Teams may be jostling for position in the early stages of the Counties Championship season, but it’s worth remembering that there’s another prize at stake for our 48 teams. With its knockout format and potential for upsets, it really is anybody’s guess who will be lifting the County Cup at the end of the campaign.
Last week, we summarised the first round of cup fixtures and saw the dreams of 16 teams killed before they had a chance to be born. Their conquerors will now be joined in the competition by some of the favourites, including Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, and the two London teams.
Seconds out, Round 2!
ROUND 2 DRAW
As a reminder, here is the draw for the second round of cup fixtures:
East Yorkshire vs Norfolk
Kent vs West Yorkshire
North London vs Bedfordshire
County Durham vs Berkshire
Buckinghamshire vs Staffordshire
Oxfordshire vs Hampshire
Tyne & Wear vs Cheshire
Bristol vs West Midlands
Somerset vs Gloucestershire
Derbyshire vs Hertfordshire
Leicestershire vs Cambridgeshire
South London vs Merseyside
North Yorkshire vs Essex
Lincolnshire vs Greater Manchester
Shropshire vs Cumbria
Lancashire vs Nottinghamshire
I’m sure a fair few of you will be interested in seeing who prevails between South London and Merseyside. Another match that looks very tasty on paper is Buckinghamshire vs Staffordshire, while the all-eastern contest between Derbyshire and Hertfordshire has also piqued my interest.
But what about the early Counties Championship pacesetters? Greater Manchester should have no problems in despatching Lincolnshire from the competition, but Essex might be pushed close by North Yorkshire. The West Midlands are narrowly expected to see off their divisional rivals from Bristol, but Keith Curle’s side always have the potential to cause an upset.
So let’s move forward to Tuesday 20 September and see how these matches pan out…
ROUND 2 RESULTS
EAST YORKSHIRE 0-3 NORFOLK
This meeting between two teams who were struggling in their divisions was statistically very close. The scoreline told a different story, though, as East Yorkshire failed to take their chances, while Norfolk were clinical in the first half.
New Zealand-based striker Sam Mason-Smith started and ended the East Anglians’ scoring run with goals in the 2nd and 39th minute. Former Norwich youngster Todd Cantwell also helped himself to a goal as Paul Warne’s side breezed into Round 3.
KENT 2-2 WEST YORKSHIRE [West Yorkshire win 4-3 on penalties]
Kent threw this tie away, make no mistake. They had held a commanding 2-0 lead just five minutes into the second half, as midfield destroyer Ben Thompson struck to complement the early opener he’d set up for Conor Washington.
Then complacency set in, allowing West Yorkshire to get back into contention. Having pulled one goal back in the 67th minute, Clayton Donaldson completed his county’s fightback two minutes from the end. Thompson’s clearance was intercepted by Tom Clarke, who pumped it forward for Donaldson to break away and score.
A goalless half-hour of extra-time followed, meaning that the teams would need to be separated by penalties. Kent cracked when it mattered most, as Ryan Bertrand and Wayne Routledge saw their penalties saved by Alex Smithies, who was hailed as West Yorkshire’s goalkeeping hero.
NORTH LONDON 1-2 BEDFORDSHIRE
Bedfordshire sprung an almighty shock in Holloway, as North London fell at their first cup hurdle. The hosts had fallen behind after 24 minutes to Keshi Anderson’s powerful strike, but Jermain Defoe soon restored parity with a bullet header from Raheem Sterling’s cross.
However, the Londoners would be undone by a stunning Bedfordshire breakaway just before the hour mark. Yannick Bolasie’s through-ball was cut out by Beds skipper Ciaran Clark, whose long ball allowed Anderson to surge clear and score what proved to be the winner. What a result for Garry Monk and his boys!
COUNTY DURHAM 1-3 BERKSHIRE
Andy King was the star of the show for Berkshire as they broke County Durham’s hearts in Darlington. The Leicester midfield stalwart struck after 25 minutes from a square ball by Charlie Austin, who doubled Berks’ lead just before the break.
Though Harry Chapman flicked a header in off the woodwork to give Durham fresh hope in the 70th minute, it wasn’t to be. Just a couple of minutes later, Berkshire right-winger Theo Walcott surged past his marker and whipped a brilliant cross for King to head in the decisive goal.
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE 3-0 STAFFORDSHIRE
The Baldock brothers blossomed for Buckinghamshire as Staffordshire were terrorised during their brief cup adventure. On the right-wing, George Baldock served up a couple of assists – one for Matt Phillips just before half-time, and another for Simon Church just after.
