ASCOT UNITED 1
Walters 79
SUPERSUB Kai Walters proved the hero as Ascot United finally broke Newport Pagnell Town’s stranglehold on the FA Vase with a 79th-minute winner.
Walters stooped to glance home a header from Sean McCormack’s cross to hand the Yellamen a first ever Vase success over the holders at a sun-drenched Wembley in front a lively crowd.
Both sides hit the woodwork in an even affair which saw defences very much on top until Walters’ late intervention.
Unusually for a Vase final, these two sides weren’t complete strangers to one another. They last met just 18 months ago in a Berks & Bucks Senior Cup tie where Ascot raced to an 8-2 victory!
A similar scoreline was never likely here but, perhaps buoyed by that, the Combined Counties Premier North champions got out of the traps the quicker and went close to making a dream start when McCormack’s corner from the right found the glancing head of Jordan Ajanlekoko but Christian Smail headed off the line from underneath his own crossbar.
Newport, however, soon found their feet with 38-goal top scorer Albie Hall screwing a shot from 15 yards just wide from the edge of the box and the dangerous Mo Ahmed firing against the outside of the post from a tight angle.
A frenetic start was soon halted when an aerial collision between Newport captain Russell Short and Ascot’s Rob Gerrard forced both off the field with head injuries and rethinks all round.
Still, Newport continued to look the more likely and they struck the woodwork for a second time on 26 minutes when Ben Ford’s teasing cross to the far post found Hall, who just couldn’t angle his volley on target.
Moments later, they went close again, Hall again involved with a cut-back into the six-yard box but keeper Rhys Forster crucially palmed the ball away from the feet Jake Watkinson.
Ascot were happy to hold onto the break but were somewhat fortunate to in first-half stoppage time when Ahmed broke from midfield and slid in Hall but his effort sliced wide of the near upright when handily placed.
And if Ascot were deemed lucky not to be behind at the break, it was as if the gods were smiling on them when Watkinson somehow missed the target when sliding in to meet Hall’s low near-post centre six minutes into the restart.
Ascot, however, weren’t out of it – Alfie Grant heading McCormack’s cross just over – but at this point the need to hold on in there, as opposed to making things happen, seemed the greater, for both sides.
That all changed, however, with the 73rd-minute introduction of Ascot’s substitute striker Marcus Mealing, who made an immediate impression, first forcing Martin Conway to save with his feet at the near post with a shot on the turn then, from the resulting corner, thumping a header against the crossbar from eight yards out.
Mealing gave Ascot, and indeed the game as a whole, the fresh impetus it needed and it wasn’t long before the deadlock was eventually broken. Harry Grant’s cross from the left eluded everyone, McCormack recycled the ball from the right and crossed into the near post where sub Kai Walters was on hand to glance the ball in off the far post.
Naturally, the goals sparked Newport Pagnell into action but, despite a desperate late rally, Forster was never really troubled and the Yellamen could celebrate a famous victory.
ASCOT UNITED (4-2-3-1): Forster 6; Lock 6 (Ellis 82), Tucker 6, A Grant 7, Gerrard 6 (Walters 23, 7); Ajanlekoko 7, Bailey 6; McCormack 8, H Grant 7, Welch 6 (Mealing 73, 8); Matthew 6. Subs: Negus, Bouwers, Balogun, August,.
NEWPORT PAGNELL (4-3-1-2): Conway 6; Wilson 6 (Evans 77, 6), Short 6 (Bush 23, 6), Powell 6, Sage 6; Smail 6, Shepherd 6, Ford 6 (Pryke 77, 6); Ahmed 7; Watkinson 6, Hall 7. Subs: Willett, Barnes, Pike, Tshikun
