Kian Gadsby
The FA Cup returned on the 29th November, with 40 teams from the lower levels of English football hoping to be in the hat for the third round. The second round always throws up some exciting ties with upset potential, and these match ups may end up being the stories of the round.
Stockport County vs Brackley Town
Stockport County are flying high in League One following their recent promotion, currently sitting in the top 6. However, they have had inconsistent form recently, suffering a 0-5 defeat at home to Wycombe Wanderers before beating Bolton 5-0 the next match. Stockport’s FA Cup form is also inconsistent, last year they went out to National League side Aldershot in the second round following a replay.
Brackley Town sit firmly in midtable in the National League North, but they are also only 3 points off the play-off spots, with at least one game in hand on all the sides above them. The Saints did progress past National League side Braintree on penalties to reach the second round.
Stockport and Brackley both spent time in the National League North together from 2013 to 2019. Brackley were a frequent thorn in County’s side, beating The Hatters in key fixtures to damage their promotion hopes in both 2018 and especially in 2019 with a 0-1 victory at Edgeley Park. With four players still in their squad from that 2019 victory, Brackley will be hoping to pull off an upset and further cement their reputation as a bogey team to Stockport County.
Burton Albion vs Tamworth
The part time Lambs will be waiting nervously on Tom Tonk’s availability, as the defender is due to see his child born the weekend of the match.
Tamworth also made it into my first round preview, where a long throw from Tom Tonks meant that they progressed past Huddersfield. That victory means that Tamworth at the time of writing have the same number of victories against League One sides this season as their League One opponents, who are firmly in the relegation zone. The part time Lambs will be waiting nervously on Tom Tonk’s availability, as the defender is due to see his child born the weekend of the match.
Burton Albion have had a torrid start to the League One season despite bringing in 23 new faces this summer. Manager Mark Robinson was sacked recently, so at the time of writing they are still searching for a new boss. Burton unconvincingly beat Scunthorpe 1-0 in the first round, and if they don’t improve quickly, Tamworth could pull off another upset.
Solihull Moors vs Bromley
Any football fans who have experience of losing at Wembley know how much that feeling hurts. Imagine then supporting Solihull Moors, who lost there twice in a week on penalties last season, including the National League play off final against Bromley.
This fixture represents the best chance for Moors to get their revenge, especially against an out of form Bromley side who are languishing near the bottom of the table. Striker Michael Cheek will once again be the dangerman for the Ravens, having scored twice in the game at Wembley and having 9 goals in League Two this season.
Kettering Town vs Doncaster Rovers
The 7th division side are the FA Cup’s all-time top goal scorers, and boast former Celtic striker Gary Hooper, who has Champions League pedigree.
Kettering were one of the stories of the first round, shocking local rivals Northampton Town 1-2 with ex-Premier League striker Nial Ranger scoring the winner. The 7th division side are the FA Cup’s all-time top goal scorers, and boast former Celtic striker Gary Hooper, who has Champions League pedigree. They will hope to combine their experience with the young, local talents of first round goalscorer Luca Miller to cause another upset.
Their opponents Doncaster are currently flying high in League Two, with only goal difference keeping them out of the automatic promotion places. They will also be relying on a veteran striker to score goals for them in 38-year-old Billy Sharp, who has 5 league goals this season. Rovers may also look to rotate with 5 games within the next two weeks, creating the opportunity for Kettering to once again create headlines.
Kian Gadsby
Featured image courtesy of [@fancycrave] via [Unsplash]. Image use license found here (Unsplash). No changes were made to this image.
In article image 1 courtesy of [stockportcounty] via [Instagram]. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 2 courtesy of [tamworthfc] via [Instagram]. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 3 courtesy of [theathleticfc] via [Instagram]. No changes were made to this image.
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