Keeping up with the Jones

·51 min·5 clips

Stockton Town, once playing as Heartburn Juniors, stuns former Premier League side Oldham Athletic 2-0 in the FA Trophy.

The FA Trophy dominates the conversation. Rob, Phil and returning contributor Christian James begin with what they see as the biggest upset among the 21 ties that went ahead. Stockton’s win over Oldham comes first. The panel accepts that a promotion-chasing side’s team selection will draw scrutiny, but Stockton still deserve full credit for the result. From there, the discussion moves through the round, weighing each result against the clubs involved and their circumstances. Braintree brings a different kind of talking point. Public signs that the club may be looking to save money prompt a careful discussion about possible player movement. Cairo Lisby sits at the centre of it. His recent goals suggest a bigger opportunity could be coming if the club reshapes its attacking options. Then the football gets chaotic again. Brentwood lead Southend in the first half and briefly threaten another surprise during an eight-goal match. Southend eventually get through with five. Pepple’s hat-trick proves decisive and, as the panel recalls it, is the only treble of the round. Sutton and Ebbsfleet provide another goal-filled tie. Their six shared goals make a mess of what many may have considered a home banker. The panel also pulls back for a wider look. Recent relegation from the Football League and the lift of a cup run both affect how these results feel. Christian then shifts from current football to historical research. He explains how programme work grew into a statistics-led project, with the quiet period during COVID giving him time to dig deeper into Boston United’s past. Boston’s history gives him plenty to explore. Its years near the top of non-league and brief Football League spell feed Christian’s enthusiasm for helping clubs appreciate their own stories. The episode closes in that warm spirit. Results and cup uncertainty drive the conversation, but it also shows how today’s non-league game remains tied to club memory.

As heard by us

Cup shocks, high-scoring drama and sharp non-league context enliven this FA Trophy weekend review.

Stockton's remarkable 2-0 win over promotion-chasing Oldham leads a busy FA Trophy weekend. The panel gives Stockton proper credit instead of pinning the result on Oldham's team selection, then turns to Southend's eight-goal trip to Brentwood, Sutton's six-goal contest with…

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Why you'd press play

You get Stockton's 2-0 Oldham upset, Southend's eight-goal tie and the stories behind a packed FA Trophy round.

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