Worthington Cup [R]

[BrianCappellieri]

Worthington Cup Draw Date Announced (Bury FC) (http://www.buryfc.co.uk/today/view/breaking_news_detail/0,,10422~243902,00.html)

Wednesday July 24th (5am EST)
http://www.football-league.co.uk/

[BrianCappellieri]

Worthington Cup Round One Draw

Preliminary Round
Bristol Rovers vs. Boston United
(To be played Tuesday August 20th, kick-off 2:45pm EST)

Round One
Huddersfield Town vs. Darlington
Rotherham United vs. Carlisle United
Lincoln City vs. Stockport County
Wrexham vs. Bradford City
Grimsby Town vs. Chesterfield
Northampton Town vs. Wigan Athletic
Mansfield Town vs. Derby County
Oldham Athletic vs. Notts County
Sheffield United vs. York City
Preston North End vs. Scunthorpe United
Hull City vs. Leicester City
Hartlepool United vs. Tranmere Rovers
Nottingham Forest vs. Kidderminster Harriers
Burnley vs. Blackpool
Bury vs. Stoke City
Port Vale vs. Crewe Alexandra
Macclesfield Town vs. Barnsley
Sheffield Wednesday vs. Rochdale
Bristol City vs. Oxford United
Swindon Town vs. Wycombe Wanderers
Walsall vs. Shrewsbury Town
Rushden & Diamonds vs. Millwall
Leyton Orient vs. Queens Park Rangers
Cambridge United vs. Reading
Torquay United vs. Gillingham
Watford vs. Luton Town
Bournemouth vs. Brentford
Bristol Rovers or Boston United vs. Cardiff City
Norwich City vs. Cheltenham Town
Brighton & Hove Alibon vs. Exeter City
Crystal Palace vs. Plymouth Argyle
Swansea City vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers
Coventry City vs. Colchester United
Portsmouth vs. Peterborough United
Southend United vs. Wimbledon
(Ties will be played during the week of September 9th)

[JoBeck]

Rumor has it that Hull-Leicester is being considered to be a televised game because it could be a "giant-killing". :eek: Come on Foxes, bring the Cup back to Leicester!

[forest.clough]

Originally posted by JoBeck
Come on Foxes, bring the Cup back to Leicester! [/B] less than no chance !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JoBeck]

Come on, Harriers. Now that'll be the real giant-killing act.

[BrianCappellieri]

FT Bristol Rovers 0-2 Boston United
Ananova (http://www.ananova.com/sport/soccer/story/sm_654261.html?menu=sport.football)Boston earn Worthington Cup spot

Second half goals from Steve Burton and Simon Weatherstone gave Boston victory over Bristol Rovers in the Worthington Cup preliminary round.

[Peakite]

:confused:

How do we now have a preliminary round?

Same number of teams as before.

[forest.clough]

Originally posted by Luan
:confused:

How do we now have a preliminary round?

Same number of teams as before. ipswich got a surprise UEFA cup spot and therefore got a bye to round 4.which messed everything up.

[JoBeck]

The Pilgrims manage to stay in the League and get into the first round of the Cup... but they won't be in either for long.

[American Eagle]

With regards to giant-killings, what about Rushden & Diamonds against Millwall?

[JoBeck]

Good call, American Eagle, I didn't even catch that one the first time I looked at the draw.

[BrianCappellieri]

Bournemouth ? - ? Brentford
Bristol C. ? - ? Oxford U.
Burnley ? - ? Blackpool
Bury ? - ? Stoke C.
Cambridge U. ? - ? Reading
Grimsby T. ? - ? Chesterfield
Hartlepool U. ? - ? Tranmere R.
Huddersfield T. ? - ? Darlington
Hull C. ? - ? Leicester C.
Leyton Orient ? - ? Queens Park R.
Lincoln C. ? - ? Stockport County
Mansfield T. ? - ? Derby County
Northampton T. ? - ? Wigan Athletic
Norwich C. ? - ? Cheltenham
Oldham Athletic ? - ? Notts County
Port Vale ? - ? Crewe Alexandra
Portsmouth ? - ? Peterborough U.
Rotherham U. ? - ? Carlisle U.
Rushden & Diamonds ? - ? Millwall
Sheffield U. ? - ? York C.
Southend U. ? - ? Wimbledon
Torquay U. ? - ? Gillingham
Walsall ? - ? Shrewsbury T.
Watford ? - ? Luton T.
Wrexham ? - ? Bradford C.
Crystal Palace ? - ? Plymouth Argyle

Will Sky show some highlights?

