A game that will go down in Glossop folklore, as around 300 Glossop folk travelled to Cornwall for a weekend away. It must have been like this in wakes week back in the day!

There is too much to say about this trip. It was just an extraordinary day for both clubs, players, officials and supporters. The best thing to do is to let the supporters talk you through the day, but first the facts.

North End won 2-0. It could, probably should, have been more but chances were missed and a couple were ruled out for offside. However, Lee Blackshaw did net a beauty in the first half, a half volley from the edge of the area, whilst Ben Richardson sparked a pitch side pile-on by netting in second half injury time, pouncing on the rebound when Tom Bailey hit the bar.

What happened next will be an abiding memory of the day. St Austell had set up a huge beer tent and after the post-match formalities with the squad entered the tent to be greeted by an almighty sing-off. St Austell fans to the left of them, Glossop to the right, the fans were belting out songs at each other in turn before all converging in the middle for a rowdy version of One Step Beyond.

As the referee left he met one club official and as they both surveyed the scene he remarked ‘I wish I could be in the thick of that!’ It was magnificent, a credit to the open friendliness of both clubs. It made the weekend.

So, what did the Glossop North End fans make of it?

‘Pullmyfinger’ – “That was easily the best away day I’ve had with GNE. A great welcome from the Saints fans and the atmosphere before, during and after the game was excellent, and the fan banter in the marquee after the match was something else. The match wasn’t too bad either. Taking a 2 goal lead into the 2nd leg is everything we could’ve hoped for before the game, but the lads were excellent today and the performance deserved more.

Let’s hope we can give the St Austell fans as warm a welcome as they have given us for the second leg.”

‘Argentinakit’ – “The banter before the game and of course the brilliant performance from the team who must have been feeling the strain from being on a coach for 10 hours the previous day. All this topped off with the superb sing we had in the beer tent with those great Saints fans. I will always remember “pasties and cider” and “One step beyond.”

‘Shifty’ – “The post match entertainment was second to none and the best set of supporters I have met in the six years I have been following GNE. For anyone that missed the impromptu sing off between the fans will no doubt get fed up of having stories relayed to them over the next few days/weeks. There are a couple of videos already on YouTube and would ask anyone who has others to please upload them so those of us that we’re there can re-live them and those that weren’t can only wish they had been.”

Ian Barber – “Highlight of the day for me was to meet up with Steve Young, the man responsible for similar events in 2009. To meet him standing in the crowd, behind the goal says everything about the club and all those involved. There are no pedestals, just an honest bunch of northern folk who give what they can to make the best of what we’ve got.”

Dave Hampson – “Everyone connected to GNE from 1 to 200 were an absolute credit to our town and great Club. St Austell F.C and everyone who came to support them were brilliant and a credit to their club, the beer tent after the game is something that I think will live long in the memory and will have us all reliving it at every opportunity. The atmosphere in there was electric with banter and the to-ing and fro-ing of the chants and songs was incredible and a pleasure to be in.”

Tom Lyon – “St Austell was mine and Lucy’s first wedding anniversary which we spent travelling back from the best away game I personally have been involved in. From the sing song at the Brewery before the Match to the tent sing off pre and post-match. The whole weekend was special.”

It’s fair to say that people enjoyed it. There was however one final quote from everyone at the club that became a mantra on and off the pitch – “It’s only half time!”

Semi Final Second Leg – 28 March 2015 – Glossop North End 0, St Austell 1.
Attendance 1303

The Hillmen fans were confident, and in fairness they had every right to be. They had been so superior a week before even Cornish reporters were saying St Austell could not have complained had it been five.

It was an incredibly busy day for everyone at the club. Most club staff were at the ground before the pubs were open trying to make sure that everything was in place for the teams, the press, the visiting dignitaries and of course the fans, in the hope that the afternoon would go smoothly. There were some pernickety complaints from one particular source, but eventually the game went off smoothly, as we always knew it would. The fans were already mates from the week before and that camaraderie continued.

St Austell could rightfully think that they did have one ace up their sleeve, and that, like North End earlier in the run at 1874, was that their opponents had not seen the best of them by a long chalk. However, the North End faithful were sure that they could withstand whatever was flung at them in during the game providing nothing silly happened early on…

Uh oh! With just around 5 minutes gone, referee Darren Bond, normally a referee in the football league, gave a football league decision. Matt Russell slid in on Neil Slateford, and momentum took him into his leg. It was a foul, but the referee saw it as a dangerous tackle and sent Russell off. Suddenly, with a man advantage and 85 minutes to go, St Austell thought they were back in the game.

