As ever, a mixed bag of results this weekend; apologies for the late reports but I`ve been waiting to see how Brechin City fared in their Scottish Cup game last night against Darvel from Ayrshire and who play in the West of Scotland Premier Division.  Like me I expect you could hardly wait to hear the result. Well, it ended in a 1-1 draw on a difficult night in the aftermath of storm Arwen, so the two teams will meet again on Saturday at Darvel`s Recreation Ground to see which of them will face Arbroath in the next round.

So, on to other matters.  The odd bit of good news saw Truro City travel to Binfield in Berkshire for an FA Trophy clash and they returned to Cornwall with a 3-2 win to set up a home tie in the next round against Dagenham and Redbridge.  Maidstone United crept through on penalties after a 1-1 draw at home to Billericay - the Stones will have to travel to Maidenhead for their next tie in the Trophy.  I think that might be it for this week`s good(ish) news.

As a lifetime Southampton fan I`ve got used to losing away at Liverpool, so the 4-0 defeat was not unexpected;  I`m just taking comfort in the knowledge that the week before Arsenal got stuffed by the same score at Anfield, but I put Saints defeat down to Liverpool`s excellence and Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl`s bizarre tactics which didn`t work and to which he has confessed and been let out on police bail pending further enquiries.

I felt sorry for my neighbour whose Gillingham were on course for an honourable draw against the blue few of Portsmouth at Priestfield, only to be undone in the last minute of the game to lose 1-0 but also to take what is hopefully a brief residence in the relegation zone of League One.

Back in Minnowland, there was a real local derby on Saturday when Stoke Gabriel(and Torbay Police) FC entertained near neighbours Dartmouth in the South West Peninsula League Premier Division East which ended with the visitors winning 4-0. Not very neighbourly, to be fair.  Vale of Leithen didn`t have a game and Fort William`s match at Rothes was called off due to a waterlogged pitch at Rothes.

But there is good news for The Fort, whose Claggan Park ground will host a friendly tomorrow evening against Greater Lochaber Thistle - the first time the ground has been used following extensive repair and maintenance work.  Let`s hope this might mean that Fort William can soon play their home matches, err, at home.