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VODKAT NEWS
Sunday 30 March 2008
KIRKHAM & WESHAM ARE WEMBLEY BOUND
Kirkham & Wesham booked a dream trip to Wembley with a dramatic last
gasp win in the FA Vase semi final second leg down in Suffolk.
A goal ahead from the first leg, Kirkham stood firm in the face of a determined
second half onslaught from Needham Market, and sealed their Wembley date
against Lowestoft Town on May 11th with an injury time goal from Matt Walwyn.
A swirling wind and a heavy pitch made life difficult for both sides, and
both sides created little in the way of clear cut chances in an edgy opening
period.
Sean Paterson had Kirkham & Wesham’s first real chance on 27 minutes
when he latched onto a long clearance and advanced in on goal, but Needham
Market keeper Liam Jones made a fine blocking save.
Three minutes later Jones was in action again, this time tipping a Paul Eastwood
volley from the edge of the box over the bar.
Needham Market enjoyed plenty of possession but it wasn’t until after
the break that they began to threaten the visiting goal.
Seven minutes in, the impressive home skipper Mark Bailey had a shot held
right under the crossbar by Kirkham keeper Pete Summerfield.
Five minutes later Danny Thrower was denied by a last ditch challenge from
Kirkham’s Tony Keefe, and from the resultant corner Thrower’s
volley from 10 yards was cleared off the line.
With 20 minutes to go, there was another heart stopping moment for the visitors
when Needham Market’s Nathan Szyszluk shot wide from 12 yards when
through on goal.
The home side’s increasingly desperate efforts to create chances left
them vulnerable to the counter attack, and as the game entered the closing
stages, Kirkham substitute Matt Walwyn had two efforts saved by the keeper
in the space of five minutes.
As the game entered stoppage time, Kirkham & Wesham wrapped up the tie
with a clinching winner.
A long through ball found Richie Allen in space on the left, and as the
keeper advanced he unselfishly squared the ball to Matt Walwyn who had the
simple task of tapping into the net.
There was enough time left for Needham Market’s Glenn Snell to be red
carded for a shocking challenge on Kirkham’s Tony Keefe before the
referee blew the final whistle and the celebrations began in the visitors
camp.
President David Haythornthwaite said: “I thought our players were absolutely
magnificent. We defended superbly under pressure, to play like that in the
second half against the wind. I think they thought they would get a goal,
but I always fancied we could get one.
“
When we won away at Crowborough in one of the earlier rounds, from that point
on I felt we could go all the way, and now we have. We can now look forward
to a great day at Wembley against Lowestoft Town.
“I got everyone at the club together last week and told them we needed
to plan for success. A few people said “hang on, we haven’t won
yet”. I said I knew that, but we had to be ready to push the button
straight away if we did win, because the final is only six weeks away.
“
We now need to get all our merchandising in place, sort out ticket arrangements
and so on. It’s a big task but they are all good problems to have.
“
Everyone in Kirkham and the surrounding area now knows we’re serious
about taking the club forward. I think they’d have already known that
even if we’d lost, but we just hope now that the people of the town
will come down to Wembley, enjoy watching us there and then carry on watching
us afterwards as well”.
Chairman Dai Davis said: “I can’t really find the words to describe
my feelings. Coming here today our dream was to get to Wembley, but you don’t
dare to believe it until it happens.
“
Everyone’s ecstatic. We’ve had brilliant support, everybody behind
the scenes has worked really hard and tirelessly to get us where we are.
It’s bee a tremendous adventure and we’ve still got one step
to go.
“
Now the hard work begins, and we have to make sure we maximise the revenue
streams that are available, as this could set us up for years.
“
I’m really proud to be at the helm of this club, and hopefully now
the whole town will go Wembley mad”.
Manager Mick Fuller said: “It’s a fantastic achievement for everyone
at the football club, it’s a fairytale. I’m waiting for Peter
Pan to turn up!
“
There isn’t a better way to finish a game than to score in the last
minute. They did threaten us, and it wasn’t comfortable with 15 minutes
to go, we had one or two scary moments.
