Saturday 17th
March – First Leg
Brackley Town 1
Wealdstone 0
A Gudger strike four minutes from time saw hosts Brackley
Town take a slender lead into the second leg of their semi final tie with
Wealdstone after they edged a tight first leg encounter at St James Park in
Northamptonshire.
The first chance of the game fell to the hosts in just the
second minute when Ndlovu squared the ball to Armson but he put his effort over
the bar, and in the 22nd minute came Wealdstone’s first dangerous
attacking moment when Tiryaki put in a dangerous low cross but Lewis in the
hosts goal got an important touch on the cross and it was cleared.
On the half hour mark a goalmouth scramble inside the Stones
area was eventually cleared to Byrne on the edge of the box, but he could only
send his effort over, and then moments later Walker sent a cross into the
Stones area which deflected goalwards of Ndlovu, however North was alert to it
and held on well.
Wealdstone then attacked with nine minutes of the half
remaining and saw Sheppard shoot and Lewis could only spill the effort, see
Bubb tap the rebound goalward but then see Dean clear off the line, it was very
close to seeing the visitors edge ahead in this one.
With four minutes of the half remaining Stones almost shot
themselves in the foot when Cox played a poor clearance into the path of
Armson, but luckily for the visitors he could only shoot over, and then with a
minute of the half left a Brackley corner played into Dean saw him get a nick
on it however North held on.
It meant this first leg tie reached the break goalless and
it was still all to play for in the second period.
Half Time Brackley
Town 0 Wealdstone 0
Wealdstone had the first effort of the second period when in
the 48th minute Sheppard whipped in a corner for Oshodi, but he
could only flick his header wide, and then three minutes later Bubb laid off a
ball to Wellard on the edge of the box but his shot went just wide of the hosts
goal.
Just past the hour mark Walker whipped in a free kick for
the hosts and found the head of Graham, however it drifted wide and North
gathered, before in the 65th minute and with Brackley enjoying some
decent possession now, Armson fired wide of the Stones goal.
A minute later a free kick from the hosts found the head of
Dean, but it was a tame effort and North collected, and then moments after down
the other end Bubb put a cross into the hosts area which deflected off the head
of Myles but keeper Lewis held on to spare his blushes.
The 1,250 crowd were beginning to wonder if they would see a
goal in this first leg encounter and Walker saw a shot go wide from the edge of
the visitors area, and then moments later North had to be alert to keep out a
Byrne effort which bobbled towards the visitors net.
And then came the breakthrough, as in the 86th
minute a deep corner from the hosts was played to Gudger, and he smashed an
effort into the top corner, and the hosts had a slender lead to take to Ruislip
in a weeks time.
Full Time Brackley
Town 1 Wealdstone 0
Picture courtesy of
Brackley Town FC:-
Right let’s see how
the other semi final 1st leg panned out, as Bromley took on
Gateshead at Hayes Lane:-
Bromley 3 Gateshead 2
In the all-National
League encounter in Bromley, Gateshead’s Richard Peniket slotted home within
the first 60 seconds as Steve Watson’s visitors flew out of the blocks and landed
the first blow. The home side equalised from the spot on 13 minutes – Brandon
Hanlan keeping his cool to send his kick down the middle and out of reach of
James Montgomery. Both sides had chances after that but it was the Tynesiders
who went into the break in the lead as Danny Johnson took advantage of some
sluggish defending to round David Gregory between the Bromley sticks and tap
home. Louis Dennis curled home a peach of a strike early in the second half to
haul the hosts level once more, before Hanlan rattled the crossbar as the
momentum shifted back to Bromley. And the hosts’ pressure got its rewards when
neat play by Hanlan gave Dennis the space to pick his spot and fire past
Montgomery and complete the comeback for the home side, who held on for the win
to take a slender one goal lead to the North-East.
So both Brackley Town and Bromley had one goal leads
as they travelled to their respective second leg ties, lets see how my featured
tie fared at Grosvenor Vale:-
Wealdstone 0 Brackley Town 2 (Brackley Town won 3-0 on aggregate)
Northamptonshire
Vanarama North side Brackley Town completed the deal after seeing off Vanarama
South Wealdstone at Grosvenor Vale to take their place in the FA Trophy final
in May.
Such was the
occasion and the interest the game had to be delayed by ten minutes or so to
let the huge crowd that had turned up in Ruislip into the ground, and in the
end 2,008 crammed into Grosvenor Vale to see if their side could turn the tie around
after their narrow first leg defeat.
