The second round of the FA Cup is over, with ten more matches in the books beyond those I already mentioned in Part One of my second-round impressions. As mentioned, I will describe the best and worst of Sunday and Monday in this part.
The last two days of second-round action featured three giant-killings. Only Crawley Town’s single-tier-difference upset of AFC Wimbledon finished in 90 minutes. Meanwhile, Stevenage needed a seven-round shootout to stun Hull City. As for Marine, it earned the right to face Spurs with an extra-time thriller over Havant & Waterlooville, two tiers above. Even among the more expected results, though, there was some drama.
Now, without further ado, I present the highlights and lowlights of the second half of the 2020-21 FA Cup second round. Some of them will take the form of matches, while others will be other phenomena like patterns.
The Best
Free soccer: Five of Sunday’s matches went to extra time. In addition to the teams I mentioned, Stockport County, Shrewsbury Town, and Mansfield Town all needed at least an extra half hour to progress. The last of these, in fact, may have joined Stevenage in needing penalties if not for Nicky Maynard’s point-blank strike at the last.
Marine 1-0 Havant & Waterlooville (AET): You were expecting this upon seeing the head image, weren’t you? It might have turned out differently if referee Ross Joyce hadn’t booked Anthony Straker of the away team a second time. In other words, Straker’s teammates were now 10 on the pitch instead of 11. Still, for only the second time in FA Cup history, an eighth-tier side will play in the third round. We have Niall Cummings to thank for that, as he buried a close-range shot to win it.
The Worst
Bristol Rovers 6-0 Darlington: Darlo had won its last four away games, including at Swindon Town the previous round. Rovers, meanwhile, have a new manager who had failed to win either of his first two games with the club. In the end, though, the home side utilized its 62-place edge in the pyramid to great effect. It all unraveled for the visitors when Josh Hare bounced the ball off of Darlington defender David Atkinson’s head for the first blood. Compare Carlos Martinez homering off Jose Canseco in 1993.
That was just the first of four first-half goals for the League One team. Two more followed in the second half, and I can only wonder how the sixth-tier side will recover.
Well, that’s it for another round of the FA Cup. Look for a list of third-round picks on the fantasy page sometime in January, and feel free to reach me on Twitter @Edwardthescop in the meantime. Oh, and there are other great articles on the main Belly Up Sports site.
