FA Vase 2016-17
Sun 21st May 2017 | FA Challenge Vase | By Gary Langley
Today saw the showpiece occasion of non-league football in the form of Non-League finals day.
The day consists of the Buildbase FA Vase final and Buildbase FA Trophy finals taking place concurrently at the home of the FA at the impressive Wembley Stadium and is marketed at a great value package for supporters of all football clubs, not just the ones taking part in the respective finals.
It is Non-League's day out and the plethora of different clubs shirts on display around Wembley on the day is testament to that.
Northern League side South Shields won the competition with what in the end turned out to be a comprehensive 4-0 win, secured largely in the last ten minutes when Cleethorpes Town’s legs just tired and Shields’ showed their superior fitness. It’s just reward for a club who have stuck their neck out to go for promotion and put all of the building blocks in place to do it.
For fans of Hallmark Security League clubs, it wasn’t to be this year, however, our clubs are no strangers to the Buildbase FA Vase final and with memories of Glossop North Ends appearance at the end of the 2014-15 season still relatively fresh it is a case of taking inspiration from occasions like this.
With the Hallmark Security League looking as strong as it has done for a generation, there are great hopes for a number of our clubs next season to progress in this national showpiece next season.
At this point we look back at how a number of our clubs got on in The Buildbase FA Vase this season.
For many, the competition started way back on the 10th September 2016 when 27 clubs entered at the First Qualifying Round Stage. There were five all Hallmark Security League ties at this point which included first games in the competition for Carlisle City, City of Liverpool, FC Oswestry Town and Charnock Richard.
It is always an interesting round as some clubs are still a bit rusty from the summer, plus there is a wide range of Northern based clubs that are already at that point strong candidates, including ours that are in the hat.
Fifteen of our clubs progressed from this stage, Chadderton always seem to do well and they saw off St Helens Town 3-5 whilst Daisy Hill also progressed, seeing off a strong Garforth Town side 4-1 at New Sirs. Widnes travelled to Maltby Main, a side that have despatched a few of our clubs over the years and came away with a solid 0-2 win.
Notable clubs leaving at this point were Squires Gate who were beaten 2-1 by fellow NWCFL side Alsager Town, Whitchurch Alport went out early too but put up a strong fight against local side Wellington Town losing out to a 1-2 scoreline, that was the same situation at the Delta Taxis Stadium where City of Liverpool were knocked out by rivals Litherland Remyca.
In the second Qualifying round 27 clubs took part again over the weekend of 24-25 September with a number of Premier Division Clubs joining in at this stage. A couple of those clubs actually exited early to Hallmark Security League Division One Clubs as Ashton Town defeated Barnton 3-2 at Edge Grren Street. Home advantage was useful to Atherton LR too as they despatched Cammell Laird 1907 3-2 at Crilly Park.
This Round saw some great scoring games with Barnoldswick Town defeating Stokesly Sports Club 7-1 at the Silentnight Stadium, Congleton Town and Bacup Borough needed extra time to separate them with Congleton finishing the victors with a 7-3 win after an eventful extra period of time. Add into this Chadderton’s 4-1 away win over eventual Division One Champions, Widnes then there were some serious results at this point as fifteen of our clubs went into the hat for the First Round.
The first round saw some great ties, clubs such as Atherton Collieries and Runcorn Linnets also joined the competition and the latter had a hum-dinger of a tie as they travelled to eventual finalists, South Shields!
A gate of 1060 saw a close run game that saw Linnets go ahead just before the interval with an own goal. Gavin Cogden equalised for Shield on 51 minutes, however it took a 90th minute winner from Robert Briggs to separate the sides to the dismay of the travelling Linnets support.
A case of what might have been but it shows the narrow margins that are the difference between clubs progressing – or not in this competition.
It was a tough round for Hallmark Security League clubs with the strong Northern League presence really making an impact against us, only five of the eighteen NWCFL Clubs actually going through at this stage of the competition, two of those coming from all same-league ties.
Notable performances also came at this point from Atherton Collieries who defeated Jarrow Roofing 5-0 and Bootle, who travelled to derby rivals AFC Liverpool and came away with a convincing 0-6 win.
In the second round the draw had been far from kind, of the five Hallmark Security League Clubs who had progressed to this stage, four ended up playing each other as 1874 Northwich ended up going out 0-3 to Atherton Collieries and Padiham’s FA Vase progress was halted 0-2 at home by Bootle.
Charnock Richard can be proud of their first crack at the Vase, it took a bit of bad luck and extra time to separate them and Stavely Miners Welfare as the visitors went through 2-4 aet.
With just two clubs left to blaze a trail for the league, it was Bootle’s turn to come up against a side who would eventually end up as finalists as they travelled to Cleethorpes Town and like Linnets against South Shields in a previous round, went so close to progressing.
The game had been a tense stalemate up until 85 minutes when Ryan Cox put Joe Doran’s side ahead to the delight of the Bootle supporters. However fate played a hand as Jonathan Oglesby levelled the game just two minutes later and then went on to break Bootle hearts with an injury time winner to send Cleethorpes through.