[American Eagle]

Well, since I have no idea about the likes of Torquay v. Gillingham, I really can't make an informed decision about every last tie. However, I will offer a few opinions:

Game Most Likely to be a Rout: Mansfield v. Derby County

The Stags have given up nine goals in their last two games to second division opposition. Who will save them against a side only a year removed from the Premiership? Also, half the Mansfield team is on the bench with injuries. (Thank God for MatchTalk on BBC Radio Nottingham on www.socceraudio.com!)

Other games that scream whupping!

Rotherham (Near top of 1st division) v. Carlisle (Near bottom of 3rd), Bradford v. Wrexham, Southend v. Wimbledon

Potential Giant Killings (or at least surprise replays)

Rushden and Diamonds (top of third division) v. Millwall (not so hot in the first)

Also:
Crystal Palace v. Plymouth Argyle (as an American who traces ancestry back to Devon, I have to give some love to Argyle. Also, I like the sharp green and white kits.)

This being only the second round of what many (myself included) have called the Worthnothing Cup, in the whole scheme of things, it's not that big. Then again, what if one of these poor second division teams will money problems (Notts County, perhaps?) can make a run and host an Arsenal? It won't solve things, but maybe it will put a little dent in the problem.

[American Eagle]

Bad news:

The derby match between Watford and Luton Town has unfortunately erupted into violence. The match at Vicarage Road was delayed by 15 minutes by a group of Luton supporters who hopped over an advertisement and invaded the pitch, running to the opposite side and challenging the Watford support. At least one person left on a stretcher. A Luton supporter was reportedly brandishing a corner flag as a weapon. Very unfortunate.

[Peakite]

Originally posted by American Eagle


Potential Giant Killings (or at least surprise replays)

Rushden and Diamonds (top of third division) v. Millwall (not so hot in the first)

No replays in this - although Rushden did win that tie on penalties.

Biggest upset, Cheltenham winning 3-0 at Norwich.

[BrianCappellieri]

BBC (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/2249877.stm)Violence mars Watford tie

The Worthington Cup first-round tie between bitter rivals Watford and Luton was delayed by 15 minutes after violent scenes at Vicarage Road.

Trouble flared when dozens of travelling Luton fans ran onto the pitch to goad the home supporters.

Stewards were powerless to prevent Watford fans running the length of the pitch to confront those from Luton.

Stretchered away

Blows were exchanged, and one supporter needed treatment for a cut to the head before being stretchered away.

After police in riot gear emerged from the players' tunnel it took them five minutes to restore order and clear the pitch.

When play finally got under way, police and stewards formed a protective wall behind each goal, where both set of supporters hurled abuse at each other during the opening exchanges.

[American Eagle]

Well, I'm sorry that the Luton-Watford tie had to be screwed up by violence. Apparently, the two are big rivals that because of being in different divisions, haven't played each other in a long time. That certainly doesn't condone violence, though.

Let's see. One tie that I thought was a surprise was Wrexham 2, Bradford 1, especially since Wrexham is 16th place in the third division and Bradford 12th place in the first.

Another win for the Third Divison came from Leyton Orient, who beat QPR 3-2 in what was probably a very exciting show at Brisbane Road. The whole business of a potential Leicester giant-killing seemed within grasp when they went to extra time 1-1, but the Foxes put three in to effectively end the match in the next 10 minutes.

I almost got another big surprise, as Plymouth almost beat Crystal Palace at Selhurst, but listening to the end of the Plymouth game on the radio, noticed that Argyle was rather tired towards the end and that probably led to Palace's goal in extra time.

I figured Rushden and Diamonds would be able to pull off the big surprise, and when the game went to penalties, I just had the feeling that the home side wouldn't be denied.

Tomorrow's ties:
Boston Utd. v. Cardiff
Brighton v. Exeter
Coventry v. Colchester
Macclesfield v. Barnsley
Nottingham Forest v. Kidderminster
Preston v. Scunthorpe
Sheffield Wednesday v. Rochdale
Swansea v. Wolverhampton
Swindon v. Wycombe

[BrianCappellieri]

Robins Rout Norwich and other match reports (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/2239166.stm)Norwich were sent crashing out of the Worthington Cup in the first round as Cheltenham stormed to victory at Carrow Road.

[BrianCappellieri]

Ananova (http://www.ananova.com/sport/soccer/story/sm_668243.html?menu=sport.football)Kinnear plays down crowd trouble

Joe Kinnear played down the violence that marred Luton's 2-1 win over Watford at Vicarage Road.

The victory was soured by the 50 Luton fans who invaded the pitch before kick-off, sparking a running battle.

[BrianCappellieri]

SoccerNet (http://www.soccernet.com/england/news/2002/0911/20020911watfcleague.html)League probe into Watford violence

The Football League have teamed up with the Football Association to investigate the 'disgraceful' violence which marred last night's Worthington Cup tie between local rivals Watford and Luton.