Magpies Cup Hopes Melt Away In First Half - Alresford Town vs. Cadbury Heath

There was a decent crowd at Alrebury Park

The next round of FA Cup qualifying came up last weekend and I decided to take in one of the ties between two step five sides. The tie in question was for the second weekend in a row, a clash between Wessex and Western League sides and pitted Alresford Town against Cadbury Heath. This was the first time I'd seen either side play although I had previously visited Winchester which is just down the road. Both sides were in lower mid table in their respective leagues but due to their cup runs, they had plenty of games in hand over the teams above them. Alresford needed a reply to get through the last round against Fareham and in the round before that they shocked Wimborne Town of The Southern League.

Kick off in front of rural back drop

Alresford have an early half chance when the attacker is found in the box with a cross from the left wing but his header is straight at the Cadbury keeper. That is as good as it sadly got for Alresford in the first half. Another left wing cross, this time at the opposite end is headed onto the bar via the Alresford keeper and the rebound is turned in from close range. Cadbury soon double their lead when the forward is played in on goal and despite the Alresford keeper getting a strong touch on the ball it still finds the back of the net. The visitors come close to adding to their lead as a free kick from out wide goes just wide of the target. Alresford have another headed half chance to reduce the deficit but there is too much on the close range header. Cadbury do get the third as the striker is played in over the top and he lashes the ball in to seemingly settle the tie.

Moments before the first goal

Both sides have half chances at the start of the second half as Alresford try to get back in the game but neither keeper is seriously tested. Alresford get the early goal they need as a cross to the back post is headed in from close range to get them back into the tie. A free kick out wide provides Alresford with another chance and this time the header goes just wide of the target. Cadbury Heath are now defending with their lives against wave after wave of Alresford attacks. Despite all their possession, Alresford don't get any closer to Cadbury Heath, the closest they come is from a corner but the header doesn't worry the keeper and Heath progress to the next round. 

Cadbury Heath winger tries to get hold of the ball

As I mentioned earlier, the closest station to Alresford is Winchester. Trains here depart from Waterloo, taking about an hour or so. Then if you walk through the town centre to the bus station you can catch 64 bus to the centre of Alresford with this portion of the trip taking twenty minutes. I can imagine Alresford would be even more attractive on a Summers day with the Watercress Line Station and waterside walks. The Globe has a good beer garden which looks out on The Old Alresford Pond. Just up the road is The Horse And Groom which had a decent selections of ales on hand pull. The Swan Hotel is the place to go if you want to watch the early kick off. The ground is then a five minute walk from The High Street. The clubhouse offers elevated views of the pitch and also had a couple of ales on which makes a pleasant change. For the trip back, Dave's Fish and Chips is hard to turn down as it's located right next to the bus stop.

The Cadbury Heath players celebrate in front of the stand