Sam Baldock took centre stage later on, as he had the chance to put Bucks 3-0 up in the 70th minute after George was shoved by Lee Williamson. Though Sam saw his penalty saved by Matthew Jones, he would eventually beat the Staffordshire goalkeeper in stoppage time to make victory certain.
OXFORDSHIRE 2-3 HAMPSHIRE
After just 21 minutes, Oxfordshire were on course for Round 3 thanks to a brace for Matty Taylor. However, they would be undone by a great comeback from Hampshire, who’d restored parity by half-time through strikers Sam Vokes and Danny Ings.
A poor clearance from Oxon centre-back Jack King had contributed to Hampshire’s equaliser, and he would have to take some of the blame for their second-half winner. King’s inability to close Vokes down was punished when the Welsh international cut the ball back to James Ward-Prowse, whose rocket stunned the home fans into silence.
TYNE & WEAR 2-1 CHESHIRE [after extra-time]
Danny Graham had come off the bench to get Tyne & Wear through their first-round tie, and the nomadic Geordie would do the same here. A half-time replacement for Andy Carroll, Graham broke the deadlock about 15 minutes into the second period with a low finish past Cheshire goalie Tom Heaton.
Cheshire had struggled to compete with their hosts, but when Adam Le Fondre scored from distance in the dying moments against the run of play, extra-time beckoned. That was when Graham came alive again, volleying in Jack Colback’s cheeky chip to put Steve Bruce’s side through.
BRISTOL 1-1 WEST MIDLANDS [Bristol win 4-1 on penalties]
Despite being clear underdogs on their own ground, Bristol showed real character against the West Midlands. After Reuben Reid had given them a surprise lead in the 10th minute, they put all hands on deck to try and stop their more established opponents from equalising.
The Bristolian resistance was broken 11 minutes into the second half. Though Troy Deeney’s first shot from Rico Henry’s cross hit the post, the WM skipper scored from the rebound. A tempestuous match would see nine yellow cards – but no more goals.
Penalties would soon loom for the two sides. While Bristol held their nerve, the West Midlands didn’t, as Craig Gardner hit the post before Romaine Sawyers was denied by Jack Butland. Midfielder Ollie Clarke then put Bristol’s winning penalty away to complete the upset.
SOMERSET 1-1 GLOUCESTERSHIRE [Somerset win 10-9 on penalties]
Another all-West affair. Another 1-1 draw that went to penalties. Another tense battle which saw the poor referee reach for his yellow card nine times. No, actually, make that TEN, because Robert Madley gave two yellows to Somerset left-back Tyrone Mings just before the end of the initial 90 minutes.
At first, Gloucestershire took advantage of their extra man, as Tyler Roberts’ header put them ahead eight minutes into extra-time. After failing to kill their opponents off, though, they fell victim to a last-gasp Somerset counter-strike. Scott Sinclair sliced their defence open, and the experienced James Keene broke free to bring about penalties.
An epic shoot-out saw each team go through their line-up once, scoring from nine of their first 11 penalties. It came down to the 12th round… and after Sinclair scored his second spot-kick for Somerset, Joe Edwards missed his second for Gloucestershire. Ben Hamer’s save dealt a hammer blow to Ian Holloway and co.
DERBYSHIRE 1-0 HERTFORDSHIRE
Hertfordshire were perhaps the better team for most of this match, but they didn’t really display the same ruthlessness they had shown in the league. That was good news for their East rivals Derbyshire, who punished them in the second half.
The winner came after 50 minutes. Ben Osborn swung in a Derbyshire corner, and though visiting midfielder Harry Winks tried to nod it clear, he could only find Matty Palmer. The ex-Burton playmaker volleyed home, and Herts were broken.
LEICESTERSHIRE 2-1 CAMBRIDGESHIRE
Leicestershire took the lead on 18 minutes, as Che Adams surged through unchallenged after Cambridgeshire’s defence fell asleep. A Joe Mattock free-kick would later provide the hosts with their second goal, headed in by George Taft, but then things got a bit jittery.
Firstly, a couple of overzealous challenges led to Leicestershire’s teenage destroyer Hamza Choudhury seeing red just before half-time. Cambridgeshire had a full half to make the most of their extra man, and when Alex Revell scored on 59 minutes, the visitors began to believe. Alas, they were too wasteful in the final half-hour.
