The Non-League Paper’s Andy Smart, stand-up comedian and Non-League fan, found the real Deal on his travels for this week’s edition …
Well, the last three weeks have provided great excitement, and a duffer of a game.
Let’s start with the FA Vase – one of my favourite competitions.
Who can forget Farnborough Town beating Billericay Town 2-0 in the first leg of the semi-final (the Billericay fans didn’t turn up until half-time as their coach drivers had taken them to Farnborough in Kent), in April 1976.
The whole town cancelled everything for the day of the final, on the back of it. People changed wedding plans, and moved holidays.
Billericay won the second leg 6-0 in a freak spring snow storm and Farnborough’s Wembley dream was over. The closest my club ever got to Wembley, and it doesn’t look like it will happen for while.
Having watched Binfield dispatch AFC Uckfield Town, I decided to follow them in the fourth round too, this time at Deal Town.
I caught the train down to Deal which sits on the English Channel with a strong wind blowing in off the sea.
There is a black double decker bus behind one of the goals, with Deal Town on the destination board. On the wall of the changing room there is a sign which reads “Deal Town, the only side to win the FA Vase from Kent, 2000”.
A lot of the 111 spectators took advantage of the pitchside clubhouse bar to watch the game. The first half saw Binfield attacking more, and they would rue the chances that weren’t taken.
Bad boy
Armed with a nice pint and a chip butty, I ventured out for the second half. Tackles were flying in, not least from Binfield’s Tom Melledew who collected a second yellow, so he was off.
Macauley Murray looked to have capitalised by putting Deal in front from the penalty after Calam Gallimore was brought down but Binfield threw caution to the wind, and were rewarded in the 84th minute with a goal from Josh Helmore.
An exhausting extra time period still couldn’t seperate them so I travelled back to Binfield for the midweek replay, only to see the most amazing game of football I’ve seen for a long time!
The weather couldn’t have been more different. The game was played out under a pale blue sky, without a breath of wind, and it meant for a better game of football. There were quite a few who had travelled up from Deal in the crowd of 346.
Marathon
Asa Povey scored early to put Binfield a goal up but, ten minutes before half-time, Jack Paxman crossed for Ben Chapman to level.
Binfield then scored early in the second half through George Short and had two good chances to seal the tie before Deal equalised again through Chapman.
So, extra-time was called for again and with ten minutes to go, Deal took the lead for the first time on the day. Paxman scored a goal that reflected his involvement with every one of their attacks.
It looked like it was all over, but no, a few minutes later, in a goalmouth melee, Liam Gavin poked the ball home. On to penalties.
After five penalties they were level at 3-3 into sudden death. Unfortunately, though, it wasn’t that sudden – in the end there were 22 penalties with every player taking one before Josh Helmore, hero of the first game, blasted his second spot-kick over the bar and into the clubhouse wall.
The only Deal player who hadn’t taken one was keeper Jamie Tonkin, the keeper. Grace, the Binfield shot-stopper had already scored and looked confident but Tonkin slotted the ball home for the celebrations to begin.
Two birds, one game
Last weekend, I had a Burns Night gig in Bath, to stop off and watch Chippenham Town v Havant & Waterlooville.
Fourth versus second bottom. I wish I hadn’t. I loved the BlueBirds Bar, with its complimentary crisps. I also had a pickled egg.
I liked that they held a minute’s silence for the actor Dereck Fowldes, who had been a lifelong fan. I also liked an errant free-kick knocking a cup of tea out of the hand of a fan. But the game was pants!
Follow Andy on twitter @AndyCSP
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