Things You Might've Missed In The EFL Last Week - 3rd-9th Nov

FA Cup first round weekend. The one where a property surveyor knocks out a Football League club, a chairman fixes a losing run with a curry, and a manager tells his own supporters not to bother turning up.

Plus Cardiff, who've decided every game should now have about 9 goals in it.

Here's what you might've missed.

Back to the Day Job on Monday

Crawley Town went to Wimborne on Sunday 8th November. Wimborne Town play in the Southern League Premier Division South, the 7th tier, a full 57 places below a Crawley side currently sitting bottom of League Two under interim boss Kevin Blackwell.

9 minutes in, Yang Seung-woo, who spends his weekdays working as a property surveyor, took the ball just inside the area and curled it into the top corner past Vito Mannone, once of Arsenal and Sunderland.

Monday to Friday, site visits. Sunday afternoon, bins against a Football League keeper.

With 11 minutes left, Jackson King's shot hit Cameron Munn and deflected in. By all accounts Munn knew very little about it. They all count.

It's the first time in their history Wimborne have reached the FA Cup second round. For Crawley, it's the second season running they've gone out to non-league opposition, after Boreham Wood did it last year.

Get the Lads a Curry

Sometimes the answer to a bad result isn't a tactical rethink. It's a chicken tikka.

Kidderminster Harriers lost 2-1 to Solihull Moors at the end of October, having taken the lead in the 3rd minute. On the Monday night, chairman Richard Lane took the whole club out for a curry. Not just the squad: the staff and the admin team too. 

Manager Paul Wotton reckoned the squad had a bit of a hangover from the Solihull defeat, and the curry sorted it.

5 days after the curry, League One Doncaster Rovers turned up at Aggborough for the first round, sitting 40 places above Harriers in the pyramid. Kidderminster were 2 up by the 36th minute and won 3-0.

Every other chairman in the National League will be checking takeaway menus this week.

4-1 Down, Win 5-4

Cardiff City have had a week.

On Wednesday 4th November, Jack Moylan scored a hat-trick against West Ham by the 39th minute, his first in English football. West Ham fans were already heading for the exits. Scott Parker, who'd only been confirmed as manager that morning, made his changes, and goals on 58, 65 and 82 minutes made it 3-3. Not ideal.

So 3 days later, Cardiff did it the other way round.

Burnley came to the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday 7th November and were 2-0 up inside 25 minutes through Andreas Hountondji and Marcus Edwards. Cardiff pulled one back before the break, Largie Ramazani made it 3-1 after a mistake from Kristian Bielik, and on 62 minutes Alex Robertson turned a cross into his own net. 4-1. Game's done.

Substitute Yousef Salech scored on 65. Moylan (him again) scored a penalty on 75. Salech headed in the equaliser on 82. Then, in the 4th minute of stoppage time, Robertson, the same Robertson who'd scored in his own net half an hour earlier, hit the winner from distance.

Burnley boss Fabio Celestini said he could understand that kind of fragility at 1-0, but it cannot happen at 4-1. Burnley have now won 1 Championship game all season.

Cardiff: 2 home games, 15 goals, 1 win, 1 draw, and not a single result you could have called at half-time.

Sorry, Dad

All-League One FA Cup tie on Saturday 7th November: Peterborough United v Reading. Peterborough's manager is Robbie Savage. Reading's midfield includes Charlie Savage. 

Daniel Kyerewaa put Reading ahead on 26 minutes with a deflected finish, and Jack Marriott dived to head in a second on 34. Then, in first-half stoppage time, the ball ran off Marriott to Charlie, whose shot took a deflection and flew into the top corner. 3-0, scored by the son, against the dad, at the dad's own ground.

It didn't get any better for Robbie after the break. Charlie's free kick was nodded into Jamie Reid's path for the 4th on 72, and Reid added another 4 minutes later. 5-0, Reading's biggest ever away win in the FA Cup.

Robbie called it the worst performance under his management team and said his side didn't win a second ball in midfield. Peterborough are 22nd in League One, so there are bigger problems.

112 Places, 10 Men, 101 Minutes

Cray Wanderers play in the Isthmian League Premier Division, 112 places below Stockport County, who are 2nd in League One. For most of Sunday 8th November, none of that seemed to matter.

Sammie MacLeod put Cray ahead on 21 minutes. On 31, Stockport keeper Luca Ashby-Hammond was sent off for a dangerous challenge on John Ufuah just outside his area. On 35, Alex Hernandez scored a free kick. 2-0, and Stockport were down to 10 with a long way to go.

Then, eventually, the League One side found a way. Substitute Kyle Wootton headed in on 81, and Mikael Mandron equalised a minute into stoppage time. In extra time, Cray keeper JJ Briggs brought Mandron down, and Lewis Fiorini scored the penalty on 101.

Cray were 9 minutes plus stoppage time from knocking out a side 112 places above them, with 11 against 10 for well over an hour.

That one will sting for a while.

Stay at Home, Save Your Money

Cheltenham Town beat National League Halifax 2-0 in the FA Cup on Saturday 7th November. Jake Evans scored on 16 minutes, and substitute George Miller headed in a corner 3 minutes into stoppage time. Fine. Normal. Into the second round.

Then Steve Cotterill spoke to Gloucestershire Live about the midweek EFL Trophy trip to Oxford United. He thanked anyone thinking of making the journey, said there would be lots of changes, and then very politely told them to "stay at home". He didn't want anyone spending their money going down there.

To be fair to the man, he's never hidden how he feels about this competition since Premier League academy sides were let into it in 2016. He changed his entire XI for a group game against Exeter in September, then picked something close to his strongest side against Tottenham's Under-21s, who had Richarlison in their team. This is also a manager who won the thing with Bristol City in 2015.

Honesty in football. Love to see it.

For the record, Cheltenham lost 4-0 at the Kassam on Tuesday night. So anyone who listened saved themselves the petrol and the evening.

That's your lot for 3rd to 9th November. Seen something I haven't? Let me know.