Wembley Stadium

AFC Totton 1 Truro City 3

The Bobby Moore statue

First view of Wembley Stadium

Truro write their place in history

AFC Totton 1 Truro City 3

For the last few seasons, I’ve started my FA Vase journey dreaming of a trip to the new Wembley stadium. I don’t need to document the whole Wembley saga other than to say that, when I started my Vase journey this season at Frimley Green, I was expecting the final to once again be held at a mid-table premiership club. The intensity of this competition increased hugely once Wembley was confirmed as the final venue & Billingham Synthonia fans and players were inconsolable when they fell at the cruelist of hurdles.
But off I went leaving myself loads of time to soak up the atmosphere. I was surrounded by Chelsea fans whilst travelling to London all bemoaning what a lousy season they’d had, I wonder if AFC Totton fans will now talk the same way?
A special mention to the gentleman on the tube playing loud rap music to which he sung along, sucked through his teeth & flicked his fingers. I know we all have different tastes in music but did he have to have it playing at full blast? I suppose I did learn some new swear words.
Wembley Park station has been revamped. You now descend a large concrete staircase to Wembley way. There were several station staff with megaphones telling people not to take photographs. It hadn’t entered my head until they started screaming this out, I must confess that this brought to my attention what a good photo it would make, so I sneaked a quick photo in whilst nobody was looking. It’s only when you get about 100 yards away that you actually notice any effect that the megaphones were having.
I wondered whether I’d still get the buzz when walking down Wembley Way. Fear not, it actually sent a shiver up my spine. I’ll always be a twin turret rather than an arch man, but the place looked magnificent.
A focal point just outside the stadium is the statue of Bobby Moore, an extremely good likeness despite a friend telling me to look out for the statue of Booby Charlton! A good meeting point & photo opportunity.
My only complaint for this trip was that the loos on the exterior of the stadium were flooded, meaning you had to wade ankle high through water if you needed to use these, not a great first impression.
The fountains below the stadium concourse are a nice touch, there are loads of catering outlets all grossly overpriced but subsequently, the queues were short.
About 90 minutes before kick-off, we were treated to an almighty thunderstorm, the thunder seemingly rocking the foundations, the heavy rain did nothing to improve the smell coming off the ridiculous number of police horses in attendance.
On entering the stadium, you go up an escalator. If like me, you’re in the top tier, you go up 3 escalators, a unique almost eerie sensation inside a football stadium. You then reach the main interior of the ground where there are ample facilities and a good amount of space. I headed straight for the inside of the ground. I have to say, it took my breath away. IT IS HUGE! Loads of leg room, terrific views and a great atmosphere. I cannot put into words what it is truly like, but I cannot recommend it highly enough, well worth the wait. A slightly strange atmosphere as you cannot hear the players shouting being so far away, instead you just have the constant sound of those horns which are readily available down Wembley way.
The game after a cautious start, lived up to all expectations. An open attacking game with loads of chances and excitement. Truro to be honest, were clearly the better side and nobody could begrudge their victory.
Totton scored first when Potter spun and hit a nice finish into the top corner after the Truro keeper spilt a cross. Truro equalised on halftime as Wills brilliantly brought down a high ball, beat 2 men and drilled a low shot home. Wills scored again on 56 mins hitting a low shot under the keepers outstretched arm. There were a couple of almighty goalmouth scrambles which Truro were lucky to clear but they wrapped it up on 84 minutes when Broad exchanged passes with a team-mate and finished well.A far cry from the sunny start I made to this competition this season in front of about 30 people at Frimley Green. I guess that’s half the joy of it.

Billingham Synthonia FC

Action from the second leg

View of Billingham Synthonia.

Totton - Pretty in pink!

Billingham Synthonia 1 AFC Totton 2 aet

Totton won 5-4 on pens.