However the visitors
were themselves backed by a few hundred of their own supporters and they were
intent on finishing the job, and in the opening ten minutes Brackley had both
openings that came, firstly on three minutes when an early corner was headed
over by skipper Gareth Dean, and then five minutes later striker Lee Ndlovu
tried his luck from range, but it went wide.
Then Stones defender
Jerome Okimo then had to be alert in the 13th minute to thwart Glenn
Walker, and then two minutes later Walker struck a low shot that deflected
wide, but the visitors had certainly come out to try and finish this tie as
early as they possibly could.
Midway through the
half visitors striker Ndlovu looked likely to break clear on goal after a poor clearance
but Edward Oshodi managed to dive in and concede a corner kick, and finally in
the 27th minute the hosts mounted a meaningful attack as Matthew Whichelow
raced clear but he was brought down by James Armson, who was booked for the
challenge, but at least the hosts had shown some attacking intent.
Just past the half
hour mark though Brackley continued to threaten, and Aaron Williams got down
the right and fired an effort in from out wide, and keeper Jonathan North initially
thumbled the effort, but managed to hold onto it second time round, and then
Shane Byrne volleyed just wide of the Stones goal as the visitors continued to
knock on the door.
Ten minutes before
the break saw a terrific save by hosts keeper North to keep out a Williams
effort, and then against the run of play the hosts won a free kick in a decent
position, however Sheppard picked out Tiryaki whose effort struck a defender and
went out for a corner.
It meant the sides
reached the break all square although it had been Brackley’s half for sure, and
they would have been disappointed not to have been in front after a handful of good
chances had passed them by, however they still held that slender lead from the
first leg, but it was still all to play for.
Half Time Wealdstone 0 Brackley Town 0
Brackley may have
been disappointed not to have been in front at the break, however ten minutes
into the second period they found the net, when Byrne fired home a free-kick
from twenty-five yards out, and the visitors now had a two goal aggregate lead
to protect, and the hosts had it all to do now.
Wealdstone responded
on the hour mark with a triple substitution, with Tiryaki, Glenn Wilson and
Bradley Bubb all being replaced by Ricky Wellard, Daniel Fitchett and Harry
Goodger, and this seemed to galvanize the hosts who put the visitors under a
lot of pressure and midway through the half saw Danny Green burst down the
middle of the park and drill a shot at goal but keeper Lewis steered it wide.
However after this
initial burst of pressure from the hosts, this rather subsided and the longer
the game went on you felt Brackley were going to hold on, and then with nine
minutes remaining they sealed their spot in Wembley’s finale when Brackley
broke out and found Williams who sent an effort around North and into the net,
and spark celebrations amongst all to do with Brackley.
And that was that as
they said, disappointing for Wealdstone who fall at the semi final stage, but
they can take credit for how far they have come, whilst for Brackley they can
now look forward to a Wembley final in May, how good does that sound eh?
Full Time Wealdstone 0 Brackley Town 2 (Brackley Town won 3-0 on aggregate)
Here are some photos
of the second leg, courtesy of Andy Phillips (@APCAFC):-
So Brackley Town had
made it to the final, who would they play in that, well here is how the other
tie panned out up in the North East at Gateshead International Stadium:-
Gateshead 1 Bromley 1
(Bromley won 4-3 on aggregate)
Bromley will contest in this years
FA Trophy final after they saw off fellow Vanarama National side Gateshead
after drawing the second leg up in the North East. The Ravens got off
to the perfect start as with just five minutes gone, Charlton loanee Brandon Hanlan saw his
effort saved by Heed goalkeeper James Montgomery, only for the ball to cannon
off the unwitting Kerr and into the net. Richard Peniket and Patrick McLaughlin fired narrowly over in response
for the hosts before Bromley missed a golden opportunity to wrap the game up on
50 minutes as Louis Dennis’ pinpoint cross found Hanlan six yards out, only for
the striker to put the ball inches wide. The Ravens’ Frankie Sutherland was
forced to clear Russell Penn’s shot on the turn off the line on 68 minutes but
shortly after, the Heed were level anyway as Barrow fired an incredible 35-yard
volley into the top right corner for a goal-of-the-season contender. Montgomery
produced an excellent one-handed save from Dennis with eight minutes left to
keep Gateshead in the tie but they couldn’t find the late goal which would have
sent the match to extra-time and Bromley deservedly advanced to Wembley for the
first time.
So that means the FA Trophy final will be contested between
Vanarama North Brackley Town and Vanarama National Bromley at Wembley on Non
League Finals Day, Sunday May 20th.
Bromley will go into the match as favourites no doubt as they do play in
a division higher, however Brackley will certainly fancy a shot at glory so it
proves to be a decent final for sure.
Make sure you check my blog after the final for report and photos of the
game.
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