The sending off changed the game plan and probably ruined the game as a spectacle. What followed though was a defensive masterclass of the ilk that has been the backbone of North End success in this season. St Austell could hardly get near the Glossop North End 18 yard box to create anything of note, whilst Tom Bailey went closest with a shot that hit the outside of the post.

No report on this game can be complete though without mentioning Martin Parker’s Cruyff turn in the build up to that Bailey shot. He completely bamboozled a defender on the right hand side to give himself space to cross, and Martin was gutted to discover that as the match was being filmed by both the BBC and ITV the club had no cameraman available so he could review the footage!

With about 20 minutes left it started to rain. With 15 minutes left it REALLY started to rain. With 10 minutes left the precipitation became biblical. In a bizarre finish both sides were playing in rain that almost hurt, trying to knock the ball around on a rapidly soaking pitch.
In injury time St Austell’s Liam Eddy finally got some room in the box and despatched a smart shot past Greg Hall to set up a semi-anxious finish, but it was too late. Just as well, because had St Austell scored again the game would have been abandoned, and it doesn’t bare thinking about what that would have meant with regards to travelling and for both club’s already bulging fixture list.

The referee’s whistle cued huge celebrations, including the infamous slide in front of the Trenches. The party (which included another sing-off with the superb St Austell fans) went on long into the night. The road to Wembley was over. It had been travelled in full, and the side would be playing there in 5 weeks time.

Just one quote required, from Jim Lockwood.

“Flippin’ eck!”

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Glossop North End 0, St Austell 1
(GNE win 2-1 on aggregate)
FA Vase Semi Final Second Leg
Saturday 28th March 2015

Match Report – Jonathan Haggart
Photographer – Jim Lockwood

So rang the song long into the wet Glossop night as the Hillmen supporters celebrated the remarkable achievement of being one of the 2 teams to make the FA Vase final from the 500 plus that enter.  More remarkable, it is the second time in 6 years that they have done it.

5 of that 2009 squad played in this semi-final, and they needed to draw on all that experience to see this game through, as they were forced to play 95% of the game with only 10 men.  Matt Russell went into a tackle by the dugouts and referee Darren Bond, normally a football league ref, saw it as a red card offence.

This turned out to be the game’s major talking point, as it defined how the remainder of the game would pan out.  Glossop would rely on sturdiness in defence and strong midfield to suffocate any St Austell attacks, whilst Jason Carey and latterly Sam Hind, would run themselves ragged up front.  In truth, the sending off ruined any chance of the game being a spectacle, not that St Austell were worried about that given their man advantage.

However, for the most part the North End plan worked.  Although playing much better than the week before, thanks in part to the return from injury of Christian Pople, St Austell didn’t create a chance of note in the first half whilst the Hillmen forced a number of corners, Carey heading over from the third of triple flag kicks.

Tom Bailey came oh so close when a clearance landed at his feet, but his shot from 12 yards struck the base of the post and went wide.
The second half followed the same pattern, with St Austell simply unable to get into the Glossop penalty area, marshalled superbly by Dave Young, Kelvin Lugsden, Michael Bowler and emergency left-back Lee Blackshaw.  In front of them, the tireless running of the midfield broke up much of the St Austell probings before they got close.

Meanwhile Kieran Lugsden put a snapshot just over the bar, then Carey got behind the full back, but under pressure, sprinting and the narrowing angle forced him into a shot into the side netting.  Then Captain Young tried an audacious shot from his own half, spotting the keeper off his line and using the wind.  The ball was dropping goalwards, but Chapman just got one hand to it to knock the ball off course.

As the time ticked on GNE still did not look like conceding.  Only when Greg Hall made a hash of a drag back did they look in trouble, but that chance was harried away by the back line, and Hall made amends seconds later when a terrific cross came from the left and Hall dived full length to spectacularly pluck it out of the air.

They negotiated the last ten minutes of normal time reasonably comfortably, despite biblical rain that scattered the supporters under the already packed stands.  However, just as the board went up to show 4 minutes of injury time, St Austell did strike.

Liam Eddy, who had 39 goals coming into the game, made it 40 when he finally found some respite from the tireless attentions of Lugsden & Young.  Picking up the ball in the box, right of the goal, he controlled and shot across Hall into the far corner.

The rain got heavier and heavier, and had St Austell scored again, it is almost certain extra time could not have been played.  However that particular headache for the FA was ruled out by more stout defence from the Hillmen.  The whistle blew, and the party could begin in earnest.  The famous Glossop North End are going to Wembley.

The post Glossop Book Their Place In FA Vase Final appeared first on Glossop North End AFC.

