The FA Vase. Part 7.

Saturday 07^th February 2015

Fifth Round Proper

AFC St Austell v Stanway Rovers

Poltair Park

St Austell

PL25 4LR

K.O. 3.00pm

Half time 1-0

Final score 2-0

1-0 Neil Slateford  16 mins

2-0 Martin Giles  62 mins

Admission £6

Programme £?

Miles travelled approximately 0

Attendance 877

GAME OVER!

I genuinely don’t know what to write. I didn’t get to St Austell.

For some months now I’ve been coming up against one thing or another, I just seemed to spend most of my time staggering from one personal disaster to another. If it wasn’t this then it was that and eventually like all good plate spinners, the plates would all eventually start to fall.

By January 24^th I knew it was over, but I wasn’t going to give up until I wasn’t stood at Poltair Park watching the game KO. In one final act from the gods of football fate, when I got home on the 24^th there was an envelope waiting for me. It was Peter from Stanway Rovers, who true to his word had sent me that FA Vase pin badge. I smiled. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and somewhere, someone walked over my grave.

It wasn’t until I knew it was over that I truly understood how lucky I’d already been. How much it had taken to get this far.

As it was, Walsall FC managed to get to Wembley for the first time in their 126 year history. That game clashes with one of the FA Vase Semi Finals, so if I didn’t fall at this hurdle then I would have fallen at that hurdle.

I’d love to sit here and write some piece of prose that would make Churchill blush with shame, but I can’t. I can’t find the words.

All I can think of is last seasons FA Cup adventure and how lucky I was to complete it. All I can think of is this seasons FA Vase and how close I came to it all going wrong much closer to the start than the end. Would it be better to fail at the start than towards the end? Is it a wasted journey? Surely the point of travelling somewhere is the journey and not the arrival.

No. I don’t believe that either…

Noggin xx

STOP PRESS!

Just for the record here are the rest of the fixtures

 

Saturday 07^th February 2015

Fifth Round Proper

St Austell 2 - 0 Stanway Rovers

 

Saturday 28^th February 2015

Sixth Round Proper

St Austell 3 - 2 Ascot United

 

Saturday 21^st March 2015

Semi Final 1^st Leg

St Austell 0 – 2 Glossop North End

 

Saturday 28^th March 2015

Semi Final 2^nd Leg

Glossop North End 0 – 1 St Austell

 

Saturday 09^th May 2015

Final

North Shields 2 – 1 Glossop north End