Ringmer FC 

Ringmer 0 Selsey 1 

Selsey number 10, Hamstring victim after 15 mins. 

Ringmer shops 

Someone call a cop, Rigmer have been robbed!

Ringmer 0 Selsey 1 aet

After enjoying my trip to Mile Oak last season, I decided to visit another Sussex club, Ringmer were the selected club. As I approached Hayward Heath, it occurred to me that the journey had so far been made without incident, foolish me. I stepped off the train to hear announcements that a replacement bus service would be taking me to Lewes and that was likely to be delayed due to roadworks. Now, earlier in the morning, I'd seen Clinton cards advertising National bosses day on October 16th. I'd like to propose a Saturday for National non replacement bus service day, it would have my full support & I'd even buy a card. As the bus set off, our driver turned on a mic, welcomed us and informed us that due to law changes, we'd have to put on our seat belts. Cue lots of scuffling about and people getting to know their neighbours better, the rather large Irish lady next to me touched me several times in places verging on the inappropriate, totally oblivious as she was focussed solely on her seat-belt. As I tentatively went to fasten mine, it turned out to be about 2 foot too short. I decided to throw caution in the wind and travel un-belted. The threatened roadworks never materialised and we arrived in Lewes in good time. I then did a brief tour of the town in search of the number 28 bus stop. after several wrong turnings, a queue in a chip shop that i gave up on after 2 minutes and a stagger up a well steep hill, I found the bus stop & was delighted when a bus appeared within a minute. The journey to Ringmer took only 10 minutes or so and was livened up by a youth who got on board and bought a ticket with a £10 note. The driver, after requesting some smaller money & been refused, proceeded to give out all the change in 10p coins. The look on the youths face was pricelss and as he sat behind me, I learnt several new swear words. The inevitable happened as the lad stood up and all the coins fell out his tracksuit pocket. I left him grovelling on the floor picking up the coins as I alighted the bus. Ringmer is a lovely little village, I rejected the Anchor pub for lunch as the food seemed a bit too extravagent, I would have happily paid for sauage, chips & beans. I found the local shops, entered the convenience store and enjoyed a sausage, cheese and pickle sandwich in glorious suuny conditions. this really is a delightful spot in good weather. First impressions are so important & I'd like to thank the Ringmer gateman and lady programme seller who greeted me with a big smile and friendly hello, I really did feel welcome. The ground is lined with fir trees behind one goal and along one side with the Sussex downs peaking over the top. there's a little stand that seats about 50 and a covered area which houses the clubhouse, tea bar and changing rooms. The pitch has quite an end to end slope but this didn't ssem to seriously affect play. A frenetic start arguably saw Seley on top, but they lost their impetus when forward Ridley went off after 15 mins with a hamstring strain. After that, it was all Ringmer. They had hlf a dozen good chances, 3 of them unmissible which were all...missed! The second half was again mostly Ringmer, the closest they came, a great 25 yard effort from Evans that rattled the post. Selsey defended gamely and created a few half chances, you just couldn't see them winning. With England kicking off at 5pm, extra time was somewhat inevitible. Where the first 90 mins were entertaining & interesting, extra time was pulsating, total commitment from both sides. Ringmer create so much down the left side through Evans and McLaughlin and it would have been fitting if McLaughlin had scored a minute into the extra period, however, again the chance went begging. As I thought a goal would never be scored, Selsey scored on 110 mins. A long ball from defense was flicked on to Rishman who burst into the area and drilled a low 16 yard shot past the keeeprs right hand side. Ringmer threw in the kitchen sink and 5 mins from the end seemed to have secured a penalty as substitute MacMillan was scythed down in the box. A dreadful challenge that resulted in him being stretchered off. Unbelievably, the referee who until then had enjoyed a really good game, claimed the ball had been won and no foul was given. The entire crowd and in truth, players from both sides were astonished. Despite their best efforts, Ringmer couldn't break through and at 5:30pm Selsey secured their victory. There's a saying that all goalkeepers are slightly mad, it was good to see Selsey keeper Hoare who played the game in exactly the right way with humour and banter throughout the afternoon.
A thoroughly enjoyable game but Ringmer will still be shaking their heads wondering how they let this one get away.

Frimley Green FC 

Frimley Green 0 Arundel 3 

Here comes the bride, play her out wide? 

Reading station platform 4A - Take a good book! 

Lovely day for a wedding!

