FINAL HURRAY

With England and The FA now concentrating on the World Cup, the curtain has been finally drawn on the 2009/10 FA Cup.

This also means the fantastic charity adventure Runcorn2wembley is also at at end. After following the FA Cup from the very first round, the campaign was still collecting for Cancer Research despite not being allowed to the semi finals or final.

I managed to get to see every game (including replays) up the semi final, which makes the decision by the powers that be to not allow us to attend either semi or final very annoying.

Thank you must go to all the clubs we visited, their fans and the following people who came along to collect at the games. Rob Knowles, Sarah O'Brien, Chris O'Brien, Patrick O'Brien, Lawrence Whiston, Jonny Lewin, Andy James, John Horn, Chris Corse, Peter Bowers, Simon Baggeley, Neil Goodwin. If I've missed anyone off let me know.

A special mention to Chris Horner, someone who we didn't know before the campaign started, but offered to help us collect after reading about the campaign at the Guiseley v Kendal game. He then attended every game until the semi final.

The biggest thank you goes to everyone who has donated, it means so much to me and my brother Rob.

The fundraising and donations page is still open for people to donate and we hope the current total of £4,415.00 will continue to increase.

So as I now prepare for watching England go out of the World Cup in the usual dismal fashion in the 2nd round or quarter finals, I know following the FA Cup will have to wait. With mine and Sarah's first child due in July we've got more important things to think about.

I'll leave this blog on two points:

1 - Support your local non-league football clubs as they deserve you're hard earned cash much more than the bigger clubs.
2 - The FA and big clubs are only interested in football for what they can get out of it, financially. Unfortunately this means fans are meaningless in the modern era, but become more important the lower you go down the leagues.

SEASON FINALE

So the 2009/10 FA Cup has finished for another season, but the charity campaign that followed it from the start wasn’t there at the finish.

Despite clocking up thousands of miles following the competition, Runcorn2wembley was unable to complete its mission at Wembley.

The campaign, organised by brothers Richard and Robert Knowles has raised almost £4,500 for Cancer Research, but is short of the £5,000 target.

The duo started the campaign in August at Runcorn Linnets, all in the name of their father who played for a number of amateur clubs but died from cancer when they were young children.

Despite pleas to local councils, the football clubs, police and The FA, Runcorn2wembley was unable to carry out the main fundraising activity of collecting from fans outside the ground before the game.

The campaign was unable to collect or attend the semi final or final and therefore has fallen short of the £5,000 target.

Richard, from Frodsham, said: “We’re delighted to have raised so much money for a cause close to our hearts, but disappointed with the reaction of various organisations to Runcor2wembley attending the semi finals and final at Wembley.

“Being denied permission to collect at Wembley has meant we’ve not reached our target, although credit must be given to the fans and clubs that have been very welcoming to Runcorn2wembley.”

Robert, from Southport, is hoping online donations will continue to boost the total. He said: “The FA Cup may be over for this season, but fans can still donate online.

“I’m not sure we’ll be doing this again for the foreseeable future as Richard and I will both be parents by the time next season’s competition beings.”

To donate simply go to www.justgiving.co.uk/richard-knowles

SIXTH ROUND PROSPECTS

With just two rounds of the 2009/10 FA Cup to go before the final at Wembley, Runcorn2wembley is facing the possibility of having no pre-match collections for the rest of the campaign.

Reading has denied us permission to collect before the game against Aston Villa, as the club limits collections from a charity to one per season. The club has also refused to allow any tickets to be set aside for Runcorn2wembley, even if the volunteers pay for them.

This means we'll be lucky to get any tickets for the game, which would mean the campaign misses out on its first game in this season's FA Cup.

Having been to the previous 11 rounds of the competition, this would be very disappointing.

The only hope we have now collect another £800 to hit the £5,000 target for Cancer Research, is for fans to donate online - www.justgiving.co.uk/richard-knowles

More updates later this week as they come in.

REPLAY PROVIDES EXTRA EXCITEMENT

A cracking FA Cup replay at The Hawthorns on Wednesday night overshadowed the darker side to the night.

The extra-time 3-2 victory for Reading was fully deserved as they showed much more incisive football in the penalty area than West Brom.

The negative side was not being able to collect for Runcorn2wembley which meant only £35 was raised for Cancer Research through the donation of tickets from West Brom to me and Chris Horner.
I can't understand why West Brom didn't allow a collection, but the campaign was grateful for the tickets.

