BOLDMERE ST MICHAELS (A)

2026/27 FA TROPHY PRELIMINARY ROUND

We are on the road once more this Saturday, and once again it is another game in another competition!

This time, it's the turn of The FA Trophy, and we have been drawn away at fellow Midlands Division One side Boldmere St Michaels.

The Mikes, like ourselves, have had to play in the very earliest rounds of the FA competitions, and they managed to come through their FA Cup challenge at Gresley Rovers, though the scoreline of 3-0 to The Mikes doesn't tell the full story! Rovers, sitting mid-table with 4 points from 3 games in the United Counties League Premier Division North, missed a number of chances in the first half, and with just seconds of the tie remaining, a replay looked on the cards with the scoreline still goalless. Boldmere, however managed to get 3 last-gasp goals, timed at 90, 94 and 97 minutes to break Gresley's resolve, and subsequently book a date at home to former FA Cup giantkillers Chasetown, who famously reached the 3rd Round proper in 2008.

However, if that scoreline didn't tell the full story, fast-forward to Tuesday night to see Boldmere's next game. At home in NPL, The Mikes demolished Carlton Town, who finished runners-up in the league last term, 5-0. Boldmere were 2 up inside the first 5 minutes, and a sorry Carlton never recovered.

Midfielder Kyle Byrne is in hot form, with 3 goals already to his name this season, and so far, with no goals conceded, this is looking a tough game for The Blues of Long Eaton United.

This is an FA Trophy match, the first, Preliminary Round of the competition, and there are 16 ties to be played, before the those 16 winners filter into the First Qualifying Round. There are 3 Qualifying Rounds, before the first round proper - which is on Saturday 24th October - make a date in your diaries!

Since our promotions through the pyramid, we have only recently began playing in the Trophy again, and have sadly not faired particularly well. Our only win was against Gresley Rovers in 2022, though in each of the past 3 seasons, we have been knocked out of the competition on penalties, against Loughborough Dynamo, Stafford Rangers (in a replayed game) and Carlton Town last year.

Our last away victory in the competition came back in 1981 in a replayed game at Highgate United.

Our best performance in the competition is reaching the 3rd and final Qualifying Round - that was in 1976/77, 1979/80 & in 2023/24 - when, due to our lofty league positioning, we actually entered the competition straight into the final Qualifying Round.

Boldmere had a good run in the competition also in 23/24, they won 2 games, beating Sutton Coldfield Town and Grantham Town on their way to the 3rd Qualifying Round - their best performance, and that victory at home to Grantham Town was their last success in this competition.

Past Meetings
10/03/2026 Boldmere 3 BLUES 1 [Garnett]
14/02/2026 Boldmere - BLUES - (Abandoned 0-1)
14/10/2025 BLUES 3 Boldmere 0 [Davidson-Miller 2, Garnett]
01/02/2025 BLUES 5 Boldmere 0 [Shaw 3, Garnett, Taylor]
08/10/2024 Boldmere 1 BLUES 2 [Shaw, Pace]

The Ground
The Amber Arena & Community Stadium is based in Sutton Coldfield.

It is located around 43 miles from Long Eaton, with a journey time of just a shade over an hour. There is a raesonable amount of parking available around the ground.

The postcode is: B73 5RY

We will provide any Admission Prices once we receive any from our hosts.