FA Vase 3rd Round
Feldale Field, Whittlesey
Admission: £5.00
Programme: Online Only
Attendance: 172
After returning from a dismal visit to The Valley in the early hours this morning, I could have done with a local game today. Unfortunately that wasn’t possible if I were to visit a new ground, and although a trip to Kent County League outfit Minster was very tempting, as they were issuing a printed programme for the first time today, in the end I did not fancy standing in a recreation ground with no facilities on a cold dull afternoon. And so instead I opted for a long day out to the Cambridgeshire Fens, to tick off another ground in the Eastern Counties League, for a big game in the FA Vase.
Feldale Field is about a 25 minute walk north eastwards from Whittlesea train station, with a short dirt lane leading from the passing road to the entrance. A eye catching welcome sign and a fixture board are located on the outside facing wall of the clubhouse building, next to a small wooden hut where the entrance fee is taken, with a large QR code posted there to download the online only programme from. Entering in one corner of the ground, a brick building is located to the left, with a bar, which was doing a roaring trade today, accessed via French windows, and further along the wall there is a tea bar window offering a decent range of hot and cold food and drinks, and plenty of wooden picnic tables are spread out on a grassy area between the clubhouse building and the pitch. Straddling the half way line is a covered standing area using a substantial amount of scaffold poles and corrugated sheets. There is just hard standing along the rest of the length and behind both ends, while most of the remaining length is out of bounds, save for a small area close to the corner flag, where a small stand with three rows of seating is located. Further junior pitches extend beyond one length and end, with flat countryside beyond, making this probably not the greatest of places to be on a wet and windy day, while new housing has popped up behind the other length.
This game had all the ingredients to be an intriguing cup tie, between a club in good form against a club firmly in mid table in the division above. Whittlesey Athletic were in seventh place in the Eastern Counties League Division One North, following eight wins and three draws from their 17 league games, and they have good recent pedigree in the FA Vase, having also reached this stage last year, before bowing out to eventual winners Newport Pagnell Town. A remarkable stat though is that Whittlesey have been drawn at home for every single tie since entering the FA Vase for the first time in 2020, a run of eight home games. So far in this season’s competition, they have seen off Diss Town on penalties after a 2-2 draw, and then Oxhey Jets 1-0. Following relegation from the Isthmian League Division One North, Romford were down in 16th place in the Essex Senior League, following five wins and three draws from their 13 league games, although they do have at least three games in hand on most clubs around them. To reach today's stage of the FA Vase competition, Romford have beaten Potton United 1-0 and West Essex 3-2, both at home, then won 2-3 at Newmarket Town, before beating Little Oakley 2-0 at home.
Winter certainly seems to have finally arrived now, and conditions felt very chilly today, even with the sun shining. Whittlesey started strongly, favouring lumping the ball downfield, although Romford then grew into the game to create some good chances themselves. A competitive encounter soon became rather niggly, and the Romford players and management team did not cover themselves in glory when berating the referee, using plenty of expletives in the process. The home side opened the scoring in the 36th minute, when a free kick was drilled in low by Jack Carter, the goalkeeper spilt the ball, and Kieran Hibbins tapped home the loose ball. But Romford were level within a minute, George Cox curling a lovely shot from the edge of the area into the top left corner. 1-1 was how it remained at the break, with the game intriguingly poised, as Romford had the better of the first half yet Whittlesey certainly carried a threat. Unusually, I very much hoped the game would be settled within the 90 minutes, as penalties would mean me missing the 17.29 train from Whittlesea station, with the next service not scheduled until 19.29.
However, it soon became apparent that penalties would not be required today, as the visitors gained control of the game, spending most of the second half on the front foot while the home side barely threatened. Romford took the lead on 58 minutes, Lewis Smith drilling the ball low past the keeper from the edge of the area. They had a goal disallowed a couple of minutes later, before they opened a two goal lead in the 78th minute with another good low strike from the edge of the area, this time a little further out, by Kris Newby. Romford saw the remainder of the game out quite comfortably, to seal their progress through to the last 32 for the first time since 1996. And the bookies certainly fancy them to continue their path all the way to a date at Wembley next May, listed as clear favourites at 6/1 by BetVictor.
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