Wilkinson’s Stones keep their FA Trophy fairytale rolling

By Matt Badcock
Bobby Wilkinson says Wealdstone’s fairytale run to the FA Trophy semi-finals is only just sinking in.
The National League South Stones rolled over Billericay Town in emphatic style to reach the final four of the prestigious Non-League competition.
Secret signing Bradley Bubb was unveiled the day before the game and the former Ebbsfleet United striker had a debut to remember as he fired in a hat-trick in the 5-2 victory.
Up next is a two-legged semi-final against the winners of Brackley Town and Stockport County, whose replay due to be played tonight has been postponed.
The scenes after the final whistle at Billericay showed just what it meant to the Stones players and fans – and boss Wilkinson couldn’t be happier for everyone associated with the Step 2 club.
“A couple of days later it has just sunk in what a great achievement it is for the football club,” Wilkinson told The NLP. “To be in the semi-final of the FA Trophy, I’m absolutely overjoyed for everyone.
“Runs like this don’t come around that often and Wembley doesn’t get this close for a lot of footballers or managers. Hopefully the club can now all believe we can make it. We’ve got a really tough job in front of us. But, as a club, I just believe anything is possible and we’re going to have a right go at it.
“What will be, will be, but there were 274 teams in the competition and now we’re down to the last four.”
Getting this far hasn’t been plain sailing with the Stones coming through some tricky ties.
“What we’ve done is tick one off at a time,” Wilkinson said. “We’ve had to go through some big hitters to get here. Warrington are flying in the Northern Premier League, we beat Hereford – who hadn’t lost away in 35 games – which was a fantastic game. It’s a great competition and I’ve loved every minute of it.”
For the full feature on Wealdstone’s run to the FA Trophy semis, don’t miss Sunday’s NLP