Reproduced from http://nwcfl.com/news-articles.php?id=4341

It’s been a season of unprecedented success for Glossop North End, but their hopes of completing a unique treble were dashed by North Shields in the FA Vase final at Wembley.

A goal from North Shields substitute Adam Forster six minutes into the first half of extra time ended the Hillmens’ hopes of completing a league, cup and Vase treble, and it was an outcome that had looked unlikely for much of the afternoon.

Glossop had enjoyed the better of a goalless first half, and took the lead ten minutes into the second half with a goal from Tom Bailey.

But eleven minutes from the end of normal time, North Shields leading scorer Gareth Bainbridge headed home an equaliser, and after Forster put North Shields ahead, Glossop suffered another blow when they were reduced to ten men after skipper Dave Young had to leave the field after sustaining a head injury with Glossop having used all their substitutes.

However, it has been a marvellous season for everyone involved at Glossop, and they can now enjoy a well-earned summer break and look forward to new challenges ahead, as they leave the NWCFL and head for the Evo-Stik League Division One.

Glossop lined up with just one change from the team that played in the Vase semi-final second leg against St Austell at Surrey Street, with Sam Hare coming in to replace the suspended Jason Carey.

They kicked off defending the goal at the end where the noisy army of Glossop supporters were congregated, and began well, enjoying the best of the opening exchanges, with the majority of the opening 15 minutes being played in the North Shields half.

The first clear chance of the game arrived on 13 minutes, when Martin Parker set full back Michael Bowler off on a storming run down the right wing. The full back then arrowed a fine cross into the box on to the head of Kieran Lugsden, who met the ball well but directed it straight into the arms of North Shields keeper Christopher Bannon.

After a brief foray up the left wing by North Shields’ James Lucock, which won a corner that was gathered by Hall at the second attempt, Glossop created another chance from the right wing on 18 minutes, with Kieran Lugsden again involved.

This time, a deep hanging cross from Lee Blackshaw was met by Lugsden on the edge of the box, and his looping header had the keeper anxiously scrambling back towards goal before landing on the roof of the net.

It had been a good start from the Hillmen, and it wasn’t before the game hit the midway point of the half that North Shields began to threaten, with the lively Lucock usually involved.

But the Glossop defence, so miserly all season, and well marshalled by skipper Dave Young in the centre, held firm and keeper Greg Hall had nothing more than crosses to deal with, as his defenders in front of him kept the Northern Leaguers at bay.

It wasn’t long before Glossop were back at the other end putting the North Shields defence under the cosh, and after Lee Blackshaw won a corner, North Shields keeper Bannon put his side under pressure with a weak punch that placed the ball straight into the path of Dave Young, but the Glossop skipper scooped his shot over the bar from eight yards.

Three minutes from half time there was action at both ends, with first Glossop creating another chance, when Eddie Moran’s cross to the back of the area was nodded down by Tom Bailey towards Sam Hare, but a combination of the striker’s head and shoulder diverted the ball straight into the arms of the keeper.

Play immediately swung to the other end, and Greg Hall in the Glossop goal was tested for the first time, getting down well to make a smart save from North Shields leading scorer Gareth Bainbridge.

The last action of the half was at the Glossop end, when Russell conceded a free kick on the right wing, but Michael McKeown’s curling free kick into the box was confidently gathered by Greg Hall.

The referee duly ended the first half after two minutes of stoppage time, and the Glossop players left the pitch knowing that they had certainly enjoyed the better possession and created some good chances in the opening 45 minutes.

However, although North Shields had rarely threatened in the first half, they certainly came out of the blocks quickly after the restart, and almost opened the scoring four minutes in.

Denver Morris played the ball infield to Ben Richardson, who sidetstepped Eddie Moran and unleashed a cracking 25 yarder that beat Hall and rebounded off the cross bar.

Three minutes later, Hall was in action once more, the same combination of Morris setting up Richardson for a shot that Hall did well to palm over at full stretch.

But Glossop well and truly delivered a knockout blow to the bright start made by their opponents, when they took the lead on 55 minutes.

A corner played deep into the box found Kieran Lugsden in space, and when he drilled in a low cross across the six yard box that was begging to buried, Tom Bailey obliged by sliding in at the far post to steer the ball into the net from close range.

It was a goal that not surprisingly was celebrated wildly by the players in front of their jubilant supporters, and was just exactly what was needed after the lively start to the half that North Shields had made.

