Non League Finals Day 2023 (Sunday 21st May) - Ascot United/FC Halifax Town both net hard fought wins to take FA Vase/FA Trophy glory

 (Gateshead swinging in a free kick against FC Halifax Town during the FA Trophy Final)

Sunday saw me over at Non League finals day at Wembley for the first time since the 2019 version due to Covid and other commitments, so it was nice to get back to attending this superb occasion where four sets of fans plus plenty of ground hoppers all come together for what is a festival of football at the National Stadium, in fact this was my third visit in eight days!!!

I of course plonked myself in the neutral section for the first time at this event for the 2023 version, and had a very decent view of the action from Club Wembley, and was looking forward to what would hopefully be too decent finals, although as it turned out that wasn't quite the case!!!

Anyway let's see what happened in those two contests.....

Isuzu FA Vase Final - Ascot United Vs Newport Pagnell Town (12.15pm)

It was Combined Counties Premier Division North Champs against United Counties League Premier Division South and current Vase holders Newport Pagnell Town in Part One of the finals day, Ascot had had a brilliant season in racking up 102 points in their 38 games in their division, finishing eighteen point clear of runners up Egham Town, that's 33 wins, so rather impressive.

Newport Pagnell Town themselves were in a rather rare position of having the chance to defend their FA Vase crown from last season, in fact the last side to successfully defend this competition was Whitley Bay when they won it three times on the bounce between 2009 and 2011, this is normally because the Vase winners get promoted to Step Four in that same season they win it, meaning they enter the FA Trophy the following campaign.

Newport Pagnell would be in the Vase again next season though as well as they missed out on promotion after finishing third in their division thus missing out on a play off spot, ending the season thirteen points behind runners up Rugby Town and sixteen points off champions Coventry Sphinx, so they were quite a way behind hence this final was a chance to end the season on a high.

The Berkshire side almost had the perfect start though when inside the opening five minutes Jordan Ajanlekoko saw a glancing header from a Sean McCormack corner cleared off the line at the back post by Newport Pagnell defender Christian Small, but after that the Swans started to grow in confidence and begin to gain a foothold in the game.

Striker Albie Hall had a couple of chances for Newport Pagnell, one which saw a sliding effort at the back post thump against the woodwork, the second time they had struck the post in the opening forty five minutes, and soon after the break Newport Pagnell came close again after Hall's low cross was just out of the reach of Jake Watkinson, whose outstretched boot just failed to connect at the near post.

Ascot started to get on top as the half went on though after weathering the Swans storm, and it was The Yellas turn to strike the woodwork when skipper Dan Bailey rattled the bar with a powerful header, but as the game entered it's final fifteen minutes we all wondered if this was going to go to extra time, just like both sides Quarter Finals and Semi Finals, which by the way went to penalties too.

Their was to be a winner though, and a breakthrough, and it was Ascot who got it as with ten minutes of the ninety to go as a McCormack cross from the right saw substitute Kai Walters meet the ball at the near post and send a glancing header onto his shoulder and across goal into the far corner, cueing mass celebrations from the Yellow and Blue contingent.

The Swans could not muster a response to this meaning the full time whistle being met by an Ascot bench storming onto the field and running over to their fans to celebrate and cap a wonderful season for the Berkshire side, and also meant that Newport Pagnell could not defend their Vase crown and handed it over to their opponents who of course will not be able to defend it next season, but for very good reason of course!!!

Full time Ascot United 1 Newport Pagnell Town 0

After a ninety of so minute gap, more than enough time to have a drink or two plus some lunch, it was time for game number two.....

Isuzu FA Trophy Final - FC Halifax Town Vs Gateshead (4.15pm)

The second game of finals day saw an all Vanarama National League contest and two teams that had finished a couple of points apart in mid table, FC Halifax Town, who of course rose from the ashes of the old Halifax Town who went out of business in 2008 after almost 100 years as a club, finished eleventh and ten points off the play off places whereas Gateshead, who themselves were 72 hours from going out of business only three years ago, finished 14th and two points behind today's opponents.

This was a chance then to turn what had been a fairly solid season for both into a brilliant season with a prestigious trophy in the cabinet, and put the difficult pasts for both behind them too, although FC Halifax Town had tasted FA Trophy success not that long ago when they defeated Grimsby Town at Wembley 1-0 in the 2016 final so were going for a second crown in seven years, which is not bad at all for a club who have only been around in this guise for fifteen years.

The Heed themselves had never reached an FA Trophy final, falling at the semi final stage on three occasions, so after a dramatic win over Barnet in the semi finals they would have been more than relieved to have finally reached the Wembley showdown, so could they possibly win it on their very first time of asking.

