THE ROAD TO WEMBLEY CONTINUES WITH THE BUILDBASE FA VASE FOURTH ROUND

Saturday 5 January 
Godmanchester Rovers v Sporting Khalsa
Irlam v Cadbury Athletic
Hebburn Town v Shepshed Dynamo
Newcastle Benfield v Northwich Victoria
Sunderland RCA v West Auckland Town
Coventry United v Leicester Nirvana
Deeping Rangers v Eastwood Community 
Histon v Lye Town
Willand Rovers v Hamworthy United
AFC Uckfield Town v Windsor
Cribbs v Sholing
Bearsted v Abbey Rangers 
Chertsey Town v AFC St Austell
Cray Valley (PM) v Baffins Milton Rovers

Sunday 6 January
Canterbury City v Newport Pagnell Town 
Biggleswade FC v Stowmarket Town


TEAMS LEFT IN BY LEAGUE 
(and their current league position)

STEP FIVE

COMBINED COUNTIES LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION
Chertsey Town - 1st place 
Abbey Rangers - 4th place

THURLOW NUNN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION 
Godmanchester Rovers - 1st place 
Histon - 2nd place 
Stowmarket Town - 3rd place 

UNITED COUNTIES LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION  
Deeping Rangers - 6th place  
Leicester Nirvana - 9th place 
Newport Pagnell Town - 15th place

HELLENIC LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION
Windsor - 13th place 

NORTHERN LEAGUE DIVISON ONE
Hebburn Town - 5th place 
West Auckland Town - 6th place
Sunderland RCA - 7th place 
Newcastle Benfield - 9th place 

NORTH WEST COUNTIES LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION
Northwich Victoria - 6th place  
Irlam - 12th place 

MIDLAND FOOTBALL LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION
Shepshed Dynamo - 5th place  
Sporting Khalsa - 6th place 
Coventry United - 12th place 
Lye Town - 14th place 

SOUTHERN COMBINATION PREMIER DIVISION 
AFC Uckfield - 12th place 

SOUTHERN COUNTIES EAST LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION
Cray Valley (PM) - 5th place 
Bearsted - 7th place 
Canterbury City - 9th place 

SPARTAN SOUTH MIDLANDS LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION 
Biggleswade FC - 1st place 

WESSEX LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION
Sholing - 1st place 
Baffins Milton Rovers - 6th place  
Hamworthy United - 7th place 

WESTERN LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION
Willand Rovers - 1st place 
Cribbs - 13th place 

STEP SIX

EAST MIDLANDS COUNTIES LEAGUE 
Eastwood Community - 5th place 

SOUTH WEST PENINSULA PREMIER DIVISION 
AFC St Austell - 4th place 

MIDLAND FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION ONE
Cadbury Athletic - 5th place

The FA Vase continues with the Fourth Round games being played next weekend. Two games are played on Sunday due to the home club's landlords being at home on the Saturday. Canterbury City host Newport Pagnell Town at Faversham Town's Salters Lane and Biggleswade FC host Stowmarket Town at Langford Road. 

Three teams from Step Six remain in Eastwood Community who visit Deeping Rangers, AFC St Austell who make the long trip to play Chertsey Town who are top of the Combined Counties League Premier Division and Cadbury Athletic who are currently 5th in the Total Motion Midland League Division One - they travel to Irlam who are currently in mid-table of the North West Counties Premier Division. 

Sholing are the only previous winners of the competition having won in 2014 against West Auckland Town who are one of four Northern League teams left in the competition. They travel to another Sunderland RCA with Hebburn Town and Newcastle Benfield also represented. 

You have to go back to 2008 for the last final not to have a Northern League side involved when Kirkham & Wesham (now known at AFC Fylde) beat Lowestoft Town. Of those ten finals since a Northern League side has won nine with only last year's winner's Thatcham Town then of the Hellenic League Premier Division the odd one out. 