The final score was Glossop North End 0 AFC St Austell 1 with St Austell scoring in injury time.

Glossop played most of the match with 10 men having had Matt Russell dismissed from the field of play early on in the game.

Full match report to follow…

Picture courtesy of Rick Long

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AFC St Austell 0, Glossop North End 2
FA Vase Semi Final, First Leg
Saturday 21st March 2015

Match Report – Jonathan Haggart
Photographer – Jim Lockwood

The two goal advantage that GNE take to Surrey Street is undoubtedly one they would have taken prior to kick off, but they may have been disappointed the tie was not out of sight such were the chances they passed over. As it is, it took a last minute goal to give the scoreline a hint of how the game panned out.

The teams exchanged early chances, Lee Blackshaw unable to direct a header from Tom Bailey’s cross whilst at the other end Michael Bowler got his body in the way to block a shot from 6 yards after a low cross flashed in.

However, Glossop grabbed the advantage in the 16th minute. Greg Hall kicked long from the back, Jason Carey nodded on and Blackshaw beat the offside trap. He waited for the ball to bounce into the box before lashing an unstoppable drive past Jason Chapman.

The nearly 200 strong and noisy GNE support thought they might be celebrating some more in the minutes that followed. Kieran Lugsden went close twice with a curling free kick and a low drive, denied by Chapman both times, and when Carey did beat the keeper with a clipped shot the ball was intercepted by Lee Whetter on the line.

Lugsden shot over and Bailey dipped an effort over the bar as the pressure continued and Carey again had a shot cleared off the line, by Martin Giles this time, as his shot was saved by the keeper’s legs and richoceted off his chest towards the net. Carey then got behind the defence again and tried a lobbed shot that went wide.

At the start of the second half Bailey thought he had doubled the lead when running onto a Carey flick but was denied by the offside flag, then Carey’s looped header hit the top of the bar.

North End could have been out of sight, but a one goal lead is precarious and shortly the Cornish contingent in the 1986 present awoke from a GNE-induced slumber when Hall missed his kick when trying to clear. Bowler cleaned up behind his keeper comfortably, but it reminded the home team and supporters that the game was still in the balance, uneven though the play had been to that point.

The lively Neil Slateford had a shot blocked as they began to apply some pressure, although Glossop continued to press, Carey screwing a shot wide and Blackshaw’s shot being pushed round the post.

Giles had a chance from a free kick for the Lillywhites but hit it straight at Hall then at the other end Blackshaw’s lob landed on top of the net.

It was then Captain Dave Young’s turn to believe he had added to the lead when in the 88th minute he headed home a high cross but the referee called a foul, then shortly afterwards a chance dropped to St Austell’s leading scorer Liam Eddy, but he shot across goal and wide.

Glossop weren’t done though, and in the 93rd minute Bailey pinched the ball at the left corner of the box and curled a shot towards the top corner. It rebounded off the crossbar, but substitute Ben Richardson carefully watched the ball drop and finished coolly to give the visiting fans another goal to celebrate. They duly obliged, immediately and long after the final whistle.

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https://youtu.be/gNolaKo8VDM

The post Highlights Of AFC St Austell v Glossop NE appeared first on Glossop North End AFC.

Lee Blackshaw with the opener for Glossop. Ben Richardson with the second in injury time

Match report to follow…

BBC News Match Report – http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/31982777

FA Match Report – http://www.thefa.com/news/competitions/fa-vase/2015/mar/semi-final-first-leg-austell-glossop-north-end

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M67 -> M56 -> M6

At M6 Junction 8, join the M5. Stay on the M5 for 161 miles.

At M5 Junction 31, take the A30 exit towards Bodmin/Okehampton.

Continue on the A30 for 66 miles.

Take the A389/A391 (Bodmin Road) exit to Wadebridge/St Austell

Google Maps

Address

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Firstly, there will be a coach leaving Surrey Street very early on the Saturday Morning i.e. 5:30am or 6:00am and returning back the early hours of Sunday morning. The cost for this coach will be £35 (requires two drivers).

Secondly, there will be limited room on the Players coach which will be leaving at 9am sharp on Friday Morning and returning back Sunday PM. The cost of this coach will also be £35. We are still looking at the best accommodation options but if you wish to stay at the same Hotel the approx price will be £42 per person/per night.

For both options there will be a discount on transport for Supporters Club members which is yet to be defined.

If you are interested in any of the two options please leave your name and number of seats required on this thread on the external Supporters Forum. Payment will have to be upfront and we will be taking payments at the game Thursday at home to Bootle. There will also be other opportunities at away games and possibly an evening at the clubhouse.