Atherton Collieries fared better in their game, they travelled to Northern League side and former NWCFL members, Penrith and progressed with a 0-3 win on the road. A goal from Grimshaw on 58 minutes got the ball rolling with Jordan Cover sealing the result with a brace netted on 69 and 73 minutes.
As the New Year arrived so did a new Round as Atherton Collieries travelled to Shildon, a club who had beaten Litherland Remyca back in Round 1. It was a fair old trip for Michael Clegg’s side and things did not look too good at 51 minutes when a goal from Anwar Purewal put the home side ahead.
At this point it was almost a trigger for Colls’ to up their game a gear and Ben Hardcastle’s equaliser on the hour mark then provided the impetus as Mark Mattersby put them ahead on 63 minutes. Daniel Lafferty further extended the lead on 70 minutes with Jordan Cover rounding off a 4-1 win with the final goal on 87 minutes in front of a crowd of 412.
In Round 5 the third clash between a Hallmark Security League Club and an eventual finalist came when Coll’s came up against Cleethorpes Town and again, they ran them close in a game that was full of emotion…. And fun!
With a musical instrument ban, the Atherton Club’s band “Cleggy’s midnight Runners’ were silenced by Council regulations. Not to be downhearted by this, a set of virtual silent instruments were found and the band played away merrily on the day. A Black and white fancy dress theme also saw all manner of unique outfits make the trip over to North East Lincolnshire.
Early signs were good for Atherton Collieries as they stormed into a 0-2 lead with Mark Battersby giving them the lead as early as the third minute, doubled on 41 minutes by Gaz Peet. For Cleethorpes, one of their defining moments of their Vase run, by their own admission came on 44 minutes when Liam Davis pulled a goal back just before half time on 44 minutes.
It has been noted by many on their fans forum that had they have gone in two down at half time, they may not have had the same mind-set in the second half.
In that half Liam Davis managed to equalise on 50 minutes as they maintained the momentum achieved by that goal just before the break and then followed a tense 40 minute spell.
In injury time Atherton Collieries hopes were cruelly dashed as Matty Coleman sprang up to net right at the death to send Cleethorpes through and thus end the Hallmark Security League’s club participation in this season's competition.
Cleethorpes would eventually be undone in the final by South Shields, on what was non league's big day out. As it turned out, Bootle, Atherton Colls and Runcorn Linnets were all being mentioned on the day and getting their names on the side of the stadium as part of the finalists “Road to Wembley”- a photo of the Colls' banner is below.
Who knows, with changes taking place in and around the game at the moment, the odds on a Hallmark Security League team being there next year may have just improved a bit.
FA Vase 2016-17
Sun 21st May 2017 | FA Challenge Vase
By Gary Langley
Today saw the showpiece occasion of non-league football in the form of Non-League finals day.
The day consists of the Buildbase FA Vase final and Buildbase FA Trophy finals taking place concurrently at the home of the FA at the impressive Wembley Stadium and is marketed at a great value package for supporters of all football clubs, not just the ones taking part in the respective finals.
It is Non-League's day out and the plethora of different clubs shirts on display around Wembley on the day is testament to that.
Northern League side South Shields won the competition with what in the end turned out to be a comprehensive 4-0 win, secured largely in the last ten minutes when Cleethorpes Town’s legs just tired and Shields’ showed their superior fitness. It’s just reward for a club who have stuck their neck out to go for promotion and put all of the building blocks in place to do it.
For fans of Hallmark Security League clubs, it wasn’t to be this year, however, our clubs are no strangers to the Buildbase FA Vase final and with memories of Glossop North Ends appearance at the end of the 2014-15 season still relatively fresh it is a case of taking inspiration from occasions like this.
With the Hallmark Security League looking as strong as it has done for a generation, there are great hopes for a number of our clubs next season to progress in this national showpiece next season.
At this point we look back at how a number of our clubs got on in The Buildbase FA Vase this season.
For many, the competition started way back on the 10th September 2016 when 27 clubs entered at the First Qualifying Round Stage. There were five all Hallmark Security League ties at this point which included first games in the competition for Carlisle City, City of Liverpool, FC Oswestry Town and Charnock Richard.
It is always an interesting round as some clubs are still a bit rusty from the summer, plus there is a wide range of Northern based clubs that are already at that point strong candidates, including ours that are in the hat.
Fifteen of our clubs progressed from this stage, Chadderton always seem to do well and they saw off St Helens Town 3-5 whilst Daisy Hill also progressed, seeing off a strong Garforth Town side 4-1 at New Sirs. Widnes travelled to Maltby Main, a side that have despatched a few of our clubs over the years and came away with a solid 0-2 win.
Notable clubs leaving at this point were Squires Gate who were beaten 2-1 by fellow NWCFL side Alsager Town, Whitchurch Alport went out early too but put up a strong fight against local side Wellington Town losing out to a 1-2 scoreline, that was the same situation at the Delta Taxis Stadium where City of Liverpool were knocked out by rivals Litherland Remyca.
