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The FA Vase - Quarter Final Review and Predictions

27/2/2015

With Quarter-Final day fast approaching we take a brief look at the last 8 remaining teams and make a bold prediction of the eventual winner.

AFC St Austell
The lowest ranked team left in the competition and the only Step 6 side to remain. They have already taken a couple of noteable scalps in Stanway Rovers and Greenwich Borough. They are currently sitting in fourth place of the South West Peninsula Premier League, 7 points adrift of the leaders but with 5 games in hand. Only two defeats in all matches since the end of August and withg leading scorer Liam Eddy notching 35 times, they will be a handful for any opposition.

Ascot United
The Yellamen also sit in fourth place in their league, the Hellenic Premier Division. Tehy also have games in hand over leaders Highmoor Ibis, but not enough to catch them. They are also in good form with only two cup and league defeats since the start of December last year. Ascot have scored twenty goals in their six FA Vase ganes so far, conceding only four.

Erith & Belvedere
The Deres are having a good season in the Southern Counties East Premier. They are second in the table, 5 points clear of third place but 10 adrift of leaders Phoneix Sports and have only lost once in league and cup this year, a 3-1 reversal to Beckenham Town in the League Cup Quarter Final. Alfie May is their leading scorer with 28 to his name this season.

North Shields
The Robins are currently in fourth place of the EBAC Northern League Division One, four points adrift of leaders West Auckland Town and with a game in hand. They will be hoping that leading scorer Gareth Bainbridge, with 15 in the league, will help to fire them into the next round, especially as their current form is not particularly good.

Shaw Lane Aquaforce
Shaw Lane are currently fourth in the Northern Counties East Premier, 8 points behind fellow quarter-finalists Tadcaster Albion but with four games in hand. The are just 9 goals shot of the century in the league and have scored 17 in the FA Vase so far. So , it's not just 23-goal Lee Morris that teams will have to look out for.

Glossop North End
Glossop have been playing catch up with Runcorn Linnets all season and are still sitting in second, 18 points adrift of them. They do have a massive 7 games in hand so, in theory, could catch them. Defence appears to be their strong point, with only 10 conceded in 25 league games. Jason Carey has 26 goals to his credit this season.

Highworth Town
Of the eight remaining teams Highworth are lowest ranked in their respective division, currently sitting in 8th spot of the Hellenic Premier. Promotion is probably out of the question, so will the Vase be their focus? Defeat at home to Flackwell Heath last weekend was only their second this year but they are the lowest scorers in the top half of the table with just 49 in 26 games. A lot will rest on the shoulders of top scorer TJ Bohane.

Tadcaster Albion
Six points clear at the top of the Northern Counties East Premier but, as stated earlier, under some threat from Shaw Lane, Worksop and Cleethorpes. Tadcaster have the best goal difference in the league at +53 but have conceded 8 in their last three games (cup and league). A lot will depend on the scoring power of 26-goal Josh Greening.

So, who will be lifting the Vase at Wembley on May 9th? It's a difficult one to answer. Obviously, by this stage of the competition, it goes without saying that all eight teams are good sides. They wouldn't have got this far if they weren't.
Much as the romantic in me would love it, it is hard to see a Step 6 side going all the way. Having said that, I have a sneaky feeling that St Austell might make it to the semis. So, on that assumption, I am also ruling out Ascot.
I have tipped North Shields to beat Erith & Belvedere, Shaw Lane to edge out Glossop North End and Tadcaster to have too much for Highworth. So, that would make my Semi-Final line-up, St Austell, North Shields, Shaw Lane Aquaforce and Tadcaster Albion.
The draw will obviously have a big effect on who gets to Wembley but, regardless of the who plays who, my gut instinct is that Tadcaster Albion will be victorious in May. They have had a winning mentality all season and, despite a few glitches recently, I see no reason that this will not continue.