West Brom scored very early (not as early as the first game's nine seconds) before Reading made it 1-1 after just nine minutes.

A howler by the Reading keeper gave West Brom a 2-1 lead early in the second half before a great goal in the third of four added minutes sent the tie into extra time.

Reading's winner was excellent and they could and should have had more. The fans singing at the end while the team threw their tops over the sea of stewards was a memorable scene.

So Runcorn2wembley now goes to Reading for the third time as the sixth round draw pits them against Aston Villa.

I'm talking to Reading about a collection and hope we can have one. With just over £800 left to reach the £5,000 target, a collection will probably take us over the target.

With the semi-finals at Wembley, permission to collect around the ground before the game is proving difficult, which is why I hope Reading allow the collection.

I'm also hoping Reading 107fm will feature the campaign again, as this resulted in many people donating.

Updates will appear on here. Don't forget the match is in just nine days on Sunday 7th March at 1.45pm.

MIXED REPLAY NEWS

Just over 24 hours until the FA Cup fifth round replay between West Bromwich Albion and Reading.

Runcorn2wembley is unable to collect for Cancer Research before the game but will be attending thanks to the donation of five tickets by West Brom.

It's a huge blow to our collection target of £5,000 just ten days after collecting a record total for the campaign before the game at Reading. Almost £900 was donated by fans of both clubs taking the current total to £4,153.31.

If West Brom win and play Aston Villa in the quarter finals, a collection won't be allowed due to the proximity of the clubs. So everyone associated with Runcorn2wembley is hoping for either Crystal Palace or Reading to win.

If you would like to donate please go to www.justgiving.co.uk/richard-knowles

The attending members of Runcorn2wembley will be highly visible in blue or white t-shirts at The Hawthorns tomorrow night.

See you there.

REPLAY OR NOT TO REPLAY

Back to the league action this weekend, but the next FA Cup adventure for Runcorn2wembley is just a few days away.

On Wednesday 24th Feb we travel to The Hawthorns for the replay between Reading and West Bromwich Albion.

After the record breaking collection before the thrilling 2-2 draw at Reading last weekend, Runcorn2wembley is waiting for confirmation on whether we can collect on Wednesday.

I'm hopeful the discussions with West Brom will end in a positive outcome, but the main thing is we are able to collect at the quarter final game, as the winner will be at home.

Further donations have come on the website www.justgiving.co.uk/richard-knowles and the target is getting closer and closer.

Thank you to everyone who has donated and I look forward to seeing the fans on Wednesday.

Runcorn2wembley will be in attendance at The Hawthorns although the numbers of people from the campaign is yet to be confirmed.

More updates on Monday.

REPLAY UPDATE

The FA Cup fifth round replay between Reading and West Brom is a week tomorrow and at the moment Runcorn2wembley has been refused permission to collect at The Hawthorns.

This is obviously disappointing but we're not giving up just yet, particularly as the quarter finals will see the winners of the replay at home again. This could result in another refusal to collect.

The total for the collection is now 83% of the target of £5,000. Currently the total is £4,143.31.

I'm still in communication with West Brom and hope to be able to have a compromise sorted this week.

With only three rounds left, including the final, it's vital Runcorn2wembley is allowed to collect before the last few games to hit the target.

More updates throughout the week.

A BRILLIANT DAY

Wow, and double wow! I'm still buzzing with excitement after yesterday's collection at Reading v West Brom in the FA Cup fifth round game.

Not only was it a classic FA Cup game, but Runcorn2wembley raised almost £900 from the fans of both clubs before the game, almost double the previous record amount.

Even celebrities managed to donate, with Chris Tarrant digging deep to one of the collectors.

The total of £875.58 has taken the amount raised for Cancer Research to an incredible £4,118.31, not far off the target of £5,000. Click here for the donation breakdown.

What's more, thanks to a late equaliser by West Brom, Runcorn2wembley now has another game to potentially collect at - the replay at West Brom.

I'll be in touch with West Brom tomorrow and see if this is possible. Either way Runcorn2wembley will be attending.

I was joined at Reading by my brother Rob, neighbour Neil Goodwin and friends Chris Corse, Chris Horner and John Horn. We suffered a few late drop outs due to family illnesses Valentine's Day.

Arriving at midday we quickly set about talking to fans at the main entrance to the complex near the away end.

