Erith & Belvedere  0        

North Shields         2         Holmes 49, Forster 58          

FA Vase quarter-final, 28 February 2015

Continuing the series counting down the 100 most memorable games in our history.  Today, the day we were two wins from Wembley but had the consolation of losing to the Vase winners.

Last week we looked at the epic win at Holbeach which took us to the last eight of the FA Vase.  The anticipation built up from that point over the next fortnight as we prepared for our biggest knockout game in years, against the favourites for the competition from a region which had made the competition its own – from 2009 to 2017 North-Eastern clubs provided 8 out of 9 Vase winners.  It was a confrontation between Alfie May – 33 goals in 31 games before this – and North Shields’ history-making marksman Gareth Bainbridge, with 34 goals in 28. 

The first coaches left North Shields at 5am that morning to make the longest away trip anyone has ever made to a Deres game.  The visitors were comfortably the majority in the crowd of 503, the Deres’ biggest home attendance at PVR, and they were well rewarded.

After a tight opening, Deres – second in the Southern Counties East Football League – created the first chance after fifteen minutes.  Central midfielder Colin Richmond played the ball into lone striker Adam Marsh, who hit a right-footed dipping drive from 25 yards, which forced Michael Robinson to dive to his right to tip around the post.

North Shields, 4th in the Northern League, created their first chance two minutes later when Benjamin Richardson won the ball off Richmond to feed Michael McKeown, who cracked a left-footed drive sailing wide from 25 yards.  McKeown then found himself down the left flank and he whipped in a deep cross towards the far post but James Luccock ghosted in behind Ben Wilson to sweep his shot over the near post from 12-yards.

North Shields were off-target again in the 32nd minute when winger Holmes produced a cross from the left, which was headed back across goal by Luccock.  Richmond miss his attempted clearance in the middle and Bainbridge cracked his right-footed volley over the bar.  Deres left-back Wilson swung in a free-kick from the right which was headed out as far as Luke May, who looped the ball into Robinson’s gloves from 20 yards.

McKeown, who was bossing the middle of the park, played a sublime diagonal pass to release Holmes, who brought the ball under his spell to cut into the box before drilling his left-footed drive over from ten-yards.  Deres’ second shot on target came in the last minute of the half when Wilson threw the ball into Richmond’s path. His left-footed shot from 20 yards stung Robinson’s fingers before the keeper gathered the ball at the second attempt.

A disappointing first half came to an end, but North Shields were there for the taking if Deres believed in themselves more and went for it.  But they were always going to face an uphill struggle when they conceded the first goal in the fourth minute of the second half.  Richardson’s flicked pass released Holmes through on goal, who easily danced past central defender Lee Craig before steering his left-footed shot into the bottom near corner from 12 yards to score his 14th goal of the season.

Longhurst made a double substitution on 53 minutes, bringing on Isa Hussein and former Hythe Town winger Taser Hassan for their debuts.  Hassan’s dad Tamer had already been quite a focus of attention for the Shields fans as he strolled behind the goal.  It was Hassan who cut in from the left before stroking his left-footed shot from 30-yards, forcing visiting keeper Robinson to make a comfortable low save to his right.

But five minutes after they came on, the Deres’ Wembley dream looked over as Richardson sprayed the ball out wide to Forster, who cut in from the right flank into the penalty area before beating George Kamurasi at his near post.

Deres showed desire to claw themselves back into the game and forced Robinson into action 68 seconds after the killer goal when 33-goal attacker Alfie May’s right-footed dipping shot from 20-yards bounced off Robinson’s chest.

Robins’ Marc Lancaster came up from left-back to play the ball inside to striker Richardson, who flashed his first time drive wide from 25 yards.  Then Richmond’s pass released Alfie May, who strode twenty yards forward before cracking a right-footed drive from the edge of the box which forced Robinson to dive full-length to his right to push around the post.  Longhurst commented afterwards: “Alfie done well, he was lively and got a couple of shots off but I thought at times we were probably a little bit intricate around the edge of the box, rather than getting our shots off.  I don’t think we’ve worked their goalkeeper enough!”

Marsh fed the ball to Richmond, who drove his shot over, as Deres failed to get in behind a solid back four, well marshalled by John Parker and skipper Kevin Hughes. 
Ten minutes from time Shields had a break but substitute Denver Morris lashed his left-footed drive high over the bar from 20 yards, before his inch-perfect cross-field pass put Leacock in only for him to flash his shot past the far post.

The hard-working Alfie May set up a chance for Lee Hales, who from 25-yards drilled his shot just past the top of the right-hand post.  At the other end Bainbridge went for a spectacular goal when he met Morris’ cross from the right with a powerfully hit left-footed hooked volley which screamed harmlessly wide of the left-hand post.  In fact other than their goals Shields’ only other shot on target came right at the death when
Bainbridge’s right-footed free-kick from 30 yards went over the wall and was destined for the top right-hand corner, but Kamurasi dived high to his left to push the ball around the post.

Matt Longhurst commented: “My main disappointment was that we didn’t really have a go and that’s a little bit down to them because they’re a good team.  I think we’re better than that and I think possibly it’s an opportunity a little bit wasted – but I’m over the moon with the players, I can’t fault them. I felt we limited them to not loads of chances really but we didn’t create enough ourselves, which is partly down to them being organised and down to us not being brave enough on the ball, which is a little bit disappointing especially as we’ve scored a lot of goals lately as well. It’s not often we draw a blank, especially at home.”

Erith & Belvedere: George Kamurasi, Allan Matthews (Paul Springett 87), Ben Wilson, Colin Richmond, Lee Craig, Ryan Johnson, Lee Hales, Luke May (Isa Hussein 53), Alfie May, Adam Marsh, Byron Walker (Taser Hassan 53).
 

North Shields: Michael Robinson, Stuart Donnison, Marc Lancaster, Michael McKeown (Kieran Wrightson 87), John Parker, Kevin Hughes, James Luccock, Adam Forster (Curtis Coppen 75), Gareth Bainbridge, Ben Richardson, Dean Holmes (Denver Morris 69).

It had been a great day, even though the team fell short and the club ran out of programmes and all beers except lager!  The season fell apart a bit after that: we were never going to catch Phoenix Sports for the title but slipped to third behind Ashford United.  Alfie May ended the season with 41 goals, the best haul by a Deres player since the 60s, before he moved on to Hythe, Doncaster Rovers and now Cheltenham Town.

North Shields won the two-legged semi-final against Highworth Town from Wiltshire, then faced Derbyshire’s Glossop North End at Wembley.  A contingent of Deres supporters went along to see the Robins fall behind but equalise with a classic Bainbridge header ten minutes from time. Adam Forster scored the winner five minutes into extra time, and the lads we’d last seen celebrating victory at PVR ran around Wembley with the FA Vase.  Bainbridge had scored in every tie but two, one against Deres: when I mentioned that on Twitter he replied “Yes, but I occupied your defence while others prospered.”  Undoubtedly so – but we’ll take it!