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Third Time Lucky

25/2/2015

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The Dennis Timpson Stand

It was third time lucky for me on Tuesday night. My two previous attempts to visit East Street had been postponed due to frozen and waterlogged pitches. However, the game with ON Chenecks was never in doubt, so I set off on the hour long journey to Olney.
East Street is an interesting ground in as much as it is unenclosed and, as such, the club cannot charge for entry. They do, however, have a man with a collection box who passes around the ground during the game. There is plenty of parking available alongside the ground in a car park that is shared with the rugby club. For busier games there is also plenty of parking in the town itself, which is just a few minutes walk away. There is a single, small, covered stand on the car park side of the pitch. Opposite the stand are the dugout areas and to the left of the stand, at the far end of the ground, there is a clubhouse. The remainder of the playing surface is surrounded by fencing and hard-standing.
The first people that I bumped into were a group of ground-hoppers from Nottinghamshire who had travelled for over two hours for the game. They informed me that, although there was no official programme, a team sheet was available from the clubhouse (although only a few were left). I managed to get one and made my way to the far side of the ground ready for the first half.
Coming into the game Chenecks were on a run of six without defeat, having last lost 2-1 to Whitworths in mid-January. Olney, meanwhile, continue to have an up and down season. Their 4-2 win at Woodford followed up with a 5-2 home defeat to Thrapston, typifying the season so far. Saying that, they are firmly placed in mid-table on 46 points, well safe of any relegation worries. Chenecks on 61 points before the game are well within striking distance of the leaders even though they have played more games than anyone else. I was expecting a reasonably tight game with maybe the away side snatching it by the odd goal.
The first half was a scrappy affair from the first whistle and, although it was not completely one-sided, I think it was fair to say that the away side were on top. They finally broke the deadlock after 26 minutes when slack marking allowed a relatively free near-post header to beat the home keeper. There was not a great deal more to report for the rest of the half with the away side going in 1-0 up and looking comfortable. In fact, although the Chenecks keeper was clad in an all green outfit, similar to the Olney team, the home side had rarely got close enough to him for it to be a problem. I was surprised, however, when he appeared for the second half still wearing all green. Maybe the referee deemed the shades of green to be different enough not to cause confusion? The one ray of sunshine in the home team, in my opinion, was the lad playing wide right for them (Daniel Webb I was told during the break). When he got the ball he was very direct, very quick and was more than capable of beating his man.
During the interval I managed to get a cup of tea, knock over the full cup and get another one gratis (thanks to the tea bar staff for this). I also got to find out just how dedicated the aforementioned ground-hoppers are. All three of them had over 500 grounds to their names spread across the whole of the country and into Scotland and Wales. Like me they were all former followers of the pro game who had become disillusioned with it all and had discovered much better value and entertainment in the amateur game.
It was clear from the first minute of the second half that the home side had been given something of a pep talk during the interval. Right from kick-off they set about attacking Chenecks, creating more chances in the opening two minutes than they did in the entire first 45. The contrast in the balance of play from first half to second was enormous. Thirteen minutes into the second period Olney got their reward for their endeavour when a misguided cross from the right drifted over the keeper an into the far corner. It was definitely not meant but, as I tweeted at the time, they all count.The game continued in the same vein. It was all Olney and looked like only a matter of time before they went in front. The nippy number 7 that I commented on in the first half was continuing to cause massive problems with his pace and direct running. However, as so often happens in football, totally against the run of play a quick Chenecks counter-attack was finished with a beautiful right-wing cross to an onrushing striker at the far post to head home. So, with only about 10 minutes left on the clock the away side had gone back in front.
To their credit Olney, who could have easily let their heads drop, went straight back on the attack and, from a deep left-wing cross, the number 9 rose to head home the equaliser less than two minutes after going behind. No more than they deserved on the second-half performance.
There was still enough time for some 'handbags' and a chance to win it at either end but neither came to anything and the game finished 2-2. The first half definitely belonged to Chenecks but the second half was all Olney. On the balance of play a draw was probably a fair result although, if pushed, I would say that it was Olney that shaded it over the 90 minutes.
Once again, some good entertainment and decent honest football on show. East Street did not disappoint.

Olney Town - @olneytownfc
ON Chenecks - @onchenecksfc1

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Goals Galore. Only 60p each

23/2/2015

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The Peter Ebdon Stand

A rare Saturday afternoon free for me and a chance to see some live football for the first time in a couple of weeks. With a few choices within an hours drive I finally settled on Wellingborough Town v Huntingdon Town in the UCL Premier. I had not visited the Dog and Duck before and I had not seen either team play before. so it seemed to be the perfect choice.
The Dog and Duck stadium is situated on the edge of Wellingborough, behind the Dog and Duck pub and opposite a retail park. Although, on a map, there appears to be a fair bit of parking available down the side of the access road to the stadium you have to bear in mind that, behind the ground is another stadium, home of Wellingborough Whitworth. I'm not sure if this is a frequent thing, but on this particular Saturday, both sides were playing at home with Whitworth entertaining Peterborough Sports in a UCL Division 1 game.

