FA Cup: Baldock Town club tweeter apologises after he is sent on as substitute

Liam Kenna joined Baldock in January after spells with Harpenden Town, Cockfosters and Knebworth

Such is the reach of social media these days, even non-league football clubs provide their supporters with blow-by-blow updates via Twitter.

In the case of Baldock Town, that job has this season fallen to injured defender Liam Kenna.

But his updates from the dugout during their FA Cup preliminary qualifying round tie against North Greenford United came to abrupt halt when he was sent on as a substitute with 10 minutes remaining.

And the absence of his tweets prompted him to post an apology on behalf of the club the following day, which quickly went viral.

"The secretary used to do it, but he left at the end of last season and because I have a bad back I've been doing it," the 29-year-old told BBC Sport.

"I tweet every chance, every goal, every yellow card, I do it constantly."

Kenna, from Llanelli, has not played this season because of his injury, but after only two or three light training sessions he was named among the substitutes.

"There was a 90% chance I wasn't going to get on, but the centre-half got injured with 10 minutes left and we'd already used the other two subs," Kenna continued.

"When I went to see the linesman to get my studs checked, I still had my phone in my hand. He said 'you can't go on with that mate'."

The South Midlands League Division One side were 3-1 ahead when Kenna joined the action and held on to win by the same scoreline, but his lack of recent game-time took a physical toll.

"I only touched the ball two or three times. I couldn't get round the pitch and couldn't breathe afterwards," he said.

Former England striker Kevin Phillips and ex-Arsenal midfielder Ian Allinson both played for the original Baldock Town, which eventually folded in 2001.

The current club was formed two years later and are now tenants at Arlesey's Town's Armadillo Stadium five miles away, having previously ground shared with Hitchin and Stotfold.

Their reward for beating North Greenford is a home tie against Thame United of the Southern League over the weekend of the 9-10 September.

And the FA have offered to do Baldock's tweeting for them so Kenna can concentrate on playing.

He is no stranger to glory after captaining former club Welwyn Garden City to a league and cup double in 2014-15, but is doubtful about whether he will be match-fit.

"I'm seeing a physio once a week privately, but it's more than likely I'm going to be on the bench again," he said.

"But I'd better be careful because after Sunday's game, the manager fined me £10 for having my phone in the dugout."