If truth be told it was not the best of games and the opening forty five minutes mustered very little in the way of goalmouth action, and it was a game that would be decided by the odd goal, although the only goal of the contest, which arrived just before the break, was rather freakish and kind of summed up the quality of the contest.

It came when a back pass was slightly short and allowed midfielder Jamie Cooke the chance to give himself a chance to jump onto it, Heed keeper James Montgomery attempted to boot the ball clear before Cooke got to the ball, but in doing so blasted the clearance against Cooke and saw the ball end up in the back of the net, it was a mess but Cooke and FC Halifax Town did not care and they had a slender lead.

They could have added to their lead after the break as well, Millenic Alli ran almost the entire length of the field with the ball before unleashing a powerful effort on goal, and Montgomery had to make a superb stop to deny Jack Hunter from point blank range as Gateshead just about stayed in the contest.

The Tynesiders then tried to grab a late leveller after staying in the game and threw everything at The Shaymen in the closing stages, Adam Campbell's half-volley from the edge of the box was kept out by Sam Johnson in the FC Halifax Town goal, but after several minutes of nervy stoppage time, the West Yorkshire side held on to take the honours and end their season in fine style.

Full time FC Halifax Town 1 Gateshead 0

So, that concluded Non League Finals Day for 2023, with almost 30,000 fans enjoying (or not enjoying) their day out, sadly the games were not the best, but still a good day at Wembley and a good way to end the season for 2022/23, unless I decide to do some more games before the end of the month, who knows!!! 

    

  

Essex Alliance League Double Header (Saturday 20th May) - Renegade & FC Petrocub net victories to win Division One & Senior Division Cups respectively

(Atholl & Renegade do battle in the Division One Cup Final)

I was over at Dagenham & Redbridge's Victoria Road ground on Saturday 20th May for a double header of Essex Alliance League cup finals, starting with the Division One final followed by the Senior Division final.

Division One Cup Final - Atholl Vs Renegade (2pm)

First up brought together two sides who had pretty poor league campaigns yet both reached their league's cup final, both sides had only won three of their sixteen league matches and finished in the bottom three as a result, so this was a chance for both to at least finish their seasons with some silverware.

Atholl defeated Ilford Reserves in the Quarter Finals 5-4 on penalties after a 2-2 draw, whereas Renegade thrashed Old Estameians 6-2 to reach the final four of the competition, and then both finalists defeated a side in the top two of the division, Atholl humbling league runners up Something From Nothing 3-0 whilst Renegate netted a 3-2 win over league champions Newham Wanderers (Wanderers were also present at Victoria Road as they received their Division One league championship medals and Trophy at half time of this one).

It certainly showed that football is a funny old game, but how would this final go? Renegade certainly began the better but fell behind after just eight minutes when Charlie Thompson slotted past Fred Cox, but just seven minutes later Renegade had their leveller, and it was a cracker as Nigel Seidu curled home a wonderful free kick.

And just before the twenty minute mark Renegade had turned it around thanks to a decent header from Deimar Cardoso and it was looking like they would go on and net more goals as they dominated this final, and five minutes before the break they added a third although it was down to an own goal after the unfortunate Thompson, scorer of the Atholl goal of course, sliced into his own net.

And Renegade pretty much ended this contest right on half time when Cardoso added his second of the game, and you felt it was how many they would get rather then if Atholl had any chance of getting back into this final, they battled gamely but conceded a very special goal with twenty minutes to go as Seidu sent a low drive across the keeper and into the net, before Salah netted a sixth to cap a very special day for Renegade.

A special mention to Barry and Rob and everyone else at the Essex Alliance League for allowing us in to cover this and the following game, and asking me and Scott to conduct the handing out of medals to the officials, both sides and then the trophy to the winners Renegade, always a pleasure and always appreciated too.

Full time Atholl 1 Renegade 6

Senior Division Cup Final - FC Petrocub Vs Woodford East (6pm)

The second final of the day was billed as a potential entertaining clash, both sides have had reasonable seasons you could say, Moldovan's FC Petrocub finished fifth in the division and two points behind Woodford East who finished fourth, and both sides had netted the most goals in the division too, East were top scorers with 98 in 32 league games whereas Petrocub netted two fewer in the same number of contests.

Petrocub had seen off Walhamstow Reserves 5-1 in Round One before they defeated Oakside 3-0 in the Quarters, and then they saw off Frenford Development 5-2 to reach this final, for East their Round One tie saw them 5-2 winners against Lymore Gardens before they netted a 4-0 win over Dagenham United, and then they saw off Jolof Sports 1-0 in the semi finals to set up today's mouth watering clash in Dagenham.  

