The Flamingo Land Stadium.

Hard to say how many FGR fans will be up for this game.  We are likely to have more games this season against Scarborough than any other team!

This rearranged tie came about as a result of an FA investigation into Rovers fielding an ineligible player in the 1st Round tie.  Barnsley faced a similar investigation which resulted in them being thrown out of the Cup, allowing Horsham to progress to the next round.  Early Scarborough posts on ‘X’ suggest they are unhappy that Scarborough haven’t been treated the same as Horsham but also say they are delighted to be back in the FA Cup.

As ever, the FA have been pretty opaque about their decision.

The tie will be played to a conclusion next Tuesday – there will be no replay.  The winners will play Blackpool away a week later on Tuesday 19th Dec.  The winner of the Blackpool game will face Nottingham Forest away.

As many Rovers fans will already know – this is not a short journey!  Almost 250 miles to drive which will take something over 4 hours by road.

By Coach – as ever, will be the easiest and cheapest option, particularly as the club and the Supporters Club will run up to 2 FREE coaches from Nailsworth if there is demand.  The date of the tie has now been confirmed as Tue 12th Dec.  We’ll update this preview with more travel information as we get it.

By Train – travel from Stroud involves 2 changes at Gloucester and York and will take between 6 and 7 hours (reduce the journey to less than 5 hours if you start at Gloucester rather than Stroud).  Obviously, you can’t get back on the same day.  Scarborough Station is about a mile from the ground.

By Road – The address is the Flamingo Land Stadium, Scarborough Sports Village, Ashburn Road, Scarborough, YO11 2JW.  There are apparently over 200 free car parking spaces at the Sports Village (The Sports Village is signposted en route from all directions into the town – same postcode).

The Swimming Pool turnstiles are the ones that visiting supporters should make for.  Turnstiles usually open an hour and a quarter before kick-off.

The  stadium capacity is 3,252 with 586 seats and it will probably be well attended.  Only 10 seats were made available to FGR fans in November,and these are slightly uncomfortably placed between home fans, albeit in a good central pitchside position.  For other away fans, it’s an uncovered, non-tiered standing area behind one of the goals.  Not as bad as it sounds – you are very close to the action and unlikely to be too crowded if you do get to the game.

Food & Drink – Normally, The Clubhouse is accessible from a couple of hours before the game.  However, in the first tie,this wasn’t made available to away fans.  Perhaps that will change for the rescheduled game?  The leisure centre near the away turnstiles will let you in to sit in the warm for a cup of tea if you don’t want to go into the ground too early.  If not, perhaps try some of the following pubs/restaurants –

Scholar’s Bar – Walking distance to the ground, real ales, live sports, drinks promotions

The Tow Bar– Great location on the outskirts of Scarborough, ample parking, child friendly, suitable for coaches, drinks promotions

Rack n Roll , Lord Nelson , The Foxhound Inn , The Cockpit (restaurant)

If you need to contact the club, then you can e-mail info@scarboroughathletic.com

Scarborough Athletic were formed in 2007 as a ‘phoenix club’ after the collapse of Scarborough FC.  They spent 10 seasons ground-sharing at Brislington before moving to the Flamingo Land Stadium in 2017.

They are a 100% fan-owned club.  The Seadog Trust, a supporters body, took over the club in 2007.  The club are nicknamed The ‘Seadogs’ or just ‘Boro’.  Their home strip is all red.

They play in the Vanarama National League North (the 6th tier of football , one below the National League and 2 levels below FGR).  This is the same league as Gloucester City and also includes some fallen giants such as Darlington, Chester, Hereford & Scunthorpe.  FGR’s FA Cup opponents at the same stage last year, South Shields, are also in this league.  Scarborough have risen steadily up the ranks since they reformed, getting their promotion to the National League North in 2022.  Their first season in the league was good – they missed out on a play-off spot on the final day of the season.

This season Scarborough’s progress has been mixed – they have been strong at home (only the 1 loss) but a bit shaky away from home (7 defeats).  They are comfortably mid-table in 11th place (out of 24) in this league.  They are 14 points behind leaders Scunthorpe but with 2 games in hand.  They have scored 27 and conceded 24 from their 19 games so far.

Scarborough’s record attendance was 3,205 for a local derby against Darlington in January this year.  This was beaten in the cup tie against FGR when the attendance was 3,209.

It was a game against Darlington in January that was marred by numerous mysogynistic comments from Darlington supporters towards a female assistant referee.  It got so bad, that she had to be moved to the opposite side of the pitch in the 2nd half.  Sadly, she then got the same sort of comments from the Scarborough supporters, leaving her very distressed.  The game had to be stopped for 40 minutes.  Seems that prejudice and hatred towards women in football is alive and well among some in Yorkshire.

Scarborough’s route to this stage of the FA Cup has been;

• Farsley 1-1 Scarborough
• Scarborough 3-1 Farsley
• Darlington 1-2 Scarborough
• Scarborough 2-2 Oxford City
• Oxford City 2-3 Scarborough
• Scarborough 1-1 FGR
• FGR 5-2 Scarborough

Their last qualifying ties were against Oxford City.  In both games, Scarborough led 2-0 before being pegged back to 2-2.  It was a 91st minute winner in the replay at Oxford that earned the Seadogs the win, against the odds against their National League opponents.  Scarborough had 5 different goalscorers in the 2 ties against Oxford.

Against FGR, Alex Wiles scored a goal in each leg for Scarborough.  Wiles is one of 5 teachers in the Scarborough squad!  Olly Sully scored the dramatic last-minute equaliser for FGR in the first tie, while Omotoye, Jenks, Bunker, Robson & McAllister were the FGR goalscorers in the replay.

Scarborough’s Lewis Maloney (number 4) is noted for his set piece shots and deliveries.

There’s a lot to see and do in this part of North Yorkshire and within reasonably easy reach of Scarborough.

As it’s half term, you may be tempted by Flamingo Land, some 10 miles west of Scarborough.  With 1.5 million visitors annually it’s one of the country’s biggest (paid for) attractions.  Roller Coasters, Zoo, golf course, Splash Zone, caravan and lodge accommodation, and a Halloween themed week with fireworks & drone swarm displays – go to flamingo land for a look!

The stunning North York Moors National Park is on Scarborough’s doorstep, including spectacular coastal villages like Robin Hood’s Bay (pictured below) and Whitby.

Castle Howard (top) – setting for Brideshead Revisited is close by, as is the impressive Rievaulx Abbey (above), near the lovely town of Helmsley (below).