On the hour both sides made their first substitutions, with North Shields somewhat surprisingly withdrawing Lucock who had looked lively in the first half, and Glossop bringing on Danny White for Eddie Moran.

White was involved in the creation of Glossop’s next opportunity, laying the ball back for Tom Bailey to send a cross into the box that Kieran Lugsden headed wide.

A few minutes later, Glossop made their second substitution when Sam Grimshaw was introduced for Lee Blackshaw, and his first touch of the ball was a curling cross into the box that Tom Bailey just failed to connect with at full stretch.

But with ten minutes to go, Glossop were stunned when North Shields drew level with a goal from scorer Gareth Bainbridge.

The goal came from a corner conceded by Greg Hall when he fumbled a shot, and when the corner was delivered, Bainbridge timed his late run perfectly to place a header into the far corner of the net and record his 18th goal in the FA Vase this season.

It was a stunning blow that hadn’t looked on the cards, and Glossop manager Chris Willcock responded by bringing on Sam Hind for Sam Hare.

Hind made his mark in the quarter final replay against Shaw Lane Aquaforce, when after coming on as a late substitute, he rifled home an equaliser three minutes from the end of normal time in a game that Glossop went on to win, and he immediately set about looking to reproduce a repeat performance, as he pushed up front with Tom Bailey.

A minute from the end of normal time, a mazy run from Hind set up Bailey for a shot that was deflected for a corner, and when the kick came in, only desperate defending kept Glossop at bay before the ball was hacked clear.

With five added minutes of stoppage time at the end of the 90, both sides had flurries of action in the opposition half, the nearest to a goal being an effort from Sam Hind that flew wide of the far post.

But 90 minutes had failed to separate teh sides, so an additional half hour was required, and extra time began with the teams attacking the same ends as they finished in the second half.

Tom Bailey had the first effort for Glossop after the restart, firing well over the bar three minutes into the additional half hour.

It was noticeable that several North Shields players were struggling with cramp in the early stages of extra time, but they were given an additional boost of adrenaline when they took the lead in the 96th minute.

A good break down the right from the lively Morris caught out the Glossop defence, and his low cross evaded attackers and defenders alike before landing in the path of substitute Adam Forster, who went for accuracy over power in directing a shot across Hall into the far corner of the net.

Glossop responded with an effort from Kieran Lugsden that the keeper gathered at the second attempt, and a few minutes later Lugsden was yellow carded for a challenge that was late and conceded a free kick.

Lugsden was the creator of the last chance of the opening half of extra time, setting up Sam Grimshaw for a shot that was screwed wide, and the half ended with more problems for Glossop as skipper Dave Young needed lengthy treatment after a clash of heads, and after briefly returning to the action, was led off at half time for further medical examination.

Although Young attempted to return to the action, he was stopped from doing so by the medical team on the sidelines, to his obvious displeasure.

With Glossop having used all three substitutions, it was a blow they could have done without, and Martin Parker dropped back into the centre of the defence to partner Kelvin Lugsden, and with Glossop having to chase the game with ten men and North Shields content to defend deep, the pace of the game dipped noticeably in the second half of extra time, as both teams dropped almost to walking pace at times.

Chances were few and far between, but one last desperate throw of the dice from Glossop saw keeper Greg Hall join the attack in stoppage time, but his and his team mates efforts were in vain, and the referee ended the game moments later.

For North Shields, it was an afternoon they will never forget, and as well as picking up the cup, their lively right sided midfielder Denver Morris was voted man of the match for a fine all round display.

However, although from a Glossop perspective it was a desperately disappointing end to the afternoon, they can nonetheless look back on an outstanding season that will live long in the memory of everyone involved at the club.

Glossop North End: Greg Hall, Michael Bowler, Matt Russell, Kelvin Lugsden, Dave Young (captain), Martin Parker, Lee Blackshaw (Sam Grimshaw 69), Sam Hare (Sam Hind 82), Tom Bailey, Kieran Lugsden, Eddie Moran (Danny White 60).

Subs not used: Ben Richardson, Richard Gresty

North Shields: Chris Bannon, John Grey, Michael McKeown, John Parker, Kevin Hughes, Denver Morris, Gareth Bainbridge (Kieran Wrightson 107), Ben Richardson, Dean Holmes (Adam Forster 69), James Lucock (Ryan Carr 59), Stuart Donnison.

Subs not used: Curtis Coppen, Mark Lancaster.

090515 North Shields FAVF

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In which case, you may be wondering how they did that, we’re going to let you know with our reviews over the next few days. But first a short advert.