It was very apparent that FC Petrocub had the majority of the backing in the crowd as most of the 300 plus crowd were rooting for them, and certainly produced one hell of an atmosphere that was for sure, would it inspire their side to go on and defeat Woodford East in this one?

On eleven minutes they were roaring with joy as Petrocub grabbed the lead although East would have been very disappointed with how it came about as they gave the ball away to Ion Spinu who drove at the penalty area before unleashing a powerful effort at goal which Kuzsef allowed to go through his legs and into the net, and the already noisy Petrocub contingent were now at fever pitch.

Ten minutes the before the break and it was to get even harder for East as a rapid counter ended with Gheorghe Cucos poking the ball past Kuzsef, again East's defending left a lot to be desired and they now had a mountain to climb if they were to get back into this contest.

Could East find a way back? Well, with seven minutes to go they finally found a lifeline when Lucio Uare managed to find the net from close range, Petrocub had failed to seal it with chances before this, would they now regret this as East, who simply refused to give up, were now sniffing the possibility of a comeback.

But, in the first minute of stoppage time Petrocub sealed their victory when another counter attack from the Moldovan side ended with Spinu slotting home a rebound after Gurgurov had seen his effort saved, and then deeper into stoppage time Gurgurov broke down the left, cut inside, and drilled home to add gloss onto the scoreline, 4-1 was probably harsh on East but Petrocub certainly deserved their victory today, the two meet next weekend in the Fenton Cup final at Billericay Town's New Lodge, East will no doubt want to gain some revenge for this defeat.

Full time FC Petrocub 4 Woodford East 1

A long but very enjoyable day then, and two decent finals as well, producing twelve goals in total, not a bad afternoon/evening that.....

 

Chelsea 1 Manchester United 0 - Second half goal from Sam Kerr sees Chelsea to third successive Women's FA Cup crown

Vitality Women's FA Cup Final, Sunday 14th May

Part two of my Wembley double header this weekend saw me attend only my second ever Women's FA Cup final, and a first at the National Stadium, and it brought together two heavyweights of the Women's game in this country who were also battling for the title in the WSL too, so this had the makings of a pretty special final.

Now the last time I had attended a Women's FA Cup final was back in the 2005/06 season when Arsenal thrashed Leeds United 5-0 in front of 13,452 at Millwall's The New Den, but the game has come on leaps and bounds since those days and the final's have been staged at Wembley since the 2014-15 season, however the biggest crowd since then had only been 49,094, which was last years final when Chelsea saw off Manchester City after extra time.

Today though saw a sold out Wembley for the first time for a domestic cup final at this venue, although the actual attendance was only 77,390, which is some way short of the actual capacity (work that one out) it is still mighty impressive and was a world-record domestic crowd for the Women's game, and shows how interested people are about seeing such finals now, it was unthinkable to think 77,000 plus would watch a Women's final when I last attended one, but it's happening folks, would the crowd get a fitting game to match?

United were playing in their very first major cup final and almost had the ideal start when Leah Galton fired home after a mix up in the defence after just twenty three seconds, but the flag then went up to quash that, but United went onto dominate the opening forty five minutes against a side they had never beaten in eight previous meetings.

Millie Turner came close for United when she almost stabbed in a loose ball from a free kick, before Galton sliced an Alessia Russo low cross wide at the near post, and althougb Chelsea were way off the pace you knew they could always carve out an opportunity, and through Lauren James they could always be dangerous, and it was her who almost gave The Blues an undeserved half time lead when her looping header was superbly tipped onto the post by England's number one Mary Earps.    

Chelsea, who could not have been much worse than they were in the opening half, improved after the break and so did the game as well if truth be told, and after introducing Pernille Harder as a second half substitute, it made a huge difference to the attacking prowess of Chelsea, and it was her who teed up Sam Kerr for the winning moment with just over twenty minutes remaining, Harder crossing from the right and finding the Aussie who applied the finish at the far post, a moment I did catch on camera, albeit from a distance!!!

And it proved enough for Chelsea to seal their third straight FA Cup triumph and their fifth overall, and the latest in a growing list of phenomenal achievements by Emma Hayes side, and they will hope to add one more in a few weeks time as they remain locked in a fierce battle in the WSL title with United, will be fascinating to see how that one pans out too. But at least for today, Chelsea came out on top.

