The omens going into this one were not good. We had never won a Cup game (although we had never gone out before the second round either!), we had never beaten opposition from a higher division, and we had never won on Saltworks Farm, Frodsham. In fact, we had played on there once and were totally shite. 

Added to this the fact that Scott Ditchfield, Rob Reay, Neil Howell, Brian Potts and Steve Painter were all out of the game (and the fact that once again Brazier overlooked the talent of Howell M, Miller L, Brighton P, Hollinger T and Sandbach S - what a bench!), things didn't look too clever. The weather, which had been lenient all Saturday on the open terraces of Holker Street, Barrow-in-Furness, had threatened to add to the woes, and a 'stiff breeze' blew off Frodsham Hill through us and onto the M56 at the end of the pitch. Grim stuff indeed. We then lost the toss.

The opening five minutes were quiet, but that was soon to change. The impressive in any division forward line of Musgrave and Johnson were really starting to test the Ring of Bells back four, and the passing and positional sense of Steve 'Manfred' Mann and Dave 'Fu Manchu' Melson at the back helped keep the home attack at bay. The Blues broke the duck when Johnson received the ball at his feet just inside the halfway line. He went straight at the jugular of the Frodsham defence, beating first one, then another. He had looked to have taken the ball to far when he cut inside and twatted a left foot thunderbolt into the roof of the net. 

Seconds later it was two. Musgrave, highlighting the terrific work rate that he and Johnson offer the team, closed in on the home centre half. The lad panicked and Muz took the ball off him before closing in on the keeper and lifting the ball over him. Andy Caswell, starting in the absence of Ditchfield, then smacked the bar with a shot from a Musgrave pull back. The once again excellent Graeme Reynolds, dropping back to left back in Reay's absence, then had an effort saved and another one headed off the line as the Blues threatened to run away with it. 

Ten minutes before half time, two nil up, and cruising. Or so we thought. Following a couple of corners, the home side pulled two goals back. As quickly as that. The first was a far post header from a poorly marked free kick, the second a lob following a corner. The atmosphere at half time was low. The two goals, especially the equaliser, was a kick in the teeth. Especially just before half time as well. 

The home side then tore into the Blues, who defended excellently. Mann and Melson were outstanding, as was Reynolds. Hocking was solid as ever, and Green probably had his best game of the season. Attack after attack was thwarted, but as the home side pressed, the Blues countered. Johnson, man of the match according to the home side, had in his own words 'a mare'. I would not entirely agree, but another week he may have had a half dozen. Musgrave also missed a couple, but it would be the partnership that helped seal the game with ten minutes left.

As the home side pressed, a long ball was sent into the path of Johnson. His ball to Musgrave on the wing was good, and Musgrave's shimmy and cross was blocked by a high Frodsham arm. Kev Thomas smashed the ball past the home keeper for 3-2. Then the early fireworks began. The number seven, when tackled by Mann, threw a punch which connected. This sparked an incident that could have really turned nasty. Yellow cards were shown, handbags thrown, the works. 

In injury time, Thomas dispossessed the home defence and was pulled down. He gratefully smashed the ball into the stanchion for 4-2, game over. There was still time for the Frodsham number 17, and their man of the match, to talk himself into a second booking and the inevitable red, and for Melson to see yellow for an enthusiastic twatting of the centre forward, but all in all a superb win. The ISA go on to face Mail Social in the next round. I for one can't wait.