You can buy your Wembley tickets from the FA here – http://ticketing.thefa.com/

Round 1 – 1st November 2014.  West Didsbury & Chorlton 1, Glossop North End 2.
Attendance – 182

Having qualified for the Vase 1st Round automatically by virtue of their league position, The Hillmen had to wait for 2 qualifying rounds to play out before being placed into the draw and were a little disappointed to draw West Didsbury and Chorlton, as I’m sure they were to draw Glossop North End

The beauty of the Vase is getting to visit new places, or meet new faces, and the two sides had already played each other twice that season. Drawing someone from your own league makes it a little less special.

It was still a special day for the home side, mind you, as they unveiled the Rob Turley Stand, a tribute to Rob’s 40 years’ service to the club as a player and committee man.

There was one advantage though, as Andy Dawson recalls – it wasn’t far away so public transport could take him to the door this time. Or so he thought.

“I could have driven but decided to use public transport. I was the lone GNE supporter on the train. It was easy…no hassle or queues and relaxed and I arrived at Chorltonville in plenty of time. Just as well, it was a bit of a trek to the ground!”

Kieran Lugsden was the Glossop North End hero, scoring in the 35th and 60th minutes, firstly after terrific work from Jason Carey set him up, and then poking home his twin brother’s header from a corner.

It should have been enough, but WD&C got one back with ten minutes to go as the Hillmen got deeper and more sloppy, and with an erratic referee there were worries extra time might be forced, but the home side missed two very presentable opportunities to do so and progressed.

On the GNE unofficial message board, ‘garycollins11’ summed it up thus – “Fully deserved win, although towards the end they threw the sink at us and at times it seemed we were under pressure and hanging on but to be fair Greg wasn’t called on that much”

The game was also notable for the return of the FA Vase singing section. Absent for some time, presumed at FC United matches, their welcome patronage had us smiling at their old school FA Vase song book, with both the ‘Martin Parker Song’ and ‘Hind Dog’ getting an airing. They had dressed for the occasion too, as Andy noticed – “one Glossop North End supporter turned up with a stainless steel kitchen colander with flashing lights on his head “. The madness that inspired the ‘car of fun’ in 2008/09 was back!

Round 1 – West Didsbury & Chorlton
Round 2 – Ryhope Colliery Welfare
Round 3 – 1874 Northwich
Round 4 – Worksop Town
Round 5 – Dunston UTS
Quarter Final – Shaw Lane Aquaforce
Semi Final – AFC St Austell
The Final – Yet to be written!

The post FA Vase 2015 Memories, Round 1 – West Didsbury & Chorlton appeared first on Glossop North End AFC.

Mettricks are no stranger to turning food blue after they made blue sausages for the Wembley trip back in 2009.

The pork pies will be available in the the Glossop branch of Mettricks on the High Street, just next door to the club shop.

10% of the blue pie sales will be donated to Glossop North End.

The post Mettricks Turn The Pies Blue For Wembley appeared first on Glossop North End AFC.

The event gives interested press a chance to speak to club protagonists about the May 9th show-piece and take photographs to use in the build up. North Shields boss Graham Fenton, captain Kevin Hughes and striker Gareth Bainbridge were also in attendance.

Also there, of course, was our photographer Jim Lockwood, and here’s his gallery…

The post FA Vase Media Day appeared first on Glossop North End AFC.

Following the meeting the club can now confirm that the club has been allocated a small number of tickets to sell ourselves and we will not be getting any more.

We are trying to ensure that genuine Glossop North End supporters get access to them and so we are giving priority access to the following:

• Season Ticket Holders
• Friends Of Glossop North End members
• Glossop North End Supporters Club members
• Shareholders

Any subsequent remaining tickets will go on open sale of which details will be released.  We do not have the ticket allocation yet, but hope to within the next 7 days.

General Public tickets can be purchased online via the FA ticketing website http://ticketing.thefa.com

The FA have confirmed that the game on Saturday 9th May will be a 3pm kick off.

Coach Travel

The club will be arranging same day coach travel from Glossop to Wembley with an expected departure time of around 9:00am.   The cost of this will be £30 per person.   Travel can be booked either at the club shop on Glossop High Street or at the ground on matchdays.

*Updated Saturday 4th April

Travel/Match Ticket Packages

The FA have now informed the club that they can sell match tickets if bought at the same time as a coach ticket.

The post FA Vase Ticket and Travel Update appeared first on Glossop North End AFC.

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.

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