Are Cup-ties against non-league opposition a rarity? Certainly not as far as Brentford are concerned, for when Staines Town visit Griffin Park on Saturday, it will be the 34th occasion in the past 50 years that The Bees have faced non-league opposition in the FA Cup. That seems a remarkably high number, although the playing record suggests that there shouldn’t be too much to fear.
The ties have resulted in 39 matches, including replays, and Brentford’s record since 1963 stands as such – 26 victories and seven draws, with six of the games ending in defeat.
Those highly embarrassing losses have come at the hands of Guildford City (1-2), Yeovil Town (1-2), Kingstonian (1-3), Telford United (0-3), Barrow (1-2) and Wrexham (0-1) – with two of them coming at Griffin park.
Plenty of the clashes have involved nearby neighbours, although none quite as close to home as Staines, but back in 1980 the first round tie paired Brentford with Southern League Southern Division Addlestone & Weybridge, just a short hop from Griffin Park. The draw gave Addlestone home advantage in their first-ever appearance in a first round FA Cup tie but they opted to sacrifice the chance of staging the game for a bigger pay-day by switching the game to Brentford.
The non-leaguers had three ex-professionals in their line-up but most eyes were firmly fixed on former Brentford skipper and all-time-favourite Jackie Graham and just six months after leaving the club with 409 appearances to his name, the romance of the FA Cup was well and truly witnessed when Jackie led his new team out onto the pitch where he had become such a firm favourite over the past 10 years. Little did he know that as he walked out of the tunnel in an unfamiliar yellow shirt, his team-mates waited behind to allow him to receive a tumultuous and emotional welcome back from the 6,540 crowd.
To say that the FA Cup is a great leveller is a hackneyed cliché but it rang true as the humble part-time non-leaguers gave Brentford a massive shock after a seemingly routine opening. Bob Booker turned in David Crown’s low cross inside the first five minutes and in the 21st minute, Pat Kruse’s header was hand-balled on the line and Tony Funnell doubled the scoreline. But Addlestone were to prove they were no pushovers and after pulling a goal back in the 25th minute they equalised in the 64th minute with a goal from 38-year old ex-Wimbledon striker Dave Donaldson.
The result left Fred Callaghan furious, “It’s all a matter of pride and if they want to be beaten by a team of part-timers, then it’s up to them” fumed the manager, apparently forgetting that the game had ended in a draw!
The team from Surrey left Griffin Park delighted with the result and also thrilled with their share of the £10,000 gate receipts – a far cry from the income from their previous home game which had attracted an attendance of 179 spectators – and knowing that they faced another huge windfall three days later from the replayed match.
Brentford supporters left the ground having, not for the first or last time that season, made clear their frustrations and both Callaghan and some of the players felt the full force of their wrath. After a forgettable afternoon, the highlight of the day was still to come for most when later that evening, one of the great mysteries of television was finally revealed as people rushed home to settle in front of their screens to find out who shot JR!!
The replay on the following Tuesday produced a crowd of 7,680 although it was another close and hard-fought affair with the first goal arriving as late as the 75th minute after Tony Funnell had missed a penalty just 13 minutes in. The late goals from Funnell and David Crown finally settled the marathon encounter and set up a second round tie against Fulham at Craven Cottage but the non-leaguers from Surrey had certainly left their mark.
Mark Croxford