Doughboys defend an early corner

I wouldn't suggest parking on the retail outlet car park as there are notices everywhere warning not to park on match days. There is, however, plenty of room to park on London Road.
Upon entering the ground through the new turnstile I was immediately confronted by two very jovial characters selling raffle tickets and programmes, of which I purchased both. I didn't get the names of these two people but the club should be very proud of them. As a first time visitor they made me feel very welcome, we had a brief conversation about the club and football in general and they presented a very good impression of the club. This was enhanced further towards the end of the game when the programme seller made the effort to actually come over and thank me for visiting the club. The friendly atmosphere was further backed up by the lady in the tea hut, who was also more than willing to engage in conversation.
The ground itself is dominated by the Peter Ebdon Stand. Something I didn't know is that snooker player Peter Ebdon is President of the club. There is a also a covered terrace behind the car park end goal and a covered standing area on the pub side of the pitch. The dugouts are situated on the opposite side to the main stand, with tea bar, club house and changing facilities in the corner of the ground next to the Dog and Duck. The club, in it's current incarnation, was only formed in 2004 after the previous club, formed in 1867, folded. One other interesting point in the history of the club is the signing (briefly) in 2008 of local lad Trevor Benjamin. This fact in itself is not remarkable but the list of clubs that Benjamin has appeared for certainly is. 29 in total and I believe that he is still playing for Glossop North End in Step 6.
So, onto the match. I was expecting it to be a relatively tight game. Wellingborough had only in the last few games pulled clear of the relegation battle whilst Huntingdon, after a good start, had suffered some recent setbacks, most recently a 5-1 home drubbing by Deeping. It was also a chance to see prolific Doughboy striker Jake Newman who already had 17 league goals to his name. I was not to be disappointed.
By the time the game kicked off it had turned into a bitterly cold afternoon. I noticed, with some interest, that Huntingdon had named only one substitute. This would be a problem for them when they suffered an injury to their centre half mid way through the first half.
However, it was the away team that took the lead when a lofted ball into the area caused some confusion and was not cleared. Antonio Douglas lifted the ball over the keeper and into the net. On twenty minutes a through ball completely caught out the Huntingdon defence (something that would become a theme) allowing Newman to take the ball around the keeper and roll into an empty net. Three minutes later another simple pass through the middle and Newman was again given a free run on goal to make it 2-1 to the home team. The lead only lasted a minute before a square ball along the Doughboys 18 yard line was picked off by Chris Jones and expertly lofted over the keeper for an equaliser. It had been a breathless few minutes with 3 goals in 4 minutes and both sides seemed to try to consolidate their position for a while and Huntingdon were forced to use their only substitute. Then, with just a couple of minutes to go before half-time, Huntingdon tried to play an offside trap but Newman was too sharp for them and raced onto the through ball to make it 3-2. All three home goals were very similar in make-up, a through ball, disorganised defending and a Newman finish.
At half-time I heard that, on the other side of the fence, Whitworth were both a goal and a player down to Peterborough Sports which was the way the game ended as well.
Back to the action at the Dog and Duck. For the second half I decided to take a position in the covered terrace behind the Huntingdon goal. As it turned out, this was a decent decision as the home side were to rattle in another four goals before the end. Having said that, the second half was relatively incident free for the first 20 minutes or so. However, on 70 minutes a nice move through the middle saw a perfectly timed pass for the onrushing Scott Liebscher to slide the ball under the keeper to make it 4-2. Seven minutes later and Jon Mitchell, who had supplied the pass for Liebscher, added the fifth himself after a quick counter-attack. That appeared to be game over but Huntingdon did not collapse (just yet) and after 83 minutes Ben Colmer made it 5-3. Was that a consolation or the start of a major comeback? That question was finally answered on the stroke of 90 minutes when Newman bulldozed his way through the Huntingdon defence to score his fourth and the Doughboys sixth. To make matter worse for Huntingdon, Newman snatched another deep into injury time to make the final score Wellingborough Town 7 Huntingdon Town 3.
As I tweeted at half-time, this was not a technical footballing master-class in fact, at times, the defending was absolutely diabolical. However, once again, a United Counties match had provided entertainment, excitement, goals galore and superb value for money. If you haven't sampled a UCL match (either Premier or Division 1) get out there and watch one. I am sure that you won't be disappointed. A special mention for the people of Wellingborough Town. This is one of the friendliest clubs I have visited. Well worth a visit to what is an iconic stadium at this level.