Frimley Green 0 Arundel 3

23/9/06

I was on holiday for the first qualifying round so was eagerly awaiting this weekend. Always so many matches to choose from at this stage. My criteria is a) Ground I haven't visited, b) Team that play at a fairly low level - The big boys will keep c) Somewhere that takes my fancy. Frimley Green had a nice sound to it, so I decided to give this a go.
After a glorious late summer, I woke up to thick fog! Seriously, couldn't see the other side of my street. I had visions of another Newbury or Friar Green & Epworth, but it had burnt off by mid-morning and turned out to be a lovely warm late Summer's day.
I've recently got myself a Network rail card, valid for a year and costing only £20. One month in and I've already saved about £13. Why have I never done this before? Definitely the railcard for Groundhoppers.
The journey was passing with out incident, I reached Reading in plenty of time for my last leg of the journey until, 10 minutes before due to leave, the train to Farnborough North was suddenly cancelled due to there being no driver, You would have though they'd have thought of that! Platform 4A was suddenly full of stranded passengers being given zero information. You could see the terror in the station staff as hundreds of people descended on them asking when the next train would be. The staff suggested that various other services might make extra stops and then they found an excuse to disappear into their offices never to be seen again. Being a seasoned travellor, I went to the information desk. They atleast were honest, no trains would be stopping & I'd have to wait another hour. So a 1 hour 20 minute wait on platform 4A, people have had and lost jobs for shorter times! One of the things I like about these trips, is taking in a bit of the town before games and having a nose round, this would now not be possible as I'd only have 30 mins to find the ground once I arrived. So lunch was a disappointing Tuna & cucumber sandwich on the platform followed by a double decker. I did have the pleasure of seeing a floppy haired guy missing his train by seconds and then proceeding to have a Basil Faulty style hissy fit on the platform before storming off, very amusing!
My mate from Somerset was able to make this game & met me at Farnborough North station, I therefore cannot tell you how easy it was to walk, I can tell you that we drove up most roads in Farnborough & Frimley trying to find the ground. On finding our way, I have to say that Frimley station is only about a 10 minute walk from the ground and probably a better destination than Farnborough North.
The ground is in a recreation area consisting of playing fields & tennis courts. It's a really nice setting on a sunny day.
On entering the car park, the first thing I saw was a bride in full wedding dress just standing amongst the cars, not what you really expect at a non-league football match. It turned out there was a reception in the clubs function room. It was a bit surreal watching a game with people walking around in formal dress, although the young ladies in stunning dresses were certainly easy on the eye.
There's a grassy mound just over the far side of the ground along with some benches. these are outside the ground but give a perfect view. There were at least 20 people watching the game from there, a real shame for the club who would have gained an extra £70 if they'd come through the turnstile.
The pitch was bumpy and on quite a severe left to right slope. The clubhouse has a quite small bar area & reasonable sized function room. If you go round the back of the clubhouse and through the gate at the far side, there's a 30 yard covered area, this was a bit dark and damp for my taste, although we did on investigating this area, stumble across the tea bar. I never saw this tea bar advertised anywhere & I think we were her only customers.
The game itself was OK, but a bit one-sided with Arundel winning at a canter. The first goal came on 23 mins, the keeper spilling a 22 yard shot to HUCKETT who slotted home with ease. Frimley Green battled valiantly, but were always on the back foot. The second goal came on 48 mins, a midfielder toe-poked a shot which the keeper saved well, but the rebound fell to BOXALL who couldn't miss. The final goal came on 72 mins, scored by a substitute who'd been on about 30 seconds. Again a snap shot was well saved but the rebound hit the substitutes knee and luckily rolled into the net.
An enjoyable start to this seasons Vase and definitely a ground to visit in warm weather.

Final whistle - Nantwich have won the Vase. 

Hillingdon Borough 1 Nantwich Town 3 

Trevor Francis introduced to the teams 

Nantwich are champions!