SOUTH LONDON 2-0 MERSEYSIDE
Merseyside blinked first late in the opening half of this clash of the titans, as South London striker Tammy Abraham got the better of goalkeeper Lee Nicholls. This annoyed the Scousers’ midfielder Joey Barton, who later put his latest Twitter feud with Piers Morgan on hold to trip up Abraham and collect a booking.
South London doubled their advantage eight minutes after the second half kicked off. Another of their teen starlets found the net, as Patrick Roberts unleashed a rocket from Michail Antonio’s set-up. Merseyside bowed out of the cup, though not before a cigarette-wielding Barton tried to pick fights with the entire population of Charlton.
NORTH YORKSHIRE 2-4 ESSEX
Not content with decimating everybody else in the East division, Essex took their goalscoring exploits further afield. They put FOUR goals past North Yorkshire in the first half, with Benik Afobe getting three assists before finding the net himself.
Though Steve McClaren could only watch on under his umbrella in the pouring Middlesbrough rain, it wasn’t all doom and gloom. Stewart Downing had got one goal back for the hosts amid that first-half torrent, and a second-half strike from the veteran winger deflected in off team-mate Ben Gibson. Not that those goals made any difference, mind.
LINCOLNSHIRE 0-4 GREATER MANCHESTER
Lincolnshire were always on a hiding to nothing against Greater Manchester, but even so, anything that could’ve gone wrong here did go wrong. By the sixth minute, they were already trailing 2-0 to a Danny Welbeck volley and a Phil Jagielka penalty.
Manchester eased off a bit later on, but they were back to their ruthless best by the closing stages, as Marcus Rashford claimed a brace from the right wing. To make things even worse for Lincolnshire, their star midfielder Sam Clucas tore his hamstring in the build-up to Rashford’s first goal and would be out until around December.
SHROPSHIRE 3-0 CUMBRIA
Cumbria’s poor form from the league continued into the cup, where they were no match for Shropshire. Things looked ominous for the visitors in the 13th minute, as Salop’s quick passing sliced them apart before Danny Guthrie powered in the opener.
The second half was all about Wales striker Tom Bradshaw, who scored twice after being superbly teed up by substitute winger Matty Done. Cumbria were done for, and they would make the long journey home with nothing to show for their efforts – except half a dozen yellow cards.
LANCASHIRE 0-1 NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
Is this a surprise? Hard to say, but I don’t think many people would have predicted Lancashire to exit the cup this early. Frankly, they were mediocre on home soil and deserved to go out to Nottinghamshire.
The decisive moment in an otherwise unmemorable match came midway through the first half. Notts captain Wes Morgan got his head to a corner from ex-Scotland winger Kris Commons, nodding it on for midfield playmaker Tom Cairney to finish at the far post.
ROUND 3 DRAW
Well, well, well. A fair few big names have fallen at their first hurdles, proving that the County Cup really is wide open. But what’s next for the sweet sixteen who have survived? Here’s what lies ahead of them in the next round in November:
Somerset vs Shropshire
Leicestershire vs Bedfordshire
West Yorkshire vs Hampshire
South London vs Buckinghamshire
Essex vs Nottinghamshire
Norfolk vs Greater Manchester
Derbyshire vs Tyne & Wear
Berkshire vs Bristol
Bristol’s reward for knocking out the West Midlands is an away tie – albeit a very winnable one – against Berkshire. I’m not sure Berks will be particularly looking forward to that at all.
South London have already seen their northern neighbours fall, so they’ll be wary of the attacking threat posed by Buckinghamshire. As for North London’s conquerors, Bedfordshire will go to Leicestershire in one of two all-East ties – the other involving division leaders Essex and mid-table Nottinghamshire.
Hampshire fans may be apprehensive about a long trip to West Yorkshire, particularly when they consider their opponents’ strong start to the North division season. Norfolk will have home advantage – but not much else – against a fearsome Greater Manchester frontline.
There are just three northern teams left in the competition, so the pressure will be on Tyne & Wear’s contingent of Geordies and Mackems against an unpredictable Derbyshire. The other tie in this round will see divisional foes Somerset and Shropshire clash in the south-west.
What did you make of that, eh? With North London and the West Midlands gone, who do you reckon are the new favourites to lift the County Cup?
We’ll return to the County Cup in a couple of weeks’ time. The Counties Championship resumes on Monday, when October’s results are revealed and the divisional tables start to take shape. I hope to see you then.
Fuller FM 
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