17th October 1999 

Early Bluebird's reports
Latics v Chelmsford City in FA Cup 1

And five minutes into stoppage time the move paid dividends when Ollie Berquez freed Sonnex who powered home an unstoppable drive from the edge of the area. Overall the visitors just about deserved the result although Kingsbury's rough tactics coupled with a bumpy pitch did nothing to aid City's normal slick football. There was an early scare for City when Paul Catley blocked Terry Dunning's shot and later in the half Catley also excelled by tipping over Gavin Child's lob.

Otherwise it was a fairly quiet game for the City 'keeper whilst at the other end Lee Clark's most anxious moments came when Tesfaye Bramble's effort was knocked off the line and then the young forward saw his fierce drive spectacularly pushed aside. City also had loud penalty appeals turned down when Mark Greatorex was floored and after the break Berquez was crudely scythed down in the box but once again the referee gave nothing. Moments before Sonnex's introduction Kingsbury's Stuart Freeman was sent off for butting Greatorex.

At last City began to stretch their hosts and fellow substitute Alan Vincent was foiled by Clark. But with a replay imminent Sonnex made his mark with his first goal for the Club. Indeed Sonnex missed an easier chance straight from the restart but under the circumstances the large Chelmsford contingent were very forgiving.

FA Cup 2nd Qualifying round 18/09/99 at Aylesbury United

Chelmsford City's classy performance was sufficient to bring them F.A. Cup success at the expense of Ryman Premier outfit Aylesbury despite the visitors falling behind to a 7th-minute Cliff Hercules header. It took City just four minutes to equalise when Ollie Berquez delivered the perfect cross for Ben Fuller who stole in to nod home from close range. Both Hercules and Fuller were then sent off either side of half-time, Hercules seeing red for an outrageous X-certificate foul on Berquez. Fuller's dismissal was rather less straightforward and he went following two yellow cards, neither offence appearing malicious. Parity in numbers lifted Aylesbury and goalkeeper Paul Catley showed his worth to Chelmsford with a couple of quality saves but it was the visitors who were destined for glory. In the 67th minute Tesfaye Bramble lit up the tie with a cool finish after rounding Gary Phillips in the home goal. The pace of Bramble and Berquez continued to leave Aylesbury in disarray and only the benevolence of the referee allowed them to remain with ten men. City confirmed a home clash with Moor Green in the third qualifying round 11 minutes from time when Shane Wardley freed Bramble and his fierce shot from the edge of the area proved too hot for Phillips. In the closing moments the marauding Bramble looked set for his hat-trick only for Stuart Beevor to intervene with a professional foul, thus collecting another red card to go with the one he recieved at Braintree last Tuesday night

FA Cup 3rd Qualifying round 2/10/99 at home to Moor Green Rovers

All teams need a bit of luck during a prolonged F.A. Cup run and it was Chelmsford City's turn to breath a huge sigh of relief on this occasion. City had to withstand long spells of pressure from the Birmingham-based opposition and were indebted to goalkeeper Paul Catley who conjured up a string of vital saves to preserve the 23rd-minute advantage given to them by Ollie Berquez. A taster of Catley's heroics came with just 40 seconds played when Craig Woodley was foiled, with City not creating a worthwhile chance until the all-important one. As Moor Green appealed in vain for offside, former Ipswich Town youngster Shane Wardley cut the ball back from the byline for Berquez to roll home his 11th goal in twelve games. Tentative Chelmsford were then pegged back for the remainder of the half as the busy Woodley continued to cause all sorts of problems from midfield. City were almost caught napping seconds after the interval and it needed Catley's expertise to keep them in front when Craig Pountney threatened. It was 'de-ja-vu' soon after and it seemed only a matter of time before the equaliser arrived. Catley astounded everyone in the 858 crowd on 65 minutes by finger-tipping Derek Hall's low drive round the post and this was followed by Wardley's timely clearance off the line. City failed to buckle though, and with teenager Kevin Dobinson shining at the heart of the defence 'The Clarets' valiantly managed to hang on to Berquez's precious strike. In the 4th qualifying round City will visit either Horsham YMCA, Herne Bay or Farnham with the latter two hoping to conclude their meeting on Tuesday after four failed attempts.FA Cup 4th Qualifying round 16/10/99 at Horsham YMCA A mouth-watering first round tie at Oldham Athletic now awaits Chelmsford after this tension-packed victory against the impressive Unijet Sussex County League high-fliers. Only two minutes were on the clock when Horsham's Rob Grim found the target with a deflected near-post header. City weren't behind for long though and Tesfaye Bramble's fizzing 20-yard drive on 13 minutes was too hot for keeper Jason Dumbrill who could only help the ball into the net. Five minutes later the visitors were ahead as Ben Fuller gained possession in his own half and swiftly exchanged passes with Barry Lakin before racing through to expertly lift his shot over the exposed Dumbrill. It was an inspired goal that should have settled City's nerves. But YMCA retaliated and both Grim and Warren Tilley were a whisker away from equalising, the latter seeing John Girling head his effort off the line. Eight minutes after the restart top scorer Ollie Berquez spurned the opportunity to net his 13th goal of the season after Fuller was adjudged to have been tripped in the area. It was a rather dubious award but Dumbrill boosted his side by easily saving Berquez's tame penalty. Lakin then missed another good chance just prior to parity in the 65th minute. City's over-casual defending was leading to all sorts of problems and Lee Butcher slammed the ball past Catley for a deserved leveller. The hundreds of Chelmsford fans in the record crowd of 845 were celebrating again in the 73rd minute as Fuller latched onto Alan Vincent's precise pass and neatly scored from ten yards. Fuller missed an easier opening to grab his hat-trick and it was left to Catley to book a date at Boundary Park, his stunning save from Matt Russell finally seeing off the gallant hosts.