Hillingdon Borough 1 Nantwich Town 3

When I looked through the first draw back in July and chose Tunbridge Wells, I was looking forward to the final being held at the new Wembley stadium. Well we all know of the Wembley saga and several months ago, it had been announced that Birmingham would host the final. In the end, not the worst thing that could have happened as this was my first trip to St Andrews. Quite a long train journey, but Birmingham, being in the middle of the country, is accessible from everywhere. I shared part of the journet with a load of Leicester rugby fans and it was interesting listening in as they tossed about the various permitations still possible for their play-offs. Birmingham New street station has to be seen to be believed and is actually more like an airport than any station I've ever been do. Surprisingly, it seems to run a lot more efficiently than most, much quieter stations. I'd run an AA route from the station to the ground. The first instruction told me to leave the station and turn right. What it didn't tell me was that the station had about 6 different exits. I had no idea where to go and being in a major city, the whole surrounding area looked vast. I eventually selected the exit where the taxis were and more by luck than judgment, discovered that I was going the right way. The Birminham Bullring is an impressive looking building, but I wanted to find the ground and didn't have time for a proper scout round. I can't say I particularly enjoyed my walk through Birmingham, give me Chipstead in October any day. I found the ground a lot easier than I had any right to and was delighted to find a MaCdonalds only 200 yards from the entrance. On arriving at the stadium, I asked a steward where the ticket office was. He pointed to an area of the ground. Last year at White Hart Lane it was a complete bun fight buying tickets with people everywhere. This year, I gently walked to the window and paid straight away. the hugely disappointing crowd of under 3 and a half thousand people probably explains why. Entering St Andrews reminded me why I follownon-league football. The place really has no character and is exactly like most other football league grounds you see, only Blue. The bar area inside the gates is very small, fine for our meagre ground but must be hell on premiership match days. The pitch was not bad but not as pristine as White Hart Lane. Only 5000 programmes had been printed and were only being sold outside the ground, I had to ask a steward to let me out to buy one, others in the ground could not get one as somehow they seemed to have sold out. Poor! Nice to see Trevor Francis performing the honours, I coouldn't think of a better person for where we were. I like watching the teams in their pre-match warm-up, it tells you a lot. Hillingdon were waving to the crowd and breaking away from their warm-up to continually have their pictures taken. Nantich were just getting on with it like in any other match.
In the end, Hillingdon froze on the big stage and were never, ever in it. Them shaking their heads at the end told the whole story. Nantwich were terrific. Fastest, most imaginative, fiercest and most clinical, they were never going to lose. They kicked off and had about 10 touches before a Hillingdon defender manager to toe it out of touch. Nantwich hit the post after 5 mins when they should have scored but still managed to take the lead on 15 mins. A Hillingdon defender failed to shield the ball out of play, Nantwich cut the ball back from the dead ball line to KINSEY who faked to shoot gaining a yard and then picked his spot low to the keepers right, a very composed finish. The lead was doubled on 33 mins. A break down the left saw an interchange of passes inside the box, it was eventually played out to SCHEUBER who hit a 22 yard left foot low shot across the keeper and in. Hillingdon tried to lift it at the start of the second half but only created half scrambled chances. The game was made safe on 70 mins. KINSEY picked the ball up on the edge of the box, side-stepped a challenge and blasted a shot past the keeper at his near post, Kinsey then dislocated his shoulder throwing his shirt into the crowd, a good job they won as he'd never live that down otherwise. Hillingdon got a consolation on 90 mins. A deep cross from the right was headed back across goal, Tilbury hit the post and Nelson scuffed in the rebound, the linesman declaring that the ball had just crossed the line.
And that was it, an enjoyable, if one-sided final.
Congratulations to Nantwich, worth winners. Roll on July and the draw for next season.

Bury Town FC 

Bury Town 1 Hillingdon Borough 1 

Semi final nicely balanced

Bury Town 1 Hillingdon Borough 1

Following consultation with the police, it was decided to play the FA Vase semi finals between these two teams on a Sunday. This accompanied by the decision to also play the second leg at Nantwich on the Sunday, means I could only make it to this 1st leg as I’m away next week. It was also announced that this would be all ticket. Great panic when I discovered this with a week to go, but I sorted it out and received my ticket with a couple of days to spare. Why then did I turn up at the game to find them selling tickets on the gate?
This had a bit of a surreal feel to the whole day. I normally get to my venue with loads of time to spare and take in a bit of the town. For some reason, what with it being a Sunday and WAGN deciding once again to do essential maintenance every weekend until mid-June, meant that I got to Bury with only an hour to spare. Plenty of time, but I never got to see much of Bury St Edmunds at all.
Lunch was a couple of cheeseburgers at Stevenage station and a stale kit Kat at the ground. The journey was without incident and actually took me through quite picturesque surroundings. It’s only a 10 minute walk from the station to the ground, but I still managed to take a wrong turning and ended up in the back streets of Bury. Normally, there’s people bustling around and it’s easy to find someone to ask for directions. Again, maybe it was because it was Sunday, but I walked for 5-10 minutes and didn’t see a single soul on foot or in a vehicle, very eerie. I eventually found my way and arrived at the ground in good time. According to the press, there were only 580 people at the other semi final the day before at Cammell Laird. By 14:20, Bury Town was packed and I just managed to get a place on the rail. By kick off, it was about 2 deep all the way round and no space whatsoever behind both goals. I’ve been to the ground once before a few years ago for an evening match but didn’t have a chance to look round this time as I didn’t want to lose my place. The big crowd ensured a good atmosphere. The one spoiling factor was the wind. Once a year, every year, you get a game like this when the wind is so strong that goalkeepers struggle to reach the halfway line with their kicks. To be fair, both teams adjusted really well and this was a cracking game right from the first whistle.
Hillingdon attacked from the kick-off and were unlucky not to get in after only 10 seconds. They impressed me greatly. Intelligent strikers, energetic in midfield and strong at the back. They deserved their draw and ensured an exciting second leg. Bury hit the post early on before scoring on 11 mins. They won a free kick 30 yards out that was brilliantly dispatched into the bottom left corner by McGavin. Tilbury then went really close for Hillingdon with a brilliant 35 yard wind assisted volley that grazed the woodwork. Then Hillingdon won a cast iron penalty on 25 mins after a player was flattened in the box. Craft blasted the penalty into the top right corner giving the keeper no chance. It was nip and tuck after that with both sides having half chances, Lawrence coming closest for Hillingdon with a 22 yard effort that clipped the top of the bar.
Hillingdon will be happiest going into the second leg, but this tie is far from over.
I’m just gutted I can’t make the second leg.
Next stop for me, St Andrews and the final.

Newmarket Town FC 

Through the Blizzard, Newmarket 1 Cammell Laird 2 

Tattersalls