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The Cornwall Leg

The first leg on 21 March is at St Austell and tickets are priced at £10 for adults and £6 for OAPs and unaccompanied Under 16s. Accompanied (i.e. – with an adult) Under 16s will be allowed to enter the ground for free.

Glossop North End have been allocated 300 tickets a and details of how to purchase these will be announced once the club has received them from Cornwall.

The club also intends to run travel to the game, and details for this can be found here.

The Home Game

The 2nd leg of the tie, at Surrey Street on 28th March will cost £10 for adults, £5 for OAPs and unaccompanied U16s with a price of just £1 for accompanied U16s.

These need to be printed first, and once they are received the club will announce how they will be sold.

£10 is, of course, above the usual gate price for a Glossop North End game. The club has many more associated costs with the tie, and the increase reflects the security and temporary facilities that will need to be in place, along with the travelling costs involved in the team heading so far from home in the first leg. All these are quite significant.

We know that all of Glossop is excited about the game and hope you can bear with us for a little longer until the finer details are finalised. Keep an eye on the club website at www.glossopnorthendafc.co.uk, its Twitter feed @glossopnorthend and its Facebook page.

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Glossop North End 3, Shaw Lane Aquaforce 1 . After Extra Time
FA Vase 6th Round Replay
Saturday 7th March 2015

Match Report – Jonathan Haggart
Photographer – Jim Lockwood

Tension and a strong wind hampered the two teams for much of the game. It was scrappy and direct for the most part, and the first half had very few chances. It wasn’t completely bereft though. Lee Blackshaw’s low drive from the corner of the box forced Shaw Lane keeper Ben Gathercole into a terrific low save at his near post whilst for the visitors Luke O’Brien appeared to have fashioned an opening only to miskick and Joe Thornton latched onto a short back-header and flashed a curled shot past the far post.

However the chance of the half fell to Chris Denham, who really ought to have secured the lead for North End when a good switched move from right to left put him in on the angle, at the corner of the 6 yard box. Unfortunately, with only the keeper to beat, Denham hit the side netting.

The second half started with a succession of GNE corners, Martin Parker getting his head to one and forcing another fine save from Gathercole, tipping it over the bar. However, Shaw Lane continued to threaten once that spell was broken, and Shane Kelsey should have done better than blasting over the bar from Thornton’s dangerous turn and cross.

Kelsey nearly made amends on 57 minutes when volleying a shot from the corner of the box that Greg Hall did well to get down low and push wide. This was part of a spell of Shaw Lane pressure, both sides having a few minutes in the ascendancy.

Aquaforce grabbed a scoreline advantage in the 77th minute. Andrew Fox picked up the ball on the edge of the area and passed left to Thornton, who had drifted away from his marker. Thornton controlled the ball and lashed it past Hall, silencing the noisy home crowd of 1010 for a moment.

GNE tried to hit back immediately, and from a corner Parker hit the post with a header, then in the scramble that followed Tom Bailey’s shot hit the other post!

Time was ticking away, but in the 87th minute North End drew level…and it was a beauty. Blackshaw received the ball on halfway, and delivered a first time ‘round the corner’ ball that set substitute Sam Hind away on the right. With the angle narrowing with every stride Hind unleashed an unstoppable drive past Gathercole to spark wild celebrations. Extra time.

In the extra period, Hind’s shot was saved by Gathercole’s legs and Bowler drove a shot over the top, whilst Dave Young’s timely interception broke up Chris White’s run towards goal. Then North End took the lead.

There were 102 minutes on the watch when a ball was lofted over the full back towards Jason Carey at the corner of the 6 yard box. There was only a moment’s hesitation from the defence, but that was all Carey needed as he chested the ball down and poked a shot past the keeper. 2-1.

Carey nearly added another when he took advantage of an injured Shaw Lane player near his own box by pushing forward into what otherwise might be an ‘offside’ position behind the back line. Bailey was in support and Carey seemed torn as to whether to pass or shoot, and in the end he kind of did both, his slow clip heading towards Bailey and the net. However, as Bailey caught the ball and looked to finish it off, Gathercole made another terrific save, diving in front of the Glossop forward.

No matter though, as from the short corner Carey, expected to hold the ball and run down the clock, found a gap in the coverage and took the ball past two men, into the box, and shot across the keeper into the far corner, making it 3-1.

Shaw Lane were devastated, and out on their feet. There was no way back from there, and The Hillmen ran down the clock to celebrate lustily on the final whistle. Their never-say-die attitude had won out again, and their reward is a trip to Cornwall and a dream of playing at the National Stadium getting closer to a reality.

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