The Second Round of the Cup begins next weekend (GW25) and the Draw has thrown together some great matchups!
We’ve magically got eight teams from each League, eight League rivals facing off, twenty-four teams joining eight proven winners and they all want the Cup. Five wins and it yours!
All Star Gunners -v- K.H. Granitza Sting FC
Two of the top ten teams meet here in the Second Round of the Cup. All Star Gunners sit top of the Championship and they will play KH Granitza Sting who, although sixth in League One, are just three points off third. The last five times that these two teams met, ASG walked away with all the points. Neither team has ever managed to get past the Second Round of the Cup. In fact, last year both were knocked out by a single point! This year, one team will qualify for the Third Round.
Banana Swans -v- Bigger Than Brolin
It’s rare to see a pair who’ve met in as many different competitions as these two. They’re played each other in League One, the Championship, the Champions League and also once here in the Cup. It was, strangely enough, another Second Round matchup! In 2017 Bigger Than Brolin knocked Banana Swans out of the Cup on their way to winning the trophy. Is history about to repeat itself? Banana Swans are no pushovers though. Last season they came back stronger – knocking out Vanishing Spray with the biggest score of the 2018 Cup before beating two-time Winners SB Town. BtB have also only beaten Banana Swans three times in their eleven meetings, so this could go either way!
Boss’ Blues -v- Chucky Pad Warriors
Here are two teams that have had quite successful careers so far. Boss’ Blues have been League One Runners-Up and were Semi-Finalists last year; Chucky Pad have finished Third in the League the last two seasons running and were twice BFFA Cup Quarter-Finalists, most recently losing 53-40 to eventual winners Tralfamadore Zoo. Both teams are on a two-game win streak and both, co-incidentally, are currently playing the team at the top of their Leagues! Good luck guys.
Cornballers FC -v- Cabezazo Increible FC
The Cornballers and the rebranded Cabezazo Increible have an incredible 31 Best-ish places and 227 matchpoints between them. Both teams suffered back-to-back relegations in the last two campaigns but both are turning it around. Cabezazo are second in League Two and Cornballers are just one win from second in League One. The Cornballers went out in Round One both the last two years, but made it here this year thanks to a replay win over Goleta Hotspur.
East Loop United FC -v- PSV Wide Open
2017 Runners-Up East Loop United have always been in the top flight in the BFFA Premier League era and have never faced the ladder-climbing PSV. Both teams are struggling in their respective leagues, both sitting eighth and facing the threat of relegation. Would winning the Cup title make up for a losing season? Not for me.
FC Santa Barbara -v- Vanishing Spray FC
A pair of teams much more familiar with (and possibly bored of) each other met just last week (GW23) and Premier League leaders Vanishing Spray took the win by a single point, 37-36. In an interesting pattern of form, these two teams have chosen to take turns winning two then losing two over the last three years. FCSB have now won six and lost five, outscoring the in-form VSFC just 427-426! A one-point win would really level it up. Just saying.
Glentoran FC -v- Branwellington FC
Both Glentoran FC and Branwellington FC went out at this stage last year, Glentoran lost 51-47 to SB Town and Branwellington lost 59-44 to Yer Man. Branwellington made it to the Third Round in 2017 after knocking out Peter Crouch’s 3rd Sock and then AC Reykjavik BC in a replay, 53-33, but were then knocked out by Wijnaldum Leviosa who had joined the BFFA just seven weeks previous.
GoFYS FC -v- stillluvQPR
The first two teams out of the hat were, incredibly, GoFYS FC and stillluvQPR! Just like Inter and AC Milan, “home advantage” will go out of the window next weekend (hopefully no suitcases or valued possessions will be flying out of the window with it!) If I’m right, this will be the first time that these two teams have met, so bragging rights will be at a premium.
