FA Vase last eight countdown: Manager must step in between the sticks

Manager Dan Langdon was hoping Bitton would get a game on before today’s FA Vase quarter-final at Wroxham to save him from having to abandon the touchline to play in goal!
Goalkeeper Rob Brown was sent off in the Western League club’s Challenge Trophy Cup tie two weeks ago and is currently serving a suspension.
Bitton were set to host Clevedon on Tuesday night but the game was postponed, meaning Brown is unavailable and 30-year-old Langdon is having to step up.
“I played down at Exmouth this year but I don’t really want to be playing in this one!” Langdon told The Non-League Paper this week before his hopes were dashed in midweek by another waterlogged pitch.

“I’d want to be able to concentrate on things from the sidelines but if I’ve got to do it, I’ve got to do it. We’ve had the rub of the green getting all home ties but I couldn’t ask for any more from the lads. We’ve made history getting this far and ready to go one more.”
Langdon has been in charge since February 2016 when he stepped up from the reserve team – and it’s very much a family affair at the Western League club.
His dad John has since returned as chairman while his mum Jayne is club secretary.
“I’m the favourite son at the moment!” joked the manager. “My brother-in-law used to captain Bitton and was actually my assistant manager in the first season too.
“My brother runs a boys’ and a girls’ team in the junior section as well. It’s a family-run club, when you win you feel proud and when you lose it hurts a little bit more.”
Make sure you get your copy of The Non-League Paper on Sunday for the latest news and action from across Non-League over the last seven days, including exclusive pictures and reports from all the Buildbase FA Vase quarter-finals.
As well as exclusive match reports and pictures from all of Saturday’s fixtures in the Vanarama National League, the BetVictor-Sponsored Isthmian League, Southern League and Northern Premier League, The Non-League Paper’s live coverage extends all the way to Steps 5 and 6.