after Tuesday night. One even suggested it had been shrewd to appoint a manager with non-league experience because the club was heading that way. Molesley admits he fears the sack – putting it down to the nature of football. Defeat could be the final straw.
The host club have put unnecessary pressure on themselves by limiting the number of journalists in an empty stadium, quoting Covid. But the layers sense the hosts can win, pricing them at even money, and Opta add encouragement. Southend have lost five of their last six First Round matches. Wood beat Blackpool at this stage in 2017, one of four from 14 First Round wins. I’ll be taking the price on the home win.
Stalemate on the cards
Barrow 2.942/1 v AFC Wimbledon 2.47/5; the draw 3.613/5
Saturday November 7, 15:00 kick-off
A little bird tells me (he thinks) AFC Wimbledon are often over-priced in League One, making them good for draw no bet plays. They certainly seem to play tight games. The worst they have done this season is to lose by a goal. Mid-table after a couple of seasons of struggle, two away wins and three draws from six (scoring six and conceding five) gives them a better points tally than at home and demonstrates the narrowness of results.
Barrow will have to be fully awake to the goal threat of not only established EFL striker Joe Piggott but Ryan Longman, on loan from Brighton.
And the Bluebirds have drawn at home quite a bit – five teams this season. They developed a goal flurry, too, netting nine teams in three games before beating Bradford 1-0 at home, then losing at Grimsby on Tuesday by the same score. Holker Street would definitely have been rocking had fans been allowed in.
David Dunn has felt for a while his side have been improving and deserved their recent wins. They have only kept one clean sheet though, so Scott Quigley, top scorer in their non-league success, will be keen to return to bolster the attacking strengths of Dior Angus, whose goals are supplemented at present by midfielders Mike Jones and Josh Kay.
Pegging back on their big night back in Wimbledon on Tuesday, by Doncaster who equalised twice, The Wombles will have to be at their foraging best for chances and should appreciate the chance of a draw, from where anything could happen in a shoot-out.
Solihull to inflict another defeat on the Iron
Scunthorpe 2.26/5 v Solihull Moors 4.03/1; the draw 3.613/5
Sunday November 8, 12:00 kick-off
Anyone looking for an underdog to win away at a Football League club should consider Solihull Moors at Glanford Park, although it does seem like kicking a dog when it’s down.
The Iron’s season has been interrupted by Covid-19. Their last three games have been postponed. A severely under-strength team lost their last game at Exeter. That compounded a wretched start to the season. They are second bottom of League Two with four points (gained in the first three games), with five winless games since. They have scored just four times in eight matches.
Strikers who have scored – Aaron Jarvis and Ryan Loft – and others will be eager to put things right, but Solihull seem in a whole lot more confident mood.
On the one hand, the National League season started even later – October – than the Football League one, putting non-league clubs behind on match sharpness. But they seem to be on the up. Moors manager Jimmy Shan, appointed towards the end of the aborted last season, has set his sights on promotion from the National League, if not winning the division.
They are fifth at present, comprehensively seeing off teams at home, but winless away. During pre-season, recruit Adam Rooney tutored a trialist – not even a squad player. And that, says Shan, shows the great attitude and character of experienced recruits such as him, Jamie Ward and Stephen Gleeson to help develop the bigger picture. The first two have played one game apiece, but have clearly been integral and valued.
King’s Lynn felt the full impact of young Villa loanee Cameron Archer in a 5-0 win. Krystian Pearce‘s arrival adds experience at the back. The team beat Wrexham 4-0 in the last round, Joe Sbarra‘s double helping.
There might be only a couple of players left from last year and the season might be a little more embryonic, but that cup pedigree gives them the chance to be the underdogs travelling away to a Football League host who have a chance of winning.
Solihull are aiming to make the second round for a third year running. They haven’t actually beaten League opposition yet, drawing three and losing four point out Opta. This could be their chance. The odds, at 4.03/1, suggest they are not massive outsiders.
Outsiders can make a game of it
Maldon & Tiptree 7.5 v Morecambe 1.42/5; the draw 5.59/2
Sunday November 8, 12.45 kick-off, BBC and BT digital platforms
For a while it looked like Maldon & Tiptree, a Step 8 club, wouldn’t be allowed to train on Thursday night as usual, because of lockdown restrictions. Meanwhile Morecambe, as an elite level club, could train whenever they liked. Similarly, Maldon would not have been able to train for the second round, should they win this. Further clarification came that the minnows could act as if under elite rules, until they went out of the competition.
There’s something of unfinished business here for the Jammers. Last season, they beat Leyton Orient away before losing only late on to cup kings Newport, in front of television at home.
One wonders if Ed Garty regrets quitting as chairman a month ago, launching a broadside at the Isthmian League and FA for voiding last season entirely, with his club the runaway leaders of division north. He’d put in 10 years as chief.
They are second again this season, cup success leaving them behind on games. The team is much changed from last year, practically bar keeper Ben McNamara, although Billy Cracknell and Hamza Kaid have progressed from substitute status.
Adam Vyse is the new hitman, netting six in 12 games. Morecambe won’t want to give away free kicks just outside the box, or leave him unmarked at corners. Shomari Barnwell isn’t far behind, with five. Boss Wayne Brown seems to have set them up similarly to last year, for league and cup successes.
Morecambe will be wary, not least because their away form took a bashing recently, losing at Crawley and Carlisle, before winning 1-0 at traumatised Tranmere who sacked their boss afterwards. Opta also point out they have lost six of their last seven first round matches, going out on two of the three occasions they have faced non-league teams.
Jordan Slew has yet to score for the visitors and is not to be confused with Jerome Slew, who was the hosts’ hero last season but is no longer there. Maybe this will be his chance. I am sure Adam Phillips, who has five goals, will want to add to his tally, too, and Aaron Wildig recapture the rave reviews he received as the Shrimps climbed to the top of League Two earlier this season. Could the hosts earn a draw and take the game to penalties? Don’t dismiss the idea.
Source: Betfair FA cup
