All being well, the weather will relent this weekend and give New Mills and Bootle the opportunity to make further progress in the FA Vase and meet up in the Fifth Round.
New Mills entertain Witney United and Bootle travel up to the North East to face Norton & Stockton Ancients in the Fourth Round, and the draw for the Fifth Round threw up the tantalising prospect of the two sides meeting up in the High Peak if they emerge victorious from their respective games.
After overcoming opposition from the Northern League away from home in the last round, another away trip North to face a team from the same league will hold no fears for a Bootle side who have produced some impressive performances in cup competitions in recent years.
Norton & Stockton Ancients are a well established founder member of the Northern League, and have a mixed record against clubs from our league in Vase ties in recent years. In 2001-02 they went out in the First Qualifying Round to Nelson after a replay, in 2004-05 they won at Squires Gate at the same stage, and the following year lost at Colne in Round 2.
More recently, back in November they staged a terrific comeback at Padiham in the Second Round, coming back from two goals down after half an hour to steal a 4-2 win through two goals in stoppage time. The man who did the bulk of the damage was striker Norton striker Sonny Andrews who grabbed a hat trick.
Andrews, whose brother Rocky starred in the BBC show "The Apprentice" in 2008, grew up in a boxing mad family, and Mr Andrews senior named his sons after fighting heroes Sonny Liston and Rocky Marciano. Sonny the striker clearly packs a punch in front of goal, and with 12 goals in his side's 21 league games is the club's top scorer and the man to watch in the home ranks.
But the Bucks will travel up to Stockton-on-Tees in positive mood, and manager Chris O'Brien is hoping for better luck than they experienced at the same stage last season.
"We reached the Fourth Round last year and we got beaten by Whitley Bay, who of course went on to win it. But we were 1-0 up for a long spell of the game and had a player sent off after about 20 minutes, and on another day we could so easily have won that game".
However, this time around the squad is a year older and wiser, and Chris says everyone is looking forward with confidence to the trip.
"The result at Penrith (in the last round) was a massive boost for us. Although they equalised after we went ahead early on, we totally dominated the game and were never uncomfortable.
"The Vase is a big thing for us and we can't wait for the game. There's been some stuff on the Norton website about a gang of Scousers coming to town, so make sure you lock your cars up and stuff like that. It's all banter and we'll retaliate in the right way by having a laugh back.
"Obviously we would have preferred a home draw, but we are all looking forward to it. It's a chance for around 70 Scousers to go on a three hour coach trip, and believe me it'll be like a holiday, and coming home at night will be like a night out. We are serious about what we do, but we're Scousers so there is an element of fun about us too. We enjoy those sorts of occasions, and it'll be like a cup final for us".
New Mills have landed a home draw for the third round in succession, and host opposition who are relatively unknown to us here in the North West, Witney United of the Hellenic League.
The town of Witney in Oxfordshire, is a market town with over 22,000 residents, and became world famous for its production of blankets. As a result Witney United are nicknamed "The Blanketmen".
Witney United FC was formed by a group of Witney Town supporters following the demise of their club, who were intent on bringing senior football back to the town. In 2002 the club gained a lease on the original Witney Town stadium and were accepted into Division One (West) of the Hellenic League, winning promotion to the Premier League in their second season.
Years of steady progress has seen the club become established in the Hellenic Premier, and last season United enjoyed their best ever campaign, finishing in 3rd place with a record number of points for the club. This time around United currently sit in fifth place in the Hellenic League, but have games in hand on the teams above them, due in no small part to their success in cup competitions this season.
They reached the Second Qualifying Round of the FA Cup before being convincingly seen off by Eastleigh, and by reaching the FA Vase Fourth Round, the club has equalled its best ever run in the FA Vase, as they reached the Fourth Round stage of the competition last season.
On that occasion they narrowly lost 1-0 to Lowestoft Town who eventually bowed out in the semi-finals to eventual winners Whitley Bay. That run ensured they were exempt to the Second Round this season, and in their two games so far they have enjoyed convincing home wins over Erith & Belvedere (5-1) and Almondsbury (4-0) at the interestingly named Polythene UK Stadium.
They will clearly not be overawed by a trip to Church Lane, although a trip North will be a novelty for them, as their Southern location means that away trips in the National competitions have been to the likes of Devon, Cornwall and Kent since they began entering in 2004-05.
Witney United boss Andy Lyne is understandably upbeat about his side's prospects of progressing in the competition, and speaking in the Oxfordshire Media to local journalist Kieren Bushnell, Lyne said:
"We had our best-ever run in the FA Cup this season and made some decent money from it and we have done likewise in the Vase. For us to reach the last 32 of this prestigious competition for two years in a row is a great achievement for such a young club.
"Like all clubs at our level, we are struggling financially, and would benefit greatly from staying in the competition as long as we can."
Lyne confessed he had previously known very little about New Mills, so he sent scouts up to the High Peak before Christmas to run the rule over the Millers.
"They are a strong and physical side and being the home side, they will obviously start as massive favourites. But we have done well away from home over the last three seasons and the long trip up there is a great team-spirit booster.
"When you get to this stage of a national competition we know there are no easy games and things can be decided on the merest moment, as we found out at Lowestoft last season. That defeat has made the lads even more determined not to have to face the same disappointment again. I don't know if New Mills have had us watched, but if they have they won't have learned an awful lot. We have three patterns of play that we can easily adjust to given the circumstances."
Striker Ben Thompson is the man in the visiting ranks to look out for, and his impressive goalscoring record ended up with him winning the Hellenic League Golden Boot last season. In the current campaign he has carried on where he left off, and has 24 goals in all competitions so far.
With the town of Witney boasting a certain David Cameron as its local MP, some might say it's not just a Vase Final appearance that locals will be hoping to celebrate around May time. But the Oxfordshire men will have to be at their best to progress at the expense of the Millers, who are formidable opposition on their home patch, as anyone who saw them destroy West Auckland Town with a devastating first half display would testify.
Secretary Duncan Hibbert says that everyone at Church Lane is looking forward with anticipation to the game.
"The team played their first game since December 12th on Tuesday night at Long Eaton in The Derbyshire Senior Cup. Understandably, there were signs of rustiness in the first half but the team came from two goals behind at half time to win 3-2 and now travel to Unibond Premier side Matlock Town in the semi-final.
"The majority of the senior players played at Long Eaton and I'm sure Tony and Paul will be thankful that they got some valuable game time under their belts before The Vase game.
"Witney have been similarly affected by the recent adverse weather and also played their first game since mid December on Tuesday. They recorded a 5-1 win in the Hellenic Premier Division so it looks like their enforced break hasn't done them too much harm either.
"With the draw for the Fifth Round already known, the added incentive for the winners of another home tie should hopefully produce an exciting spectacle for everybody".
Live commentary on the New Mills game will be broadcast on High Peak Radio, on 106.4 and 103.3 FM in the High Peak, and online at www.highpeakradio.co.uk.
In the event that either game ends in a draw after extra time, the replay will staged the following Saturday, 30th January, kick off 3 pm.
