The third Non League
Finals day took place at Wembley this weekend and I was present (in the royal
box I would like to add) for this wonderful celebration of Non League football
which brings together leagues from all over the land as well as supporters from
the four teams taking part in the day, as well as others who just simply want
to see two competitive finals for a very decent price.
The two finals in question are of course the Buildbase FA
Vase and Trophy finals, and this year it saw Northern League Stockton Town take
on Hellenic League Thatcham Town in the Vase, whilst Vanarama National League
North Brackley Town took on Vanarama National League Bromley in the Trophy.
And as ever the first final kicked off at 12:15pm and as
always it was the Vase first up, so lets have a look at what happened in that
final:-
Buildbase FA Vase Final
Stockton Town 0
Thatcham Town 1
Shane Cooper-Clark’s first half penalty proved enough for
Thatcham Town to take the FA Vase honours at Wembley, capping what has been a wonderful
season for the Berkshire side.
It also ended a strangle hold the Northern League had on the
Vase although the North East side did begin the match well but repeatedly ran
into Thatcham centre half Baboucarr Jarra, who time and again put his body on
the line for this side.
This was first evident when he prevented Stockton from
taking an early lead when he managed to bravely head clear before Chris
Stockton could nod erm….Stockton into the lead, and this proved important
midway through the half when Jordan Brown was brought down by James Ward inside
the area for a Thatcham penalty.
And Cooper-Clark, who had already netted a bundle of goals this
season, stepped up and despite seeing keeper Michael Arthur get a big hand to
the spot kick, saw the ball end up in the net and Thatcham had the lead they
wanted.
This seemed to settle the Berkshire side down and they
looked to control the contest, and just before the break nearly doubled their
lead when Cooper-Clark saw a free kick loop back to him and he struck a first time
volley which was awkward for keeper Arthur, however he managed to gather and
keep the score down, however it was the Southerners who held the advantage
going into the break.
Half Time Stockton
Town 0 Thatcham Town 1
Thatcham looked to make life more comfortable by adding a
second, and they almost did just that when the dangerous Ekow Elliott got clear
before squaring to Gavin James, but the striker saw his effort saved by Arthur,
and then six minutes later Thatcham looked like they had doubled their lead
when James thumped an effort against the underside of the bar and apparently not
over the line, although to me and a few others it looked in, however it wasn’t
given and the Berkshire side had passed up another chance.
This seemed to breathe new life into Stockton and they soon
began to put Thatcham under pressure and remember that guy called Jarra???......well
he produced another heroic block to prevent Woodhouse from levelling for the
Northern League side, and several corners from Stockton followed as they
searched for that all-important leveller.
Five minutes of stoppage time then followed, and with Stockton
throwing everyone forward, including keeper Arthur for a corner, Thatcham broke
and with no keeper home substitute Ross Cook attempted to find the empty net,
but his weak finish was cleared off the line by Matthew Garbutt, typifying the
incredible effort all were putting into this final.
But it was Thatcham who would hear the winning final whistle
soon after and see the Hellenic League promotion winners take the FA Vase for
this season. Commiserations to Stockton
although for them just to be here was an achievement in just their second season
in the competition after a meteoric rise through the pyramid in recent
years. A good battle it was played in the
right spirit.
Full Time Stockton
Town 0 Thatcham Town 1
Here are the winners
with their trophy, thanks to thefa.com for the image:-
…and here are some
snaps of the Vase final taken by myself:-
So well done to Thatcham Town on their FA Vase triumph, and
after a nice lunch in the Royal Box hospitality it was back out to take in the
FA Trophy final at 4:15pm which put National North Brackley Town up against
National League Bromley, and here is how that game panned out:-
Buildbase FA Trophy
Final
Brackley Town 1
Bromley 1 (aet; Brackley Town won 5-4 on
penalties)
Gareth Dean netted a stoppage time leveller before his side
went onto win a dramatic penalty shoot out and take the FA Trophy honours at
the expense of Bromley at Wembley in Game Two on Non League Finals Day.
It had looked promising for the South East London club early
on and after twenty minutes they took the lead when Adam Mekki’s slide rule
pass found Omar Bugiel who made no mistake to slot beyond Danny Lewis and give
the National League outfit the advantage.
It almost got better for them seven minutes later as well
when George Porter, who seemed to have his own fan club in the box above us in
the royal box, saw a volley well saved by Lewis, however the National North
side weren’t without their own chances as they gave a very good account of themselves
against a team a step higher.
Despite this though it was the higher division side who did
have a slender lead at the break.
Half Time Brackley
Town 0 Bromley 1
Brackley then enjoyed their best spell of the game after
half time and saw James Armson roll a left footed effort narrowly wide of the
post, and then Armson came even closer just before the hour mark when he saw an
effort strike the woodwork.
Armson then fired high and wide, and Bromley keeper Gregory
was performing heroics to keep the National North outfit out, and you felt that
it just wasn’t going to be their day in front of goal.
Bromley themselves did have chances in the second period to
seal the win, seeing an effort curl wide of the far post, and also see a last
ditch tackle thwart substitute Brandon Hanlon, who had broken clear of the
Brackley back line, however it looked like Bugiel’s first half strike would
prove enough to win the Trophy for Bromley.
Five minutes into stoppage time though, Brackley finally knocked
the door down, as a shot from Lowe went through a crowded penalty area and bounced
back off the post, and Dean was on hand to tap home the rebound and take the
game into extra time.
The intensity of the ninety-five minutes had obviously taken
it’s toll on the players in hot conditions, as the extra half hour slowed to a crawl
at times, as both teams were out of steam, meaning the game would be decided
from the penalty spot.
Frankie Sutherland went first for Bromley and scored, before
Shane Byrne missed Brackley’s first spot kick, handing the early advantage to the
favourites. Frankie Raymond, Hanlan and
Josh Rees then all scored for Bromley, whilst Aaron Williams, Steve Diggin and Armson
netted for Brackley.
It all meant that if Bugiel netted Bromley’s fifth and final
spot kick, they would win, however he blazed his spot kick over and left Glenn
Walker needing to score to take it to sudden death, and the Brackley player did
just that, and we were tied at 4-4 after regulation.
Jack Holland then missed Bromley’s first sudden death spot
kick, and then saw Andy Brown net the winning penalty to send his teammates and
management/fans delirious as they had stunned Bromley to win the FA Trophy for
this season. What drama to end a
wonderful day.
Full Time aet
Brackley Town 1 Bromley 1 (Brackley Town
won 5-4 on penalties)
The winning team with
the Trophy, thanks to thefa.com for the image:-
….and here are my
snaps I took of the Trophy final:-
So that concluded a long but enjoyable day, well done to
Thatcham Town and Brackley Town on your triumphs today, and also well played
Stockton Town and Bromley who more than played their part in the day.
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