When you think of the phrase ‘village football’, the images conjured up are perhaps mud-caked goalmouths, pot-bellied midfielders and, shall we say, some ‘agricultural’ tackles being made. But for one village-based club, ambitions have extended far beyond a gentle kickabout between a group of mates on a Saturday afternoon.
Bishops Cleeve, a village in Gloucestershire with a population of around 14,000 people, made history in the second qualifying round of the 2024/25 FA Cup by defeating National League South team, Torquay United.
Goals from Ross Langworthy (x2) and Ethan Dunbear were enough to power the Southern League Division One side to victory over their more illustrious opponents, ensuring the village outfit went into the hat for the third qualifying round draw.
And if they can win through two more ties, they will secure their place in the FA Cup first round – that would place Bishops Cleeve in a tiny handful of eight-tier clubs to make it through to the competition proper.
Plucky Underdogs
News of Bishops Cleeve’s win hardly spread around the globe like wildfire. In fact, it was buried under a mountain of other football news, results and opinions that very same day. Yet it’s a tale that sums up the beauty of grassroots football, and also the magic of a cup competition that is, by and large, still a meritocracy.
To offer some kind of context, Bishops Cleeve’s manager, Paul Collicut, works as a meat wholesaler full time – his ‘job’ leading the village side is essentially a hobby, rather than a career path.
So much so, in the days leading up to the tie with Torquay, he was out pushing flyers through the letterboxes of the villagers in a bid to drum up interest in the game – in the end, around 1,200 people turned up to support the club at their Kayte Lane home. Can you imagine Pep Guardiola or Mikel Arteta doing likewise?
If this all seems like Hollywood scripted, Roy of the Rovers stuff, that’s because it simply doesn’t happen very often. Okay, so ‘village’ teams have progressed through the qualifying rounds of the FA Cup before, but to reach the first-round proper? And perhaps even go beyond it? That’s a rarity indeed. But that’s not to say it hasn’t happened before…
Eighth-Tier Clubs in the FA Cup Proper
Sheppey United
Have you ever been to the Isle of Sheppey? Lovely little place just off the coast of Kent, with stunning beaches and a veritable smorgasbord of wildlife to spot.
You almost certainly won’t have heard of Sheppey United, the local football for those in and around the island. Don’t feel bad: they’re very much in the ‘village’ ranks down in the eight tier of English football.
But they too have had their day in the sun in the FA Cup, battling through to the first round proper in 2023 – less than a decade after the club was reformed after they had previously fallen on hard times. Their rise from the ashes was confirmed by that FA Cup run, where they beat a handful of non-league sides before landing a plum draw against League Two outfit, Walsall, in the first round.
Sheppey United would go on to lose 1-4 to their higher grade opposition, but not before their players, staff and supporters enjoyed a day they’ll never forget. That very same 2023/24 season, two other eighth-tier clubs made it all the way to the FA Cup first round.
Ramsgate
Ramsgate’s fairytale run in the oldest cup competition in world football took them to Plough Lane; home of former Premier League side (in their old guise) AFC Wimbledon. It was there that their journey came to an end in a 0-5 loss.
Cray Valley Paper Mills
The exotically-named Cray Valley Paper Mills also made it to the first round of the FA Cup in 2023, enjoying a relatively local derby against professional side, Charlton Athletic. The minnows secured an unlikely replay following a 1-1 draw at the Valley, before Charlton’s class told in a 1-6 defeat second time around.
Marine
But perhaps the most memorable FA Cup run from an eighth-tier team came in 2020, when Marine scrapped all the way through to the third round, where they were paired with Premier League outfit, Tottenham.
They lost 0-5, of course, but in many other ways they won: despite the rigours of the pandemic, Tottenham fans brought ‘virtual tickets’ to the game, helping the club raise £300,000 – vital to their long-term survival.
Biggest Non-League Upsets in the FA Cup
A club is classed as ‘non league’ in English football when they are in the fifth-tier of the pyramid or lower. In days gone by, all non-league players were on amateur contracts, and while that’s not the case today, clearly these clubs have only a smidgen of the financial pull of Premier League and EFL sides.
Perhaps that’s what makes giant-killings in the FA Cup so satisfying for neutral observers: there’s something particularly enjoyable about a David slaying a Goliath. A non-league team beating one of English football’s top 92 clubs has happened many times over the years in the FA Cup, but few victories can match up to those of Hereford United and Sutton United in 1972 and 1989 respectively.
Hereford
Southern League outfit, Hereford, had already done the unthinkable in taking First Division side Newcastle United to a replay, with the Magpies forced to endure an afternoon on the Bulls’ rather muddy Edgar Street pitch. It teed up the possibility of an almighty FA Cup upset with Ronnie Radford obliging with one of the best goals you’re ever likely to see.
RIP to the scorer of one of the most iconic goals in FA Cup history.
Ronnie Radford’s long-range strike saw @HerefordFC overcome the odds to beat @NUFC.
Our thoughts are with his family at this time. pic.twitter.com/Nlm407FZUV
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) November 2, 2022
Sutton United
As for Sutton United, they downed a Coventry City side that had actually lifted the FA Cup just 18 months prior. Once again, the top division team were left stunned by their non-league opposition, as goals from Tony Rains and Matthew Hanlan secured one of the greatest upsets in FA Cup history.