Hung Like A Bony -v- Wijnaldum Leviosa
If you ask any poker player, they’ll be able to tell you about the bad beats they’ve been dealt. These things will stick in their minds for a long time and will often haunt them for the rest of their lives. For Hung LAB and their fans, the 56-44 defeat in the First Round Replay last year will still be very fresh in their minds. For those of you who don’t remember which team knocked them out (after a high-scoring 53-all draw) – it was the BFFA Cup poster boys Wijnaldum Leviosa. Leviosa scored no less than 50 points in every Cup game last season up to and including the Quarter-Final where they were knocked out by the mighty Bigo1. They will of course be hoping to have a similar run this year but it will be Hung Like A Bony, fifth in the Best-ish table, who will be favourites to go through from this tie.
Mourinho-lo -v- Tralfamadore Zoo FC
Next, are the fates building up for a David and Goliath story in Round Two? In terms of strength, two teams couldn’t be further apart than top and bottom of the Best-ish Table. Right now the Cup Holders Tralfamadore Zoo are dominating League One, ten League points and 92 matchpoints clear at the top. They beat Mourinho-lo all four times in League Two last season. This season in League Two, Mourinho-lo are starting to pull themselves together; when they lost to the League leaders last week it was their first loss since 22nd December. It only takes one good week to knockout a Champion…
RelicFC -v- Tiger Tail Reta
Here’s a game for those of you who believe in déjà vu; Relic and Tiger Tail also faced each other in the Second Round of the Cup last year! Relic walked on after a 59-43 victory against their League rivals. The two teams however found themselves at opposite ends of the table at the end of the season and moved on to different competitions. Outside of the Cup, these two shared a League for two seasons and met nine times, RelicFC had the slightly better record winning five and losing four.
Route 57 FC -v- Mighty Fine Feeling
In terms of League form, two teams experiencing very different fortunes are Route 57 (won last six) and Mighty Fine Feeling (lost last five). They are two of the best teams in the BFFA at the moment – only three places apart in the Best-ish table, currently 4th and 7th. R57 have only played one Cup match since forming, losing 68-54 in the highest-scoring game of last year’s Cup to the eventual winners Tralfamadore Zoo. MFF of course made it to the Semi-Finals in their first BFFA Cup in 2017 and the Third Round last year.
Smash & Grab -v- Bigo1
The first League rivalry matchup out of the hat was a big one. Only four places apart in the Best-ish table and two places in the PL, Smash & Grab have faced last year’s Runners-Up Bigo1 eleven times over the last season-and-a-half, most recently last weekend when Bigo1 beat S&G 53-47. They were in the same Champions League Group two years running, both years they played each other in back-to-back weeks and in League-and-CL double gameweeks. Historically speaking, Bigo1 have narrowly had the better of S&G – W6, L5.
Sugar Daddies -v- Harambe Hotspur FC
The last time that Harambe Hotspur played in the BFFA Cup, they were knocked out in the 2017 Semi-Final by soon-to-be Champions Bigger Than Brolin. This year they’ve returned for another go at getting their name on the trophy. Their first (and possibly only) opponents are a team they’ve faced twice already this season. Sugar Daddies took three points off them the first time they met (GW8) with a comfortable 45-37 win. Five weeks later Hotspur returned to give them a 71-38 thrashing. Harambe are currently three places and twelve points above their opponents, despite only having scored 29 matchpoints more. This match should be a lot closer than the League table might suggest.
The Money Team -v- Sporting Wicker Park
Sporting Wicker Park have long been regarded as a phenomenal team – ranked third in the world at the end of last season, they have collected runners-up medals in the DRF, the Premier League, the Champions League and the BFFA Cup. But if this is to be their year then they will have to get past the team who are currently second in the Premier League and have beaten them the last three times that they’ve met. The Money Team, twice Cup Quarter-Finalists, will also be involved in a six-pointer with Bigger Than Brolin in GW25 as both fight to keep up with Vanishing Spray.
Yer Man -v- Gloopy Yarbles
These two sides are becoming very familiar with each other this season and will be one of four pairs that can see each other’s line-up via the League site. They met just two weeks ago (GW22) and Gloopy won 51-38 as a part of Yer Man’s current six-game losing streak. Gloopy Yarbles are now just one place and three points ahead of Yer Man, despite the latter having scored more matchpoints. Both made the Third Round last year, only one will repeat that this season.
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