I did a live interview with Dan Chisholm from Reading107fm about Runcorn2wembley and this had success with a number of fans donating after hearing the interview.

A trickle of fans became a flood and people we're even donating after the start of the game, despite Reading scoring after just 7 seconds!

We managed to see the rest of the goals, except I did miss the second goal while getting a pie!

In a match full of incident the four goals and two red cards served up a football feast for both sets of fans and the neutrals alike.

A big thank you must go to the collectors, fans of both clubs who donated, Reading107fm, Reading FC and West Brom FC for the help and support yesterday. Without it the collections wouldn't have reached the amount it did.

It was a very long day, leaving at 8.30am and arriving home at 9pm, but well worth it.

So on to the replay on Wednesday 24th February at The Hawthorns with a 7.45pm kick off. See you all there!

FIFTH ROUND PREVIEW

Well another round of the FA Cup 2009/10 is upon us and for the second round in a row Runcorn2wembley is travelling down to Reading.

The Royals play Championship rivals West Brom, in the fifth round of the FA Cup, the winner progressing to the quarter finals.

With just three matches to go after this round, Runcorn2wembley is hoping for a big collection to help reach the target of £5,000 for Cancer Research.

Big thanks and much appreciation to Reading FC for allowing us to collect before the game against West Brom, particularly to Sara.

We're still looking for more helpers tomorrow so if you would like to volunteer just ask one of the collectors you see and I can supply buckets and t-shirt.

With the current total at almost £3,250, everyone associated with Runcorn2wembley is hoping to get near £4,000 after tomorrow.

So to everyone who's going, please dig deep and help us raise vital funds for Cancer Research.

The FA has promised to put information about the campaign on their Facebook page, so keep a look out on there.

More coverage is coming in of Runcorn2wembley. I'll update that next week with links.

Safe trip for all the fans tomorrow, see you at the Madejski from midday!

FOUR ROUNDS TO GO

So with only four rounds (including the final) of the FA Cup to go, Runcorn2wembley is still short of the target of £5,000 for Cancer Research. To date we've raised just over £3,200.

In two of the last three rounds the campaign has been unable to collect at the grounds before a game.

At MK Dons we got over that predicament when the Asda store next door kindly allowed us to collect outside before the game.

Unfortunately, after being unable to collect at the Madejski Stadium, the major stores around the ground wouldn't allow a collection.

At least with MK Dons we were given up to eight tickets and we donated the value of the tickets to Runcorn2wembley.

But at Reading we were given two tickets, but had to buy two tickets and pay for car parking, meaning the donation to Runcorn2wembley by Reading was a minus figure. This was made even more frustrating as we had an 8-hour 420 mile round trip to watch the game.

Reading did put a small piece of editorial in the matchday programme. We did receive a donation from fans after the game, but this was from Burnley fans we chatted to outside the ground.

Fingers crossed we can have a collection of some kind at the next game, as we're off to Reading again, as they take on West Bromwich Albion.

The FA has offered to invite Runcorn2wembley to the trophy tour at some stage, although this is yet to be confirmed and the promise of a phone call last week failed to happen.

We're yet to hear back from Reading regarding the collection and any help at the next round.

Further updates later this week along with even more coverage.

ROYAL VISIT HALTS FUNDRAISING

So the eleventh game in the epic journey by Runcorn2wembley took my brother Robert, myself and two other volunteers(Chris Corse and Chris Horner) to Reading, for the FA Cup fourth round game against Burnley.

Unfortunately the usual pre-match collection wasn't allowed by Reading due to another collection for Guide Dogs for the Blind, another worthy cause which we didn't want to disrupt.

So after a 210-mile, four hour drive, Robert and I met with the two Chris' and set about meeting and talking to the fans.

We started at the away end as Burnley had kindly put information on their website and we had met many fans at the previous round in Milton Keynes.

Indeed this has already proved successful with an online donation made from some of the fans we met. Thank you very much Anthony and team!

Reading did provide two complimentary tickets and programmes (that contained an article about the campaign), although we did have to pay for another two, the expensive muddy field car park and watch a pretty drab first half.

The second half was much better and just when we though we would be collecting at Turf Moor a week on Tuesday, Reading got the winner. On overall play it was probably deserved.

So the draw for the next round takes us back to Reading and we can only hope we can get nearer our target with a collection at the game against West Bromwich Albion.