“
It was difficult in these conditions to protect a one goal advantage, and
if Needham Market had equalised that could have turned the game on its head.
We could have been going home saying “What if?”.
“
We’ve come a long way, and this morning I couldn’t contemplate
what it would be like to lose. I thought about it and then quickly I had
to put that to the back of my mind. The thought of what emotions the players
would have, what it would be like travelling back home having lost, just
made me think that we had to come here and achieve the win.
“
A big thing today was getting the substitutions right. That was key in the
first leg and was key in us recovering a two goal deficit. I think it would
have been very difficult today it we had come here trailing by a goal or
two goals. They threw everything but the kitchen sink at us, and we led a
charmed life at times, but we’ve got strong lads in there who stood
up to the job mentally and physically. There were a few tears shed out there
at the end of the game. It hasn’t fully hit me yet, but I’m pretty
sure it will.
“
I feel for the Needham Market lads because it’s not nice to lose in
a semi final in such a big competition. They had a lot of expectancy to deal
with, people expecting them to overcome the one goal deficit.
“
A guy from one of the Ipswich newspapers rang me a couple of weeks ago for
a chat, and he asked which way I’d prefer to play the tie. I said I’d
rather have the second leg at home, but he said to me he’d watched
four or five Vase semi finals and he believed you’re better off playing
at home first. He felt the pressure on the home side in the second leg is
phenomenal, and often teams just can’t score. Whoever it was – and
I don’t know who he was – he set my mind at rest, because I thought
that if he’d had a bit more experience of this type of game than me,
he may just have a point.
“
The next objective now of course is to win the Vase, and I’m not going
to make any predictions but we’ve got a fighting chance if we play
the way we know we can. When the Vase trophy came to our ground in September
for the club’s first game in the competition, I said then that I might
never see it again. Then when we got the team of the round award for our
display against Newcastle Benfield, it came back to the ground again, and
I thought then that it would be good if the third time I saw it was at Wembley.
So who knows?
“
Nationally we’ve put the town on the map. Kirkham and Wesham aren’t
big places, but the town has got right behind us. We had a great support
today, a lot of youngsters came down to support us and made a lot of noise.
I’d like to think that Kirkham and Wesham will be desolate on May 11th
and that there will be nobody there, and everyone will be at Wembley cheering
the lads on because I think they deserve it. It’s a fabulous achievement
for everybody at the club, and I’m so proud of the players”.
Saturday 29 March 2008
ANTHONY IS UP FOR A MANAGERIAL CHALLENGE
He’s a manager who knows his position is going to be reviewed at the
end of the season – but far from feeling under pressure, Padiham boss
Anthony McCluskey is loving every minute of his new role in the manager’s
chair at the Arbories.
32 year old Anthony stepped up to take the managerial reins when previous
boss Steve Wilkes left to take charge of Runcorn Linnets in January. With
Padiham out of all the cup competitions and in a mid table position, the
committee took the decision to appoint him until the end of the season and
the new boss is delighted to have been given the opportunity.
“
I was assistant to Steve Wilkes from the start of the season, and when he
left it seemed logical for me to take over until the end of the season”,
he said. “I didn’t expect to get a managerial opportunity this
early, I expected to play for another couple of years before moving into
management.
“
Getting involved in management is something I’ve always wanted to do.
I’m interested in football management generally, not just the playing
side but all the other bits as well, and so far even though results haven’t
gone our way generally I’m really enjoying it. I’m getting good
response from the lads, my telephone never stops ringing and my mobile phone
bill is unbelievable, but I love the job. It’s a big step moving from
playing to managing but the dressing room I’ve got has made it easier
for me.”
Although any new manager will look to bring new players in to improve the
squad he inherited, Anthony says that getting players in has been a problem.
“
We’re only really playing for three points in each game, we’re
not in any cups or in contention for the league, and that has been a problem
in attracting new players. The players that I’ve tried to bring in
have been playing at clubs in contention for promotion, or looking forward
to cup semi finals, so persuading them to come to the club at this stage
of the season has been difficult. But I’ve brought in Paul Barrett
from Barnoldswick and he scored a hat trick against Darwen, and the lads
I’ve brought in from the reserves have done well so they have been
massive positives”.
