More than just a Game: The College Football Cup.

Cartmel (As), County (Bs), Pendle (Bs), Lonsdale (Bs & Cs) and Fylde (Bs & Cs), all advance to the second round of the Trophy.

The first round of fixtures in the newly formatted college football cup got underway in Week 6, with college teams from divisions 2 and 3 competing in the first round.

The winners of these games will progress to the second round, where teams from Division 1 will also be entered. The losers of the first round will enter into the Bowl, where they will have a second chance to win some silverware.

The first games of the week took place on a cold Wednesday afternoon, starting with Cartmel (A) taking on Pendle (C) at 12:30 PM. The game ended with a 2 – 1 victory for Cartmel, seeing them progress to the next round. However, for fielding an ineligible player, they were later disqualified.

Cartmel (B) were then scheduled to play Lonsdale (B). However, Lonsdale was given an automatic place in the next round after Cartmel forfeited the game before kick-off.

That same evening, County (C) was up against an in-form Fylde (B) side. With both teams currently top of their leagues, this was set to be an interesting game. In the end, it was Fylde who continued their unbeaten run, with the game ending 4-1.

The next set of games took place over the weekend, firstly with Graduate (A) taking on their fellow college team Graduate (B), at 10:30 AM. Graduate (A) winning 6-0.

Grizedale (B) were then scheduled to play Furness (C), but with Furness currently being unallowed to play, the win went to Grizedale. Grizedale (B) will progress to the next round of the Trophy, and Furness (C) will enter into the Bowl.

Next, it was County (B) up against Bowland (B). When these two teams met previously in the league, it was Bowland who had the edge, winning 1-0. This time, however, County (B) repaid the favour by winning 1-0 in yet another close game, seeing them progress to round two.

In the final match of the day at 5:30 PM, Pendle (B) took on Grizedale (C). With Pendle losing two out of their three league games, Grizedale fancied their chances, but the second division side was too strong and won the match 2-0.

On Sunday, Lonsdale (C) were given the automatic win after Furness (B) were again not allowed to play the fixture. As a result, all three of Lonsdale’s teams will feature in the next round draw alongside Furness (B) who will also enter into the Bowl.

The final game of the weekend saw Fylde (C) take on Bowland (C) on the 3G. Fylde (C) has had an impressive start to the year (following in the footsteps of the Bs), winning all three of their league games. Again, they managed to maintain this winning streak in a substantial 6-1 victory.

That was all for cup football until Week 9, when the second round of fixtures will be played, and the competition will intensify with the addition of Division 1 teams.