At 35, Hungerford Town’s Danny Robinson may fall into the young manager’s category. But he’s been picking teams since he was 20 years old at Burghclere.
Burnham, now plying their trade in the Combined Counties League, started the match on top, hitting the crossbar twice in the first quarter hour and having a “goal” by Gavin James chalked out for offside.
The Ducks took the lead six minutes from half time when a Lee Stobbs cross from the right was missed by Ducks centre forward Aaron Berry and the Fairford defence, only to fall to Jamie Jellis, who was unmarked 12 yards out.
Competing in the competition for the first time the Hereford-based side welcomed a crowd of over 300 people to the Herefordshire County Ground for the historic tie.
The Hillsiders finished top of the points-per-game calculations in Hellenic League Division One West to earn elevation into next season’s Premier Division via the FA’s restructure of the National League System.
At the heart of the love-in was Sean Moore, the captain and top scorer for the Hellenic League club whose Premier Division campaign was voided in December with them unbeaten in second place.
Binfield are back on the road tomorrow in the FA Vase semi-final with a place at Wembley at stake when they face lower league United Services Portsmouth.
The Buckinghamshire side were excellent value for the win that was made easier when the home side had substitute Shane Krac sent off for a scything tackle five minutes after he came on.