More news on that here when it happens.

FOURTH ROUND EVE

In just over twelve hours the 2009/10 FA Cup fourth round will kick off and Runcorn2wembley will be watching one of the two early games.

We'll be watching Reading v Burnley and hope to raise the profile of the campaign raising money for Cancer Research.

Unfortunately no collection is taking place and Reading have allocated two tickets for the four Runcorn2wembley fundraisers attending, meaning the football club and the campaign will both benefit from our attendance.

It's an unfortunate set of circumstances and I hope Reading will be able to help out if they beat Burnley and get a home draw in the fifth round.

Burnley have again put news of the campaign on the club's website, click here to read it.

Reading has yet to put a news article on it's website and we'll find out tomorrow if there's an article in the matchday programme. Fingers crossed.

So it's a 6am start for Robert and I tomorrow as we set out for the early kick off. Luckily the two other Runcorn2wembley attendees are coming from London and Marlow, a little closer!

As promised below are links for coverage this month. Just click on the media name.

Milton Keynes Citizen

Liverpool Echo

Chester Chronicle

Runcorn and Widnes Weekly News 1

Runcorn and Widnes Weekly News 2

Reading Evening Post 1

Reading Evening Post 2

Southport Visitor

Ok it's off to bed. See you Royals and Clarets tomorrow!

ROYAL VISIT IS UP NEXT

The FA Cup 4th round is just days away and the fundraising total for Runcorn2wembley is rising fast.

Donations to the Just Giving website (www.justgiving.co.uk/richard-knowles) have taken the total to just under £3,200, so I'm hopeful of reaching the £5,000 target by the final at Wembley in May.

No rest for the Runcorn2wembley team though as it looks like this weekend could leave us without a collection at the game.

Reading host our current team Burnley at the Madejski Stadium for a 12.45pm ko, but the club had already given permission for another charity to collect at this game - The Guide Dogs for the Blind, a very worthy cause.

Having been faced with a similar situation at the two previous games at Milton Keynes Dons, I resorted to contacting the local businesses (Asda proved a huge help in the last round with a record collection), including B&Q and BHS, but have been turned down.

This leaves only one way of collecting money for the campaign, by Reading 'donating' tickets for the 4-6 Runcorn2wembley fundraisers; the fundraisers will then donate the value of the tickets to the collection. I'm still waiting for feedback from Reading about this.

Members of the team will be at Reading to continue the road to Wembley, but with now little hope of raising any money for the campaign, Cancer Research UK.

Therefore I'm appealing to anyone reading this to pass it on to friends and tell as many people as possible about the online donations page to boost it further.

Simply go to www.justgiving.co.uk/richard-knowles

Meanwhile I'd like to thank the continued communication and help from everyone associated with Burnley FC, particularly Darren in the media department.

In other news The FA is looking to include Runcorn2wembley in the next Trophy Tour, though this is dependent on which team we'll be involved with next.

Coverage has featured in Chester, Runcorn, Milton Keynes, Reading and Liverpool media since Christmas. I'll link all that along with a preview on Friday.

FESTIVE UPDATE

This has been the longest break between FA Cup rounds so far this season with five weeks from the second round to the glitz and glamour of the third round.

So far the trail Runcorn2wembley has taken me and the fundraising team to Guiseley in Yorkshire, Kendal in Cumbria and Nuneaton in Warwickshire. Now we're currently following MK Dons and watched them defeat previous team Exeter City, in the second round.

A stiffer test awaits the Dons in the third round as Premiership newcomers Burnley visit.

Runcorn2wembley is raising money for Cancer Research UK by collecting money from fans attending each of the games we go to.

For the first time we we're unable to collect at MK Dons v Exeter City but despite MK Dons again not allowing collections to take place around the outside of stadium, we've been given permission by Milton Keynes Council to collect on the outskirts of the stadium.

We're still waiting for permission to collect by the Asda store by the ground but I'm hopeful this will be given.

So far the campaign has generated over £2,500 for Cancer Research UK with a target of £5,000.

Burnley have been very helpful with the campaign and thanks must go to the media department and the chief executive for their help.

Currently about seven collectors will be in Milton Keynes on Saturday 2nd January 2010 for the game and I hope we can collect the biggest total to date.

Fingers crossed this snowy and icy weather will fade away in time for the game.

Have a great Christmas and I'll post again before the New Year.