A Padiham player for several years, Anthony has resisted the temptation to
select himself in the starting line up. “I’m still registered
as a player, and I put myself on the bench for the first few games as a few
players left, so I named myself as a sub then. I feel I don’t need
to play at the minute as I feel the guys in possession of the jerseys are
doing a good job. If I don’t get the job in the summer maybe I’ll
get the boots out again for one last campaign but for now I’m just
focussed on managing the club over the remaining few games of the season.”
As for next season, Anthony has no doubts about where he wants to be.
“It’s a difficult situation to be in when you don’t know for
sure if you’re going to be in charge next season. People ask me if I’m
going to take it, and I have to tell them it’s out of my hands. Obviously
the committee will get together at the end of the season to decide who the best
man is to take the club forward and I hope I am that person.
“I’ve been at the club for a number of years and I’d be more
than happy to put myself forward for the job, based on what I’ve experienced
so far. All I can do for now is make sure I do the best I can in each game for
Padiham Football Club between now and the end of the season and we’ll see
what happens from there.”
NEW PARTNERSHIP AT CHEADLE TOWN
Cheadle Town are pleased to announce that they have formed a partnership with
Inter Cheadle Junior Football Club.
The partnership will allow Inter Cheadle the use of the facilities at Park
Road Stadium for some of their seven teams. Inter Cheadle runs teams from under
8 through to under 13 and are a progressive club that was formed just eight
years ago by Peter Hartley. The partnership will assist Cheadle Town in their
application for funding in relation to the planned new development at Park
Road.
Liam Edge, Chairman of Inter Cheadle said: “All our players come from
the Cheadle area and to have a base at Park Road is really appropriate. With
the development of the ground and the planned new astro turf pitches, it gives
us the opportunity of getting in on the “ground floor” of an exciting
new project.”
Cheadle Town Chairman Chris Davies welcomed the move, saying: We have been
wanting junior football at Park Road for some years now and this seems to be
the perfect partnership. All the Inter Cheadle players live in Cheadle, and
it will be good for eth community that they have a ground in Cheadle of which
they can be proud.”
The partnership will commence in the next couple of months, and come to fruition
fully when the development work has been completed.
ATHERTON COLLIERIES MERCHANDISE
Atherton Collieries now have a new range of merchandise available for sale
at Alder House. The range includes replica jerseys, t-shirts, polo shirts,
hats, tracksuits and holdalls, and badge collectors may be particularly interested
in new club badges which are priced at just £2. For more information
or to place an order e-mail the club at info@athertoncollieries.co.uk or see
one of the club officials on match days.
ANOTHER FAN OF THE WEEK NOMINATION
A few weeks ago, we reported in the newsletter that Silsden follower Rob Grillo
had published a book called “Anoraknophobia”, which contains stories
and anecdotes about his tie spent watching the Cobbydalers. The book has become
a favourite with groundhoppers, anoraks, Non League afficionados and football
fans throughout the country, and recently led to club stalwart Jim Rosser enjoying
some nationwide media coverage.
A couple of Fridays ago, Jim had his evening meal interrupted by a call from
Stuart Croll, who writes for the Non League Today newspaper and is involved
with the BBC London Non-League Programme. Stuart had read Rob Grillo’s
book and had got Jim’s name from the Silsden website.
Jim said: “We had a long chat about football in general (at the end of
which my tea was stone cold), which led to me being nominated as the fan of
the week, a feature that is reproduced both in the newspaper and on the show’s
website. I am nothing special and I am sure there are many others out there
who have dedicated much of their lives to “The Beautiful Game”.”