Wellingborough Town - @the_doughboys
Huntingdon Town - @htfc1995

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Old Boys make Poppies wait....Twice

5/2/2015

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Watching the Twitter feed on Tuesday afternoon, I saw potential matches being called off left, right and centre. However, much to my amazement, the game between Kettering and Beaconsfield SYCOB passed a pitch inspection and was definitely on. I set out for Burton Latimer, home of Weetabix, for my first visit to Latimer Park the home stadium of United Counties side Burton Park Wanderers and, more importantly on this occasion, Kettering Town.
Since the Poppies agreed to ground share with Burton Park on a five year deal, they have made a number of improvements to to the stadium. The original seating area, adorned with the name of the landlord, has been joined by two further seating areas on the same side of the pitch as well as a covered standing area behind one of the goals. The rest of the stadium is boredered by hard standing, with the dug outs opposite the main stands. This side of the ground appears to be currently out of bounds to supporters with stewards posted on the corners of both ends of the ground. Behind the dugouts there is also a temporary scaffolding structure which, prsumably, is used by the club for filming games.
There is ample parking at the ground which, for a club that averages 600 even in the Southern League Central, is a must. I parked on a grass verge very close to the entrance so that I could get out easily, but there appeared to be plenty of room closer to the turnstiles. Having said that, the attendance of 401 was actually The Poppies' lowest of the season so far. Not that surprising on what was an absolutely bitter evening against opponents that were languishing near the foot of the table.
Having made the journey from Slough, via home, and over to the ground myself, I was not that surprised when I arrived to hear that the game was delayed due to Beaconsfield being stuck in traffic. This was going to be a late night. Kettering filled in the time by completing an extra long warm-up session, a luxury that Beaconsfield would have to forego.
Beaconsfield, despite being at the wrong end of the table and having a disastrous start to the season, have started to pick up in recent weeks including a 1-0 win over high-flying Hanwell Town.
When the game finally got under way it was obvious from the start which of the teams were the more accomplished on the ball. However, as many teams have found to their cost, having plenty of possession and stroking the ball around in midfield doesn't always win games. The match was never going to be a classic. Even with only a few minutes played your could hear the frost under the studs of the players when they were close to the edge of the pitch. There was an icy wind blowing up the ground and the pitch was not conducive to a passing game (even though it was in fairly good nick all things considered).
Kettering did their best to get a fluent passing game going but a combination of the elements, some stray passes and some resolute defending prevented them from getting a meaningful strike on goal.
The deadlock was eventually broken after 29 minutes when Ogbonna played in Hall to fire past the advancing goalkeeper. Probably no more than Kettering deserved on the balanced of play. However, the goal sparked some life from the away side who came close to equalising just a few minutes later. A hurried clearance fell to Jones 40 yards out who immediately struck a looping drive only to see the Poppies keeper recover his ground and parry the ball away. Jones was to get revenge for this save just two minutes before half-time when he hit an unstoppable drive from out side the box that flew into the top corner of the net.
So, at half-time the teams were level. Kettering had been the better team but SYCOB had shown a dogged determination that belied their league position.
Unfortunately for the away side all of their hard work was undone just 10 seconds into the second period. Kettering immediately pushed forward down their right. The ball was played to Ogbonna who beat the last defender and hit a shot across the keeper and into the far corner. A devastating blow to Beaconsfield so early in the half.
To their credit the Rams did not give up the ghost but, with conditions deteriorating by the minute, they could not find the telling pass. The game became scrappy and despite an inordinate amount of injury time, remained at 2-1 to the Poppies.
Brett Solkhon in the Kettering defence had been showing his class throughout the game but in the second half particularly he was an absolute rock at the back. Reading the game, marshalling the defence and generally looking like the best player on the pitch. I don't normally pick out individuals for praise, preferring to leave this to the locals who see players week in, week out, but in this case Solkhon's defensive display was the highlight of the game for me and deserves a mention.
Also deserving a mention are the Kettering crowd. They undoubtedly back their team in great numbers. However, for a team that is clearly going to attain promotion this season, they were very quick to criticise their team as well. This may not have been the best performance of the season but it was a hard-earned and vital three points that took them back to the top of the table. The club has a distinct feel of a club that is going places. I would be happy to not only back them for promotion this season but also to put a few quid on them for back-to-back success in the Premier League next year. A bold statement that may come back to haunt me, but I really did get the feeling that this club is going places. So, people of Kettering. You are fantastic supporters of your club, don't get on their backs for a bad performance. You have a club to be proud of after a few years of struggle and hardship. Enjoy it.

Write up from the Kettering Town website - http://www.ketteringtownfc.co.uk/story.php?story_id=1814

Kettering Town - @ktfcofficial
Beaconsfield SYCOB - @becky_sycob_fc

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