I thought long and hard about going to this game as it was a hell of a long journey. In the end, my lack of Northern clubs visited and the fact that I love this competition won me over, I took a deep breath and went for it. The hardestt hing was getting to Stevenage, the annual 2 months of weekend work on the rails have arrived again & it's replacement bus service time yet again. Fortunately, the wife took pity & probably because she wanted to watch Paint your wagon in the afternoon, gave me a lift. The journey then went like clockwork and I was more than pleased when the first train turned up 6 mins early. The coach I got a seat on was right next to the buffet area, convenient, but extremely noisy. A group of Geordies decided to camp out there for the whole journey and basically treated it like a bar. It did add a bit of colour to that leg of the journey and the train had a real buzz about it with always something going on. The connection to Thornaby from Darlington was fine. I then had to spend 35 minutes waiting for my final train at Thornaby. Never have a been to a place with so little to do & so little going on. I went and asked the ticket office clerk what platform to stand on just for the company. Desperately boring. The final leg was only two stops, the train stopped at signals for a minute conveniently right next to Billingham Towns ground, strangely they were also at home. If they'd bought their kick-off forward by three hours, they probably would have had a good sized crowd, I'd have certainly gone to both. The one positive thing to come out of Thornaby was when I heard two guys talking about the game. I discretely followed them from Billingham station therefore not having to worry about finding the way. They never sussed me, maybe I should go into detective work. The ground is only about a 10 minute walk and on a main road. I queued at the only burger van & was fascinated to see that it had cooked an actual beef & pork joint. I selected a meat sandwich which was a load of beef & gravy piled into a roll. Fantastic! as a well known TV programme says, Northern boys love gravy. The ground at Billingham is just spectacular for this level. A huge, huge stand along 1 side which must have had about 1500 fans into it. very imposing & extraordinary for this level although when all the fans cheered it made a thunderous sound. There's also raised grass banks around the rest of the pitch. There were 2300 people there and everyone had a good view. I don't normally like running tracks around football grounds, this ground has a dirt track around it but it works due to the height of the viewing areas. A special mention to the ballboys who all stayed as keen as mustard throughout despite the biting wind. A request to however is in charge of weather, Could we place have semi finals next year without 30mph winds. It came very close to spoiling both legs of this tie. I'm not sure how many times the ball went out for a throw over the far side but it must have been around 40! Totton appeared sporting shocking pink shrts much to Billingham fans merriment. It was Totton who were smiling though as Osman headed home after only 2 mins to level the tie. Aftert his, the team kicking with the wind were well on top in both halves. There were several near misses until Stevens converted a low cross with only 9 mins to go. You knew that wouldn't be the end of it & Wells chipped in deep into stoppage time to take us into extra time. Billingham won a penalty for a trip on the substitute which was brilliantly saved by the legs of McCormack. Billingham thought the tackler should have been red carded as last man, they had a fair point but it would have been desperately hard on the Totton defender who had been immense all afternoon. Both keepers made spectacular saves as the game went to penalties. It's never fair to state who scored and missed, Totton though came out 5-4 winners. A fabulous two-legged tie that had just about everything and was a credit to both teams. Synthonia have a ground to be proud of & it was a fitting setting for the conclusion of this contest.

AFC Totton 1 Billingham Synthonia 2

All still to play for

AFC Totton 1 Billingham Synthonia 2

I won't dwell too long on this match. A return trip to the ground I'd visited only three weeks earlier as I like to try and do both legs of a semi final.. Only difference was a replacement bus service from Southampton Central to Totton, only a 10 minute ride. Nice to know where a ground is without pouring over maps. I also ate from the food van in the ground. GREAT CHIPS!!!! I had the first batch cooked in fresh oil, worth the trip alone. Similar sized crowd from the last match and a pretty similar game. Both sides were clearly nervous but up for it and the tie was even throughout. Billingham scored on 14 mins when a flicked header gave the keeper no chance from a free kick. Osman equalised for Totton latching onto a through ball, avoiding the keeper on the way out and slipping it into an empty net. Billingham deserved the winner if anyone did and it came on 86 minutes when their striker just got his head to the ball before the keeper could collect and the ball crept in, a real goal from nothing. Replacement bus service was 25 minutes late arriving on the way home and the train to Waterloo crawled all the way arriving 45 minutes late. But all still to play for in the second leg. Am I going to Billingham next week? Well, I'm going to try.

Yours truely with the FA Vase

AFC Totton FC

AFC Totton 2 Wimborne 1

Oh yay! Oh Yay, AFC Totton are in the Vase semi finals.

Defeat, a kick in the face for Wimborne

AFC Totton 2 Wimborne Town 1 aet

3rd March 2007

When you get to the quarter finals of a National competiton & have two grounds you haven't visited within reasonable distance, you know that it's not all going wrong. It was between Whitehawk & AFC Totton, I'd visited a Sussex league side earlier in the competition at Ringmer, so decided on Totton. Yet another heavy nights rain meant that I was concerned that the game would still be on, it must be about 12 weeks in a row this has happened and I've been mostly lucky to find games still on. The journey is remarkably easy, about 85 minutes from Waterloo on a train with loads of space. The only confusing thing is why they announce that you'll be fined if caught travelling on this train without a ticket, this announcement is made about 2 minutes after the train has pulled out from the station. The journey went without incident through some delightful countryside. Totton was a little larger than I'd expected and I eagerly hit the town in search of lunch. I was a little disappointed, loads of chinese takeaways and the odd Indian, but not the little cafe or chippy I was hoping for. I ended up in Asda looking for a supermarket cafe but could only find a MacDonalds in Asda, it took about 15 minutes to reach the front of the queue & with hindsight and local knowledge, I would have eated in the ground. The ground is only about a 10 minute walk from the station and very easy to find. The crowds were flocking up the street and I was hugely impressed when I got through the gate. Loads of programmes (Hillingdon & Causeway take note), two well staffed fast food outlets, a pick n' mix van for the kids, cheerleaders, a town crier and a wacking great marquee selling beer. Great to see a club making this effort and it certainly paid off, I kept hearing guys ringing their mates and telling them to come down. FA officials had also brought the Vase trophy to show off and I'm grateful to the official who took my picture with the trophy, very splendid and would look good on my mantlepiece. I've never seen a town crier at a game of football before but he gave it a brave shot as did the cheerleaders who were never going to be able to compete with the enthusiastic Wimborne fans. There's a small stand and another covered standing area set back from the other side. Surprisingly, the pitch was quite bumpy although it soon softened up when the inevitible downpour arrived. There was a great crowd of over 1300, this had a real cup tie feel. My favourite comment of the day came from a guy standing next to me with his son. Dad was receiving updates of premiership scores on his mobile. When he announced that Arsenal had scored twice, his son asked who had scored. " I don't know!" replied Dad, "Oh yes, there you are...Samsung & Cancel" Went way over his sons head but made me laugh.
This was a game of two halves. Totton never showed up ntil half time, Wimborne scoring first after 35 mins when a shot from just inside the box caught a wicked deflection and gave the keeper no chance. Once Totton started playing, they were much the better side and equalised on 54 mins. A cross was curled to the far post, usually with this type of ball ,the player coming in just can't reach it, this time he did and managed to steer it in from a tight angle. The game was considerably delayed due to two nasty Wimborne injuries. First a player was stretchered off with a leg injury and then the keeper was down for about 15 minutes after accidently being kicked John Terry like in the face. The keeper looked decidely dodgy after this and you wonder what effect that knock had on the final outcome, you cannot fault his bravery though. The winner came 8 minutes into extra time, a free kick was hit to the far post, an unmarked man headed for goal, the keeper could only palm it across the 6 yard box to Stevens who blasted into an empty net from only 2 yards out.
I'm delighted for Totton, the club made such an effort which was greatly appreciated, wimborne played their part and will look back and feel that luck was not on their side.