GREAT GAME BUT NO FUNDRAISING

Yet another spectacular game of football was played in front of the Runcorn2wembley fundraising team as MK Dons narrowly defeated Exeter City 4-3 in the FA Cup second round.

The reward for an astonishing victory is a home tie against Premiership new-boys Burnley.

But it could easily have been Exeter City who hosted the Clarets as they came back from a 1-0 halt-time deficit to lead 3-1 with little more than 20 minutes remaining.

MK Dons' manager Paul Ince would point to an inspired double substitution as both players scored at vital times to secure victory.

The disappointing aspect of the game was the denial of MK Dons to allow the Runcorn2wembley team of volunteers to collect from the 4,800 fans at the game. The total money raised for Cancer Research UK still stands at just over £2,500, halfway to the target of £5,000.

Over ten people were prepared to give up their entire Saturday to come and collect, but with no collection just three of the team made the trip.
The trio, Runcorn2wembley founders Richard and Robert Knowles, and Chris Horner, were at least given free entry by MK Dons and a football signed by the MK Dons players. If anyone would like this ball please let me know and it will be yours for a donation to the fundraising campaign.

So onto the FA Cup third round and MK Dons at home to Burnley. I expect the StadiumMK will be full and will keep everything crossed that MK Dons will let the team collect.

I'll be contacting Burnley too and asking for their help in publicising this campaign.

I'd like to thank everyone associated with Exeter City for their valued support and hope they have a successful rest of the 2009/10 campaign.

Updates will appear here this week.

WE'RE ALL OFF TO MILTON KEYNES

As November reaches its end 'Runcorn2wembley' strikes up again with a trip to Milton Keynes, raising money for Cancer Research UK.

The campaign, which is following the FA Cup from the start to finish, is now halfway to reaching its fundraising target of £5,000 with bigger crowds and games yet to come.

This weekend will be the biggest crowd by far, as I expect over 8,000 to watch MK Dons take on Exeter City for a place in the third round.

A potential money-spinning game in the next round will spur on both teams and their supporters.

Nerves will play a part but I hope it's a good game and the best team progresses.

The teams had contrasting games over the weekend, with the Grecians securing a good 3-1 win away at Stockport County and the Dons falling to an injury time defeat at Southend United.

Publicity has been very good on the Exeter City website (click here for link) and I'm sure Milton Keynes Dons will afford equal generosity.

I'm still to hear if they will grant permission for a collection before the game on Saturday, but I'm confident this will come through on the next couple of days.

As with all games the home team has been brilliant in allowing me and the team to collect from fans before during and after the game. This has helped move the total money raised to what it is.

Fingers-crossed MK Dons continue this goodwill.

More news later this week and information on everyone who'll be attending and collecting for 'Runcorn2wembley.

GRECIANS DOWN TOWN

A combination of work, personal committments and being stuck on our beloved motorways has led to me not updating the blog as often over the last two weeks.

I hope this post will cover most of the activity that's happened. On to the latest game and the FA Cup first round clash between Nuneaton Town and League 1 side Exeter City.

Firstly a big thank you to my brother Rob, neighbour Johnny and new 'Runcorn2wembley' friend and collector, Chris Horner.

The game at Nuneaton on Saturday was a big effort as it was the biggest crowd of the campaign and everyone worked wonders to collect and speak to supporters about the collection.

I'd also like to thank everyone associated with both clubs for the support and coverage before the game, and the hospitality shown by everyone at Nuneaton Town.

Without any of this the collection and campaign wouldn't have continued on its successful journey.

The game itself was witnessed by many pessemistic Exeter City fans, nearly all convinced they would be beaten.

Their fears were eased after just three minutes and by half time a 4-0 lead was not unexpected given the pressure on Nuneaton's goal, but a little flattering.

The second half Nuneaton performed very well and with a bit more luck could have scored at least a couple of goals, which would have made for an interesting finale.

As it was Exeter held on and now face another away trip, this time to fellow League 1 side Milton Keynes Dons.

A crowd of almost 2,500 at Nuneaton gave the campaign a huge boost as we raised £460, taking the grand total to almost £2,500; halfway to the target total for Cancer Research UK.

The date and kick off time of the next game at Milton Keynes Dons is yet to be confirmed but I suspect it'll be on Saturday 28th November at 3pm.

I hope to have ten people helping with collections at the game to make the most of a crowd in excess of 8,000.