Sholing, known as The Boatmen, spent one season (14/15) at Step 4 after their final win but were demoted back down to the Wessex Premier due to ground grading criteria and have since finished 2nd, 3rd and 3rd positions. They look well placed this season being top of the table by    points and unbeaten in their league fixtures. In fact their only defeat in all competitions came in the FA Cup to Vanarama South side Slough Town whom they took to extra-time in a replay. 

The game we will focus on is the Biggleswade FC v Stowmarket Town fixture which sees the SSFML Premier Division table topper's host The Old Gold and Blacks who are currently third in their table having been thought by many as title favourites prior to the season kicking off. They were extremely unlucky not to achieve promotion to step four last season having finished with 103 points - they were beaten by Fleixstowe and Walton on 109 points and Coggeshall Town on 115 points. 

The Suffolk side already have two supporter's coaches fully sold out with a third very nearly full so it's going to be a very well attended game. They have many players in Manager Rick Andrew's squad who have played above step five including centre forward Ollie Canfer (Bury Town and AFC Sudbury), Remi Garrett (Bury Town), Leon Ottley-Gooch (Bury Town and Leiston) and Robbie Lee-Sweeney (who played at Norwich City and Stevenage FC as an academy player). Josh Mayhew who scored 56 goals last season has signed a two year contract with the club in the summer has also played for Bury Town in the Isthmian League. 

Biggleswade FC were only formed in 2016 from the very successful Biggleswade Town FC's under 18 side. They won the SSMFL Division One at the first attempt and ended in fifth place last season. Dave Northfield and Mark Inskip along with coaching staff James Petty, Dave Bass and Gary Salisbury have developed an exciting squad of young players over the past few seasons. 

Alex Marsh (who spent time with Rushden and Diamonds and Peterborough United as a youth player) has scored 16 goals so far this season with former Eynesbury Rover's player Tom Coles on 14 goals. Alex's twin brother Lawrie is also a key member of the squad. Lee Northfield, who has been with the club from formation and played in the successful BTFC under 18s side, is another player to look out for. 

FC were knocked out at the same stage last season to the eventual winner's Thatcham Town who narrowly beat them 2-1 at their Waterside Park home and in their debut season in 16/17 reached the second round where they were beaten by Peterborough Sports in the second round. 

Stowmarket's best performance prior to this season came back in the 1982/83 season when they were beaten by Wivenhoe Town in the Fourth Round. They spent 2005 to 2017 in Division One of the Thurlow Nunn Eastern Counties League - they now have aspirations of moving up the football pyramid which for a town with a population of around 19,000 is achievable with some hard work both on and off the pitch - If Leiston (population around 5,000) can do it there is no reason The Old Gold and Blacks can't? 

BIGGLESWADE FC's BUILDBASE FA VASE RUN FOR 2018/19

2nd Round - NORWICH CBS  W 3-1 
(Lee Northfield, Michael Carroll and Lawrie Marsh) 
Att - 85

3rd Round - Tring Athletic D 1-1 
(Lee Northfield) 
Att - 239 

3rd Round Replay - TRING ATHLETIC D 0-0 (5-3 pks) 
Att - 138 

STOWMARKET TOWN'S BUILDBASE FA VASE RUN FOR 2018/19 

1st Round - HARPENDEN TOWN W 5-0 
(Ollie Canfer 2, Josh Mayhew and Sam Nunn) 
Att - 231 

2nd Round - BALDOCK TOWN W 3-1 
(Ollie Canfer 2 and Max Melanson) 
Att - 234 

3rd Round - Swaffham Town D 0-0 
Att - 325 

3rd Round Replay - SWAFFHAM TOWN W 2-1 
(Scott Chaplin and Sam Nunn) 
Att - 363 

THE NORTHERN LEAGUE HAS DOMINATED THE FA VASE OF LATE - WILL IT BE ONE OF THESE TEAMS WHO WIN THIS YEAR OR ANOTHER TEAM FROM ANOTHER LEAGUE?