Weekend Round-Up: FA Cup Joy for St Neots and Eynesbury

The FA Cup returned with a bang this weekend as both St Neots Town and Eynesbury Rovers stormed through their Extra Preliminary Round ties in emphatic fashion — scoring eleven goals between them to delight local fans.

St Neots Town FC

At the Premier Plus Stadium, St Neots Town produced a dominant first-half performance to crush Great Yarmouth Town 7–1 and equal their best-ever FA Cup result.

The Saints flew out of the blocks and were 2–0 up before the half-hour mark thanks to goals from Murphy Culkin and Rhys Thorpe, with Harvey Williams and Charlie Bowen heavily involved in the build-up. But it was just before the break when St Neots really turned the screw — hitting three goals in six minutes. Kieran Barnes slotted home through a crowded penalty area, Williams pounced on a defensive mix-up to add a fourth, and moments later Barnes bagged his second after racing onto a long ball and rounding the keeper.

Although the second half was less frantic, St Neots maintained control. Barnes completed his hat-trick with a fine solo run and finish to make it six, and after a red card for Yarmouth’s Reegan Perry for a handball on the line, Christian Tavernier stepped up to convert the penalty and round off the scoring. A confident start to the season for Cameron Mawer’s men, who next face Belper Town at home in their league opener this Saturday.

Eynesbury Rovers

Meanwhile, over at Hall Road, Eynesbury Rovers were forced to come from behind in their all-local clash against Potton United, eventually running out 4–1 winners.

It was the visitors who struck first, capitalising on a defensive error to allow Nikolay Rusev to fire Potton ahead after 25 minutes. Rovers regrouped and created a flurry of chances before the break, with Harry Hurst, Max Kimpton, Victor Osobu, and Erald Memaj all going close — but they couldn’t find a way past Sam Galatis in the Potton goal.

The second half told a different story. On 57 minutes, Osobu’s shot was spilled by the keeper and Nathan George smashed home the equaliser from close range. Just five minutes later, a bursting run from Kimpton led to Hurst drilling home a second, before Osobu added a third just three minutes after that. With Potton reeling, Osobu turned provider late on, squaring the ball for Memaj to cap the win with his first goal for the club. There was even time for a missed penalty — Osobu was brought down in the box, but Luke Young’s spot-kick was saved.

Eynesbury now look ahead to a historic first-ever meeting with Atherstone Town on Saturday, while their next FA Cup outing will be away to Sawbridgeworth Town on 16 August.