Bristol Manor Farm v Bath City B

So me and Mrs Hacksaw took the little train to Sea Mills, as we occasionally do, to have a look at Bristol Manor Farm. An added bonus was that we would be seeing them play Bishops Sutton - ostensibly Billy Clark's new development squad project. What we actually saw rather surprised us.

The team Sutton put out was in effect a stronger Bath City squad that we've fielded in most Somerset Cup games over the last couple of years. The starting line up included Aaron Brown, Adam Connolly, Scott Wilson, unseen new boy Danny Wring, and some youngster called James Rollo - alongside a few familiar youth team faces and a couple of Sutton's on stalwarts.

It turned out as a battling 1-1, with City - sorry, Sutton - starting the strongest, but The Farm picking up the pace as the game went on.

Of the players we know less about, the young keeper (whose name escapes me right now, but who played in the Cheddar game) was excellent throughout, and distributed the ball down the wings quickly for the whole game. Danny Wring's got the look of a player who wants us to think he's got the skills - even down to the Beckham hairdo - but shy of a few nice runs offered little, while Scott Wilson offered more in blue than he has in black and white to date, his jinking runs causing The Farm's defence all kinds of trouble. He's still a bit lightweight and often seems short of imagination, but it looks like there's the germ of a decent player in there.

Most of the nippers held their own, too, and if it wasn't for the constantly dangerous BMF number eleven, Sutton could have held on for the win. I was surprised to see that the usually excellent Lewis Schipp didn't get a run out, though, the Sutton coaches seeming as reticent as Bath's to apply a tactical substitution.

And speaking of Bath City, there were all sorts of familiar faces there that we're more normally used to seeing grace the gleaming fields of Twerton, including our management duo, the odd director and a well known member of the supporters' club committee.

It was an unexpectedly good fun night out, and on more than one occasion I had to stifle a yell of "Come on you City Boys!". But it does beg a couple of questions…

Are Bishops Sutton now effectively our second string? I can understand the concept of bringing young players through from the development squad, but it did feel a little odd that there were regular first teamers on the pitch too.

It did also feel a little ethically weird. It's clearly all within the letter of the law, but had Sutton won that game with their newly much strengthened squad it could have cost Manor Farm their outside shot at the title, plus possibly help consign another side at the bottom to relegation. There's nothing wrong with it per se, but something didn't quite sit right.

But that's probably over analysing things. Not only does it seem like a good way to give the nippers proper competitive game time, it's a good chance for the management to have a look at some of the decent talent in the local leagues.

A strange night indeed, but one I'm glad I went to!

I have to say, Roy, that I completely agree with the ethical side of things. If youngsters are getting a run out, they should be there on loan, obviously. As far the older members, what's the point? Surely that is what the Somerset Cup is all about?

All very odd.