To donate go to www.justgiving.co.uk/Richard-Knowles

COVERAGE CONTINUES WITH NUNEATON

As the next round of the FA Cup fast approaches, coverage of the FA Cup fundraising campaign for Cancer Research UK continues to attract media coverage.

'Runcorn2Wembley' has taken in different areas of northern England and the Midlands, but has always been followed by local and regional media outlets.

Some media have followed the campaign from the start and continue to do so, even as it travels to areas beyond it's circulation range.

The Chester Chronicle (my local weekly newspaper) regularly updates its readers of the progress and I'm pleased the total continues to rise at each report.

The football clubs have also covered the campaign which is very helpful when collecting at games as fans already know why we're there.

Nuneaton Town are the latest club to do so; the coverage can be seen by clicking here

The latest Chester Chronicle coverage can be seen here

A non-league website has also covered 'Runcorn2wembley' as the Unibond League (to which Guiseley and Kendal Town play in) featured the campaign. To view that click here

I've also found new coverage on the Guiseley Advertiser; it can be found here

The coverage is great to spread the word about the campaign, but it will only succeed if people donate via the online donation site.

To donate or see how much has been raised so far go to www.justgiving.co.uk/richard-knowles

A preview of the first round game between Nuneaton Town and Exeter City on Saturday will appear here on Friday.

DONATIONS REACH NEW LEVEL

This week has been the best for the Runcorn2wembley fundraising campaign for Cancer Research UK.

Not only have we been offered the 'collection' services of complete strangers, but the company I work for, Connect PR, has donated a huge amount to the campaign.

Further positive news has been the promotion of Runcorn2wembley via new media outlets, including the Nuneaton News and Nuneaton Town's website. More of this in my next post.

A big thank you to managing director, Hazel Crawford-Upton, and everyone else at Connect PR for the donation of £500 to the campaign, taking the total money raised to almost £2,000.

Hazel and everyone at Connect PR have been extremely generous with this donation and a simple thank you doesn't seem to do the donation justice.

I hope it inspires people to donate and carry out their own fundraising campaign for charity.

Fingers crossed some or all of my friends at Connect will come along to a game in the near future.

In other news, Lawrence and I were approached by a guy called Chris about the campaign before the Nuneaton v game.

Chris followed the FA Trophy last season and read about Runcorn2wembley after the Guiseley v Kendal match.

He's offered to help collections at future games and will be joining us at Nuneaton for the game against Exeter City a week on Saturday.

Thank you Chris, you're support and help is very much welcomed.

Finally thank you to Nuneaton Town FC for the continued support. I hope to help drum up publicity about the match and fundraising campaign all next week.

If you wish to donate simply click here

KENDAL RUN OUT OF LUCK

Apologies for the lack of a preview to the FA Cup 4th qualifying round between Nuneaton Town and Kendal Town yesterday.

I didn't return from Lisbon until very late on Friday night and needed to catch up on some sleep before driving to Nuneaton for the game.

Rob and Lawrence joined me at the game and we we're expecting a big crowd, the first one of over 500 for the fundraising campaign for Cancer Research UK.

With an average of 50p per fan raised at the previous games we hoped for a good collection from the crowd, which turned out to be over 1,100.

The weather and traffic was terrible but calmed down after we arrived and sunshine again bathed the pitch for the game.

Liz and the rest of the staff we met at Nuneaton Town were very helpful and explained the best places to collect from.

The total money raised was £168.19; thank you very much to everyone who donated.

The Kendal Town fans were again in good song and mood, with another lot of generous donations from them before kick off.

As the match started fans were still flooding in, with a place in the FA Cup first round an obvious attraction.

Kendal were the more dominate side in the first half and should have been in front, with a couple of good chances spurned.

In the second half Nuneaton applied much more pressure and just when Kendal looked like they could snatch a late win, the home side pounced to secure the win and a possible draw against the likes of Leeds United and Norwich City.

A draw and replay would have been the fairer result but maybe Kendal's luck in the previous round and penalty save against Guiseley, was all their allocation for this year.

Today the draw was made and we'll be back again at Nuneaton, as they face a very tough game from League 1 side Exeter City.

I expect the ground will be full for the game and look forward to seeing everyone from Nuneaton again in less than two weeks.

Finally thank you to everyone associated with Kendal Town for the hospitality, friendliness and above all, generous donations. Good luck for the rest of the season and possible promotion.