6thjuly03

Beckenham Town see the light as they embark on another home FA Cup tie
The draw for the FA Cup was made over the weekend and it gave Go Travel Kent League side Beckenham Town their fourth consecutive home draw, writes Geoff Ward of www.beckenhamtownfc.co.uk  The Eden Park Avenue outfit have not been drawn away from home in the FA Cup in the twenty first century.

In season 1988-89 Beckenham Town grabbed the headlines in the national press including The Times.  Having secured an unexpected and perhaps unwanted away draw against Isthmian Premier Division opponents Barking they were faced with a replay at Eden Park Avenue on the following Wednesday night.  A difficulty enough prospect against such accomplished opponents, but made considerably more testing without having floodlights.  When Beckenham confirmed a 3.00pm Wednesday afternoon kick off, it drove Barking's chairman to express his displeasure in The Times, and the FA to consult the rule book to find out how a club without floodlights had crept unnoticed into their premier competition.

Amongst Beckenham's lofty opponents have been Sutton United (lost 5-0), Fisher Athletic (lost 4-0) and more recently Aylesbury United (lost 1-0).  If you are searching for Town's last victory, then it's back ten years to a victory in the
second qualifying round against Kingsbury Town (3-2).

Beckenham were scratched from the competition in 1993-94 when once again the question of not having floodlights came into the spotlight.