Full time Chelsea 1 Manchester United 0

Chesterfield 2 Notts County 2 (aet; Notts County won 4-3 on penalties) - Pies win shootout to settle dramatic final at Wembley and seal promotion back to the Football League after four years out

Vanarama National League Promotion Final, Saturday 13th May

Part One of my Wembley weekend saw me at the National League Promotion Final as Nottinghamshire's Notts County did battle with Derbyshire's Chesterfield with the winner knowing they would end their lengthily stays in the Non League pyramid and return to the Football League.

County of course so nearly went up automatically after amassing 107 points in their league campaign, which in a normal season would probably win the division by miles, but unfortunately for the Pies they finish four points behind champions Wrexham, meaning they would have to go through the unpredictability of the play offs if they were to join the Welsh side in the EFL next season.

And they were up against Chesterfield who although they finished a place behind them in third, were twenty three points behind them when the league campaign finished, which kind of put in perspective how far ahead the top two sides were over the season, but this counted for nowt now and it was all on the day as they say for a place in League Two next season.

Both sides had to battle through tense and tiring play off semi finals last weekend, County trailed Boreham Wood 2-0 at half time before fighting back to level in the 97th minute and then winning it in the final minute of extra time, whereas Chesterfield saw Bromley level in the 99th minute to take their semi final to extra time as well, before the Spireites eventually won out 3-2 as well after the extra half hour. Drama in the bucket loads then, and today was not to be any different either.

The game began in bizarre fashion too as County keeper Sam Slocombe played a goal kick to himself, yes you heard that right, to himself, meaning an indirect free kick inside the box for Chesterfield, I have never ever seen a keeper do this before and am not sure what Slocombe was thinking to be honest, but luckily the shot was blocked, however moments later Slocombe's dodgy start was continued when he brought down Andrew Dallas inside the box for a spot kick, and Dallas picked himself up to dispatch this to give the Spireites a fifth minute lead.

Notts County, who had won a club-record 32 league games during their campaign, struggled to muster a meaningful response in the opening forty five minutes and were having to scramble to stay in touch with their opponents, although the Magpies did improve after the break and saw Sam Austin send a shot over the bar from the edge of the box and Connell Rawlinson waste a golden chance when steering a header wide which looked in for all money.

Chesterfield were looking leggy as the second half went on but were creeping closer and closer to the finishing line and were defending heroically in front of a crowd of over 38,000 in what was a superb atmosphere it has to be said, but it looked as if 23,000 of those fans from Nottingham were going to be going home disappointed, that was until the 87tb minute.

After Liam Mandeville had squandered a late chance to seal victory for Chesterfield following an appalling pass from keeper Slocombe, Notts veteran John Bostock caught Spireites keeper Ross Fitzsimons at his near post with a free kick which the keeper fumbled into the corner of the net, meaning this final would go to extra time, just like both sides semi finals had done, they were both doing this the hard way that was for sure.

Momentum then it seemed was with the Magpies then? But what do we know hey, as this crazy final saw Chesterfield gain the upper hand once again three minutes into the extra half hour, and what a goal it was, worthy of winning any game of football, as Armando Dobra curled home a wonderful finish into the far corner, and those Chesterfield fans were bouncing again, Notts looked shell shocked, as were their fans, what had they got left?

Well, just enough as it turned out as this now topsy turvy contest was levelled up once again in the 108th minute as Ruben Rodrigues mishit an effort into the turf and saw it bounce perfectly over Fitzsimons and into the net to get those Magpies fans behind that goal bouncing once again and believing again too, the atmosphere was a fever pitch by now, and nobody knew where this contest was heading.

Both sets of players were really struggling with fatigue by now, both had given their all for the cause, and it was a shame one of these sides would end up losing this one, but there must always be a winner and a loser of course, and this would be decided from the penalty spot after neither side could find a winner, this one was going all the way, as many had predicted it might do.

Who could hold their nerve and win their side promotion? Notts County had subbed keeper Slocombe for sub keeper Archie Mair just before the end of extra time for the penalty shoot out, and it proved to be a masterstroke from them, as he ended up saving two spot kicks to set up match point for the Magpies at 3-2 in the shootout, but Bostock, who had netted the late leveller in normal time, tried a Panenka and saw it hit the bar, what was he thinking, and it allowed Chesterfield to level the shoot out at 3-3.

Drama till the end then, in keeping with the bonkers game we had just witnessed before, but County still had one penalty left to win it, match point number two, and thankfully for Bostock, and County, Cedwyn Scott netted the decisive spot kick to end the contest and send Notts County up into the Football League after the most dramatic of finals.