Jim now follows in the footsteps of our very own Newsletter Editor Rob Hurst,
who was featured in the same slot a couple of months ago. You can read the
stories featuring both Rob and Jim on the BBC London Non League Show website,
just follow this link:
www.bbc.co.uk/london/radio/nonleague/nl_fan_of_the_week
NEWS FROM SILSDEN
As well as writing his recent book “Anoraknophobia”, Rob Grillo
is also the editor of the Silsden fanzine “We’re Not Playing On
That Pitch”. Rob’s efforts have now been recognised with the news
that the fanzine has reached the last five in the nominations for the National
Fanzine awards. The Silsden production will line up against the following other
fanzines:
Burton Albion - “Clough The Magic Dragon”
FC United of Manchester – “Under The Boardwalk”
Scarborough – “Abandon Chip!”
Stevenage Borough – “The Broadhall Way”
On the playing side, there are two stories to report from the Cougar Park dressing
room this week. Silsden keeper Martin Foulger is taking part in the London
Marathon in April. He is running to raise funds for The Multiple Sclerosis
Society as his mum has suffered from the disease for many years. Martin, a
six-foot three giant, says that even the training for the Marathon is harder
than standing between the sticks for an hour and a half, never mind the event
itself.
The Cobbydalers pride themselves in bringing players through the ranks from
their junior teams, and their junior ranks now comprises a set up of 15 teams.
Last week Sam Rooke became the latest graduate from the junior ranks when he
made his first team debut at Abbey Hey. He earned his place in the squad after
he scored a hat-trick in the semi-final of the Yorkshire Under 19’s cup.
His strikes earned Silsden a 3-2 win, two of the goals coming late on against
Yorkshire Main FC who were unbeaten to date. It was a classic match and would
have been a credit to the final. Silsden had previously beaten Glasshoughton
Welfare, Pickering and Whitby on the way to the semi final.
MATCH OFFICIALS EXPENSES
We’ve had a few responses to our article on match officials’ expenses
in last week’s newsletter. As with the ground grading debate a few
weeks back, we’ve decided to give it another week to give more people
the chance to air their views on the subject. One respondent has commented
that the article came across as being critical of match officials, which
certainly wasn’t the intention. We’d like to hear in particular
from referees on the topic, so if you have any comments on the piece that
was published last week, e-mail me at ian@nwsidestories.co.uk.
PLAYER MOVEMENTS THIS WEEK
Transfers
Craig Coote Ashton Town to Trafford
Jamie Pointon Stone Dominoes to Newcastle Town
Matthew Woods Padiham to Darwen
Registrations
Ashton Athletic Nick Bowen, Alan Fitzpatrick
Atherton Collieries Jonathan Waterworth
Atherton L.R. Jonathan Green, Tony Lancashire, Greg Travers
Blackpool Mechanics Carl Gerrard, Chris Jackson
Chadderton Craig Large, David Lewis
Flixton Carl Ball, Fintan Edward Doran, Fintan Edward Doran Jnr, Carlos Logan,
Perry Morrisey
Formby James Miller
Glossop North End Jonathan Hyde
Nelson Jake Anderson
Padiham Peter Crossley
Trafford Liam Wright
TOP ATTENDANCES
Monday 24th March 2008
Trafford v Flixton 343
Congleton Town v Newcastle Town 194
Glossop North End v Abbey Hey 135
Silsden AFC v Nelson 126
Thursday 27th March 2008
Bootle v Chadderton 171 Division Two Trophy
Saturday 29th March 2008
Needham Market v Kirkham & Wesham 1275 FA Vase
Newcastle Town v Salford City 220
Winsford United v Trafford 130
Silsden AFC v Glossop North End 119
VODKAT LEAGUE LANDMARKS
Monday 24th March 2008
Oldham Town’s 1-0 defeat at Chadderton was their 900th League game.
Squires Gate 1-0 home victory against Formby was their 200th League victory.
New Mills first goal in their 4-0 away victory at Leek CSOB was their 100th
away League goal, and their second goal was their 250th League goal, both
goal were scored by Kenny Mayers.
Saturday 29th March 2008
Castleton Gabriel’s second goal in their 3-2 defeat by Ashton town
was their 1000th League and was scored by Christian Evans.