Littlehampton Town vs Gresley Rovers
Rovers' pride - Andy Parker - Burton Mail
After just after 4.40pm on Saturday the blast of a referee's whistle heralded the finest moment in the 109-year history of Gresley Rovers Football Club.
Victory over Littlehampton, carefully planned and magnificently achieved, had secured Rovers' place in the FA Vase final at Wembley Stadium on May 4th and the celebrating began.
Gresley manager Frank Northwood, not a man who is often seen to break out of an easy paced amble, ran towards Gresley's travelling army of fans arrayed at one end of the field, arms aloft, bursting with the passion and the pride that has epitomised Rovers' historic march into the record books.
The cheers, the applause and the uncontrolled tears of emotion were well deserved; they had been earned in the finest way possible.
Back in November, after Rovers' defeat at Mile Oak had been wiped from the slate and the club reinstated into the competition following the Tamworth's side's expulsion for fielding an illegal player in their 2-1 first round victory, Northwood told me: "After this, we could end up going all the way."
Since then, by the way of Warwick and Knowsley, and with home victories over Raunds Town and Billingham, Rovers' belief in that prediction coming true has grown through a brand of football devoid of cynicism or gamesmanship and from which negative, defensive play has been absent.
Home or away, Gresley have played to score goals and to win. Their reliance on skill and attacking football - the cornerstones of Northwood's football philosophy - have paid off and a Wembley final is a just and fitting reward.
Northwood had pledged a week before Saturday's game that Rovers would seek more goals at Littlehampton to add to the three they scored at the Moat Ground, knowing that an early strike would effectively end the tie. After eight minutes on Saturday that goal arrived.
The Moatmen had sought to find gaps in the Littlehampton defence right from the off, and when Carl Rathbone used his explosive pace and ability to turn a defender on the left of the box a chink of light appeared.
Over came the cross, and Paul Acklam, diving full length at the far post, bulleted a header into the roof of the net.
It was a great reward for Acklam, who has climbed from a pit of poor form earlier in the season to become one of the heroes of Gresley's Vase run. Thirteen minutes later his burgeoning confidence paid off again.
The goal was a tribute to the hard work of Gresley's third striker Kieron Smith, who battled back to win the ball just inside his own half and release Acklam along the left with a superb first time pass.
The striker, who had already begun to torment Littlehampton captain Steve Bates at any opportunity, skipped past the defender on the edge of the penalty area and when Paul Hammond flew in with a despairing attempt to win the ball, referee Wiseman pointed unhesitatingly to the spot and Stuart Stokes drove the ball past keeper Mickie Philips with a minimum of fuss.
Gresley's control seemed total as Littlehampton, now facing a four-goal deficit, began to lose shape and dicipline. A goal was the very least they needed and skipper Bates delivered one with a powerful header from Andy Horn's cross after a right wing corner that turned out to be the home side's one and only of the game.
Rovers may have been remiss at their poor marking at the far post but it was their only defensive lapse of the 90 minutes. Littlehampton, replacing full back Chris Prees with John Bailey, scorer of their late goal the previous week, at half time, threw an extra man forward at the expense of their back line but it was to no avail.
Rovers coach Steve Dolby explained afterwards: "They left themselves with only three at the back and relied on the long ball forward, but that wasn't their game and, because we left three forward, they played into our hands."
Instead of a repeat of the previous week's second half revival so desperately hoped for by the home crowd, Littlehampton found themselves repeatedly exposed and it is no exaggeration to say that Gresley could have scored a further six goals.
Five minutes after the restart a run deep by Rovers' inspirational skipper Richard Denby and a cross from the left by Smith gave Acklam the chance to rise above the defence and head against the inside of a post.
Acklam, set up by Rathbone, headed over, Denby blazed a stunning effort across the face of goal and Rathbone, barely able to run in the latter stages such was his exhaustion, summoned up the strength to cross for substitute Steve Adcock to head straight at the keeper from the six-yard line.
With the celebrations building on the sidelines and Littlehampton completely demoralised, Smith burst through again to shoot over from six yards then saw a point blank header saved. By that stage, though, the ball could have gone anywhere. Rovers were only going one way - Wembley!
Littlehampton Town (1) 1
Gresley Rovers (2) 2
Scorers: Bates 32 (Littlehampton Town); Acklam 8, Stokes 21 (pen) (Gresley Rovers).
Littlehampton Town: Philips, Prees (Bailey 45), Hellen (Swanton 70), Hammond, Bates, Bicknell, M Bennett, Horn, P Bennett, Withers, Guille.
Gresley Rovers: Aston, Barry, Elliott, Denby, Land, Astley, Stokes, Smith, Acklam (Adcock 72), Rathbone (Weston 80), Lovell.
Gresley man-of-the-match: Richard Denby.
Referee: R M Wiseman (Borehamwood).
Attendance: 1800