Victory for the 161-year-old Magpies, who were founder members of the Football League in 1888, ended their four-year non-league exile whilst defeat consigned Chesterfield to a sixth season in the National League, it was tough on the Spireites but they will now have to regroup in the summer and try and go again next season, Notts will have EFL football to look forward to next season and will no doubt try to strengthen in the summer before joining Wrexham on embarking on a Football League season once again.   

A wonderful wonderful game of football, drama, excitement, a wonderful atmosphere, and a thoroughly enjoyable day at Wembley was had, thankyou to both sides and fans for making it just so.....

Full time Chesterfield 2 Notts County 2 (aet; Notts County won 4-3 on penalties)

Rayners Lane 2 Langley 0 - Superb Jake Tabor nets brace as 'The Lane' net victory to secure promotion to Step Five

Combined Counties League Division One Play-Off Final, Monday 8th May

Another bank holiday Monday (I could get used to these three day weekends!!!) saw me over at another Play-Off final with promotion from Step Six to Five on the agenda again for both sides, this time round making the trip to the Harrow area and Middlesex for a first outing to The Tithe Farm Sports & Social Club in Rayners Lane.

It's a nice set up there it must be said, a very nice clubhouse with a bar and snacks to chill out in before the game, and a nice burger bar serving some lovely food as well, I went for the chicken bites and chips, and both were very tasty, the chicken bites seemed home made and a good size too, with a decent portion served up.

The ground itself is a typical 3G set up with a fence around the pitch, but it is not in a cage thank goodness and has a nice covered area on the opposite side to the dugouts and clubhouse, and plenty of seats and standing areas to occupy, which was useful with the forecast not being that good, although as it turned out it wasn't as bad as first feared so people could spread out around the ground, which was just as well as I don't think we would have all fitted underneath the cover as a sizable crowd (I guess around 300-400 ish) turned out to see this one.

Both these sides had squeezed into the play off places on goal difference and finished on the same number of points in their forty league games, both registering 73 points and Raynes Park finishing above today's opponents on goal difference, in fact Rayners Lane, Langley, FC Deportivo Galicia and British Airways were only separated by three points by the end, so it was a tight battle for those final two play off spots.

The Lane's form coming into the play offs was pretty decent up until the final two games, they won five straight before drawing and losing in their final two encounters to squeeze into the post season, whereas Langley's form in the final month had been mixed, but they had done just enough to squeeze in as well, setting up an away semi final against runners up Berks County, Rayners Lane on the other hand were to take on third placed London Samurai Rovers away from home as well.

Rovers had finished nine points behind eventual champions Sandhurst Town, who were made famous by the amount of games they had to squeeze in before the end of the season, but they managed to claim the title and automatic promotion, and five points behind Berks County but five above The Lane, however, it was the visitors who triumphed 3-2 to set up today's final at their own ground.

If that was a slight surprise, what happened in the other semi final was extraordinary, as Langley produced possibly their best performance of the season as they netted a 7-1 win at runners up Berks County, a side they finished ten points behind in the league season and had drawn 3-3 at the same ground against the same opposition only a couple of weeks before, it was an extraordinary result and saw them come into this final with a huge amount of confidence. 

And in both the league game and a cup game at Tithe Farm Langley had won 4-1 and 3-0, although their latest meeting back at the end of February resulted in a 3-1 win for The Lane, so read what you will into that, it would mean absolutely sod all in this contest that's the sure, and a tight contest was duly expected.

In the end a brilliant performance and two goals from the excellent Jack Tabor would prove decisive in this contest, it only took the hosts two and a half minutes to find the breakthrough, Tabor racing onto a forward pass before lashing home with aplomb, and the hosts so nearly doubled their lead but saw a looping header cleared off the line, just, with the home side claiming it had crossed the line, as they would. 

They did double their lead though just before the hour mark when the visitors dilly dallied in their own final third and saw a short pass intercepted by the hosts and it resulted in a cross into the box from the right hand superbly and acrobatically volleyed home by Tabor, and give the hosts a cushion to protect for the final half hour.

Langley, who had netted seven in their previous game of course, probably used up all their luck in front of goal in that semi final tie, as they created several chances, but were either wasteful and off target, or found hosts keeper Charlie Patmore in fine fettle, making some decent stops, with the best one five minutes after they doubled their lead, tipping a superb long range effort against the bar and over, it was a top save.

If truth be told though, The Lane never really looked like they would surrender their advantage, and those two goals from Tabor proved enough for them to secure promotion and cap off a fine season for them, spare a thought for Langley though who also had a terrific season too but just fell short in this one. Well done 'The Lane'!!!

Full time Rayners Lane 2 Langley 0