So the alarm rang out at 5am and the great journey to the far flung North West lay ahead. Well it did for some diehards but I opted for the easier journey to the outskirts of Uckfield. The temptation of a 16 hour round trip to Barrow lingered very briefly, but having done the jaunt twice in recent times, I took the coward's way out and decided that 20 miles was far more acceptable than 335!

There had been discussion on where we would all get our football fix come Saturday afternoon, and some even contemplated going to watch Eastbourne T**n. But with some frantic forum posting, Victoria Park was googled and post codes noted. Uckfield Town and the Sussex Intermediate Cup. Hardly the most glamorous of ties but it was a Boro team and that seemed to satisfy the need to stand in the rain and watch the beautiful game.

As the teams came out, a few of us remarked we didn't recognise any of the Eastbourne players, until it was pointed out that the players in the red and black were in fact the home team! With a pitch that looked as if the sheep had only chewed half the grass, a full on blood and guts cup tie filled 90 incident packed minutes. Shaun's boys in yellow went about their business in the way we are used to at Borough. Good quality, passing football. The home team seemed to have been brought up on a different diet and with the rolling hills and farmland as a back drop, there was an air of the agricultural about them. With a coach that resembled Rigsby from Rising Damp with his hands on his hips, hard tackles flew in, and in all honesty, their players had the finesse of a combine harvester.

We have been witness to goalkeepers and their bellowing calls at defenders, and the word "squeeze" is well documented as a favoured call. In the case of the Uckfield keeper, it was more a question of does he mean get the defenders to push upfield, or was it more a case of his shirt and shorts being visibly three sizes too small? A corset couldn't have "squeezed" more! Another moment of football knowledge was displayed when a player from each side clashed then threw handbags at each other. With both players being shown a yellow, the shaven headed No.10 quipped to the referee "got those the wrong way round" Priceless!

With almost 90 on the clock, and scores at 2-2, it was a peach of a goal that saw Eastbourne take the spoils and progress to the next round. Billy Medlock seemed intent on removing the net with the ferocity of his shot. A good job done under difficult circumstances. The 25 fans from Eastbourne went home happy.

And so to Priory Lane and a bright Sunday morning. 11am sees under-18s action at the hallowed turf, and Shaun and Doug always seem to bring through a healthy bunch of new faces. Worthing Minors made the cross county trek and those who ventured through the gate were treated to very good game of football. Both teams tried to play attractive passing footy and at half-time the home boys went in with a two goal advantage. No-one could have expected the second half to produce anything different and a gambling man would have been pushed to predict more than a couple more goals in the following 45 minutes. The Worthing net rippled 14 more times. To suffer a scoreline like that would demoralise most teams but to the credit of our West Sussex neighbours the Worthing lads kept plugging away and kept playing football. The biggest round of applause went up when with the score at 12-0, The Minors netted.

So with a tasty cup tie and a goal-fest over the weekend, we come up to date with the reserves next run out. Unlike last Saturday when the 1st team were miles away, Wednesday evening saw several squad members taking to the field in injury comebacks or just to get full 90 minutes in. A very sparse crowd littered the terraces and once again the "onion bag" was being tested. Three Bridges came, and went, utterly defeated. An evening on the coast was more than a bridge too far. Having seen 17 goals on Sunday, I certainly didn't expect another 10 but with Nathan Crabb on fire hitting four and Billy once again trying to rip the net from the stanchion, quality shone as bright as the flood lights!

So, a message for the armchair fans that sit in and watch European nonsense on Sky. Haul yourself out of that chair and come down to see the Reserves and the under-18s when they are at home. It may not be multi millionaires, poncing about like prima donas but it's grassroots at its best! Shaun and Doug give it their all, and with the behind the scene volunteers, it would be nice if a few more came along and gave the lads a cheer. You never know, you may even enjoy it.