Broken dreams Weston-super-Mare and other minnows pay the price for greed of the rich

Weston-super-Mare's ground holds 3,500 fans. It was last packed to the rafters when Doncaster Rovers arrived a decade ago, a convincing defeat hardly dampening the night's magnitude.

- Nick Ames

Had the clock stopped at 90 minutes in their FA Cup first round tie at Bristol Rovers on Saturday, a 1-1 draw would have guaranteed an occasion unmatched in their 137-year history. The National League South side would have hosted a competitive derby against one of the local giants for the first time; broadcasters would almost certainly have been interested and the five-figure windfall would not have harmed ambitions to redevelop their home.

Instead the tie went to extra time and Rovers pulled two goals clear. Weston-super-Mare's time in the sun was over. As a timely thread on X pointed out over the weekend, they were one of five non-league teams that missed out on a home replay for identical reasons. That would not have been the case before the Football Association's decision in April that all FA Cup fixtures must be decided at the first time of asking, justified primarily by the imminent strain from expanded Champions League and Club World Cup competitions on those higher up the chain.