Causeway FC

Causeway 0 Curzon Ashton 5

Approach to Tividale FC - Home of Causeway

Giant win at Causeway

Causeway 0 Curzon Ashton 5

17/2/07

Every now and again, the weather works in your favour. I had been unable to attend Vase matches the previous weekend due to an evening engagement. But thanks to heavy snow & rain, 3 of the matches were postponed to this Saturday. I'd visited VCD previously so had to choose between Leamington or Causeway. I decided on Causeway with a mental flip of the coin & prepared maps and timetables for the lengthy journey. I flicked to the Causeway website just before leaving home and discovered that there was a 9:30 pitch inspection, not good when my train left at 9.50. I went to the station and telephoned the club at 9.40 who informed me the game was on. I was greatful to whoever answered the phone, another 10 minutes & I couldn't have taken the risk and would have returned to VCD. It amused me to hear Arsenal fans on my first train discussing who might score their first goal. If only they knew where I was going, I couldn't name a single player at this point, let alone one who might score. The Virgin train from Euston was very busy but stayed on time, I did have one mild panic when the 'train manager' informed us that we were approaching Crewe...He meant Rugby! The train between Birmingham & Dudley Port is the first ever train I've been on which has TV's in each carriage showing Sky News/weather/sport etc. Quite nice actually as everyone else was attracted to the screen whilst I stayed up the other end of the carriage watching the World go by or in this case, watching the Industrial estates go by, not an attractive journey for scenery. I arrived at Dudley Port station, had a 50% chance of turning the right way and got it wrong, fortunately I soon realised. This mis-direction did take me past a chippy so I called in for lunch. I selected Saveloy and chips. I've never seen such yellow looking chips in my life and they were disgusting, I wished I'd taken the assistant up on her offer of curry sauce. Fortunately, the saveloy was OK, but those chips!! I was miffed when 5 minutes later, I passed a perfectly good looking 'Subway'. The ground is about a 2 mile walk from the station along very busy roads but easy enough to find. The clubhouse was packed so I waited outside for the gate to open. this happened about 2:30. I was fourth in the queue and couldn't believe my ears when I was told that there were no programmes. They'd only printed off about40 which had all been sold in the clubhouse. Several travellors mingled inside trying to purchase a programme from somewhere. An official promissed to print off some more and bring them round to us. I waited until kick-off but the programmes never appeared, very disppointing. I was actually buying a cup of tea at the tea hut which also offered curry sauce with chips, does this happen everywhere in the Midlands? Norton comfortable put away the early chance for Curzon. 3 minutes later Curzon won a penalty when Moore was decked in the box. He was pushed in the chest and threw himself to the ground holding his face, disgusting! I try to remain neutral but was delighted when the keeper saved his spot kick. 3 goals in 6 minutes started on 24 mins when Norton scored again when a stray shot inadvertantly put him through. Another penalty was awarded on 26 mins, hard luck on the defender as a flick hit his hand. It was a definite case of ball to hand. Moore this time took a good penalty. On 30 mins, Moore dribbled into the area, changed feet and hit a beauty across goal and in off the inside of the far post, a lovely finished. A shell shocked Causeway tried to lift it in the second half but Curzon killed the game. Curzon still created all the good chances and Norton was so unlucky when a 40 yard chip hit the bar with the keeper ending up caught up in his net. The final goal came on 71 mins when substitute Holt scored easily from a Norton pass.
This victory was as comfortable as the scoreline suggests.
A lengthy trip but well worth the effort.
Next stop, AFC Totton.