Isuzu FA Vase Fourth Round Proper, Saturday 24th January
For the second weekend in succession I went to watch a Last 32 FA Vase encounter, and also visited a ground for the very first time, on this occasion it was Stag Meadow, home of Combined Counties Premier Division North Windsor & Eton, who were hosting Fisher, who are in the Southern Counties East Premier Division, so an all Step Five showdown.
This game should have taken place last weekend, however, the game was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, and despite plenty of rain leading up to this rearranged fixture, the pitch, although pretty soft and squelchy in places, was in remarkable condition considering, so fair play to the ground staff for getting the pitch playable and looking rather good.
Both sides already knew their Fifth Round opponents, and one Fisher were very familiar with, fellow SCEFL Premier side Punjab United from Gravesend, with the tie scheduled to take place in Gravesend on 7th February, so who could set this up and take one more step closer to Non League Finals Day at Wembley for the Vase final in May.
Windsor & Eton sat sixth, just outside the play offs places, two points off fifth placed Ardley United with two games in hand, they had only lost one league game all season too and had multiple games in hand over most teams above them, so they were certainly one of the front runners in the Combined Counties Premier North that's for sure. A real test for Fisher you could say.
Fisher themselves sat in tenth spot in the SCEFL Premier and only three points from the play off places in what is a very tight battle between a handful of teams for those top five places, they were not exactly setting the world alight in the division though and had lost five league games this season so far, so looking at the two sides and how they were doing in the divisions, you would think that the hosts would probably be expected to win this tie.
But this is cup football, and you don't get to the Last 32 of a national competition without having a bit about yourself, and Fisher certainly have that in abundance and they certainly began the contest on the front foot and stunned their opponents by taking the lead after just nine minutes, skipper Jack Gibbons sent a lovely ball behind the hosts backline and saw Festos Kamara breeze in behind before thumping a powerful effort beyond hosts keeper Finley Purcell and into the far corner.
Their was certainly a stunned silence inside the arena, the hosts aren't used to losing so they would have to come from behind if they were to continue their Vase run, the closest they came to levelling was when a close range effort from Jabir Laraba was somehow blocked on the goal line after full back Luke Phillips had done well down the left, both him and Isaiah Chase-Kelly did well down the flanks for the hosts but they thwarted mostly by the visiting defence.
Fisher though were certainly giving the hosts plenty of headaches going forward themselves, it was certainly a very good battle that's for sure, most of their attacking play was going through playmaker Tom Jones, and it looked as if the visitors would take a slender lead going into the half time break, but alas they didn't make half time without conceding.
That's because three minutes before the break Laraba received the ball with his back to goal, flicked the ball around a defender before running onto it and firing a lovely effort across visiting keeper Isaac Ogunseri and into the far corner, parity restored and it meant the game would be all square heading into the break.
Who could grab the initiative in the second half then, well it was the visitors to be fair who looked the likelier to find a winner if their was to be one. although the game was tightly poised and it could have perhaps easily gone the other way too, Fisher prevented some shots on goal with last ditch blocks, whereas down the other end the visitors could not find the target despite several attempts from decent positions.
It was certainly a tense affair the longer the half went on, and you felt it would take one moment of magic, or one mistake, to settle this tight and nervy affair in front of a very decent 596 at Stag Meadow, and as penalties loomed and with six minutes of stoppage time shown, the hosts were reduced to ten men after striker Leo Decabo was sent off for a second booking after a foul in midfield, meaning if he was down to take a penalty in the shoot out, he wouldn't be taking one.
And after Fisher flashed another effort well wide deep into added on time, the referee blew his whistle and penalties would now be needed to decide who would be going through to the next round, cue more nerves and tension, it was a brilliant spectacle for sure!!!
Windsor & Eton went first and saw their penalty brilliantly saved by the giant that was Ogunseri in the Fisher goal, the next few penalties were scored but at 2-3 to the visitors, Ogunseri saved again and meant it was match point Fisher, Kamara, who had netted that ninth minute goal way back when to hand Fisher the lead in this tie, had the chance to seal their place in the Last 16, but although he sent keeper Purcell the wrong way, he missed the target and dragged his effort wide, oops.
The hosts then netted their final kick meaning Michael Sarpong had the task of netting the winning penalty for Fisher and a second 'match point', and after taking a eternity to put the ball down on the spot, adding to the drama and tension, he strolled up to the ball and belted it in the top corner to send Fisher into the Fifth Round of the Vase, a brilliant cup tie and a hard fought one, and it will be Fisher who take on fellow SCEFL Premier Punjab United in two weeks time.
Commiserations to Windsor & Eton though, their Vase campaign is over for this season, and now they can turn their attention to catching up their games in hand and hopefully for their sakes make a successful challenge for promotion to the next level, a good club who handed out very decent printed programmes for free after you had paid a decent £7 entrance fee too, I wish them all the best going forward, and I also congratulate Fisher on their success today, one step closer to Wembley, and a decent looking matchup against Punjab United who have a very similar record to them in the league too, that should be a decent game in Gravesend!!!
Full time Windsor & Eton 1 Fisher 1 (Fisher won 4-3 on penalties)
Before I go, here is a look at the Fifth Round draw with games scheduled to take place on the weekend of Saturday February 7th:-
Hallen Vs Gornal Athletic
Bilston Town Vs Droylsden
Coventry United Vs North Shields
West Didsbury & Chorlton AFC Vs Winsford United
Punjab United Vs Fisher
Downton Vs Lymore Gardens
Great Yarmouth Town/Haywards Heath Town Vs AFC Stoneham (The GYT Vs HHT tie which was abandoned last weekend due to fog takes place on Sunday 25th January but at time of writing this it hadn't happened as yet as it's the Saturday evening before that contest!!!)
Whitstable Town Vs Cockfosters
Only two of the remaining sides, North Shields & Whitstable Town, have won the Vase before, Whitstable are the current holders after last seasons win over AFC Whyteleafe in a marathon final, and their are four Step Six sides still going too, Gornal Athletic, Bilston Town & Droylsden (those two meet each other so guaranteed one in the Final Eight) and Vase debutants Lymore Gardens, who only came into Senior Football this season, a great achievement then for those three, can they continue their runs, we shall find out in two weeks for sure!!!
Anyway that concludes my blog for today, a very enjoyable day once again, thanks for reading as always!!!
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