In the second Qualifying round 27 clubs took part again over the weekend of 24-25 September with a number of Premier Division Clubs joining in at this stage. A couple of those clubs actually exited early to Hallmark Security League Division One Clubs as Ashton Town defeated Barnton 3-2 at Edge Grren Street. Home advantage was useful to Atherton LR too as they despatched Cammell Laird 1907 3-2 at Crilly Park.
This Round saw some great scoring games with Barnoldswick Town defeating Stokesly Sports Club 7-1 at the Silentnight Stadium, Congleton Town and Bacup Borough needed extra time to separate them with Congleton finishing the victors with a 7-3 win after an eventful extra period of time. Add into this Chadderton’s 4-1 away win over eventual Division One Champions, Widnes then there were some serious results at this point as fifteen of our clubs went into the hat for the First Round.
The first round saw some great ties, clubs such as Atherton Collieries and Runcorn Linnets also joined the competition and the latter had a hum-dinger of a tie as they travelled to eventual finalists, South Shields!
A gate of 1060 saw a close run game that saw Linnets go ahead just before the interval with an own goal. Gavin Cogden equalised for Shield on 51 minutes, however it took a 90th minute winner from Robert Briggs to separate the sides to the dismay of the travelling Linnets support.
A case of what might have been but it shows the narrow margins that are the difference between clubs progressing – or not in this competition.
It was a tough round for Hallmark Security League clubs with the strong Northern League presence really making an impact against us, only five of the eighteen NWCFL Clubs actually going through at this stage of the competition, two of those coming from all same-league ties.
Notable performances also came at this point from Atherton Collieries who defeated Jarrow Roofing 5-0 and Bootle, who travelled to derby rivals AFC Liverpool and came away with a convincing 0-6 win.
In the second round the draw had been far from kind, of the five Hallmark Security League Clubs who had progressed to this stage, four ended up playing each other as 1874 Northwich ended up going out 0-3 to Atherton Collieries and Padiham’s FA Vase progress was halted 0-2 at home by Bootle.
Charnock Richard can be proud of their first crack at the Vase, it took a bit of bad luck and extra time to separate them and Stavely Miners Welfare as the visitors went through 2-4 aet.
With just two clubs left to blaze a trail for the league, it was Bootle’s turn to come up against a side who would eventually end up as finalists as they travelled to Cleethorpes Town and like Linnets against South Shields in a previous round, went so close to progressing.
The game had been a tense stalemate up until 85 minutes when Ryan Cox put Joe Doran’s side ahead to the delight of the Bootle supporters. However fate played a hand as Jonathan Oglesby levelled the game just two minutes later and then went on to break Bootle hearts with an injury time winner to send Cleethorpes through.
Atherton Collieries fared better in their game, they travelled to Northern League side and former NWCFL members, Penrith and progressed with a 0-3 win on the road. A goal from Grimshaw on 58 minutes got the ball rolling with Jordan Cover sealing the result with a brace netted on 69 and 73 minutes.
As the New Year arrived so did a new Round as Atherton Collieries travelled to Shildon, a club who had beaten Litherland Remyca back in Round 1. It was a fair old trip for Michael Clegg’s side and things did not look too good at 51 minutes when a goal from Anwar Purewal put the home side ahead.
At this point it was almost a trigger for Colls’ to up their game a gear and Ben Hardcastle’s equaliser on the hour mark then provided the impetus as Mark Mattersby put them ahead on 63 minutes. Daniel Lafferty further extended the lead on 70 minutes with Jordan Cover rounding off a 4-1 win with the final goal on 87 minutes in front of a crowd of 412.
In Round 5 the third clash between a Hallmark Security League Club and an eventual finalist came when Coll’s came up against Cleethorpes Town and again, they ran them close in a game that was full of emotion…. And fun!
With a musical instrument ban, the Atherton Club’s band “Cleggy’s midnight Runners’ were silenced by Council regulations. Not to be downhearted by this, a set of virtual silent instruments were found and the band played away merrily on the day. A Black and white fancy dress theme also saw all manner of unique outfits make the trip over to North East Lincolnshire.
Early signs were good for Atherton Collieries as they stormed into a 0-2 lead with Mark Battersby giving them the lead as early as the third minute, doubled on 41 minutes by Gaz Peet. For Cleethorpes, one of their defining moments of their Vase run, by their own admission came on 44 minutes when Liam Davis pulled a goal back just before half time on 44 minutes.
It has been noted by many on their fans forum that had they have gone in two down at half time, they may not have had the same mind-set in the second half.
In that half Liam Davis managed to equalise on 50 minutes as they maintained the momentum achieved by that goal just before the break and then followed a tense 40 minute spell.
In injury time Atherton Collieries hopes were cruelly dashed as Matty Coleman sprang up to net right at the death to send Cleethorpes through and thus end the Hallmark Security League’s club participation in this season's competition.
Cleethorpes would eventually be undone in the final by South Shields, on what was non league's big day out. As it turned out, Bootle, Atherton Colls and Runcorn Linnets were all being mentioned on the day and getting their names on the side of the stadium as part of the finalists “Road to Wembley”- a photo of the Colls' banner is below.
Who knows, with changes taking place in and around the game at the moment, the odds on a Hallmark Security League team being there next year may have just improved a bit.
