IT’S 6.30pm on Thursday evening and Binfield joint-managers Jamie Mc-Clurg and Carl Withers are sat in the car on the phone to The NLP before training, ahead of one the biggest weeks of their footballing lives.
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.
Goals in both halves from Kane Drummond and an Elliott Nevitt penalty put the North West Counties League side in dreamland, although Tom Tonks’ superb stoppage-time reply made for a nervy final few minutes.
The former Newcastle United midfielder, who is good mates with the Urchins’ boss from their time together in the north-east, played for the club as a youngster before being picked up by Charlton Athletic.
Fans of the National League North Bulls will be situated in the West End of Wembley Stadium, with those supporting Isthmian Premier Urchins occupying the East End.
Hebburn are in line for promotion to the Northern Premier League’s new Step 4 division and added to their success with a dramatic FA Vase final victory last Monday.
Going up against a League Two side would be a challenge in ordinary circumstances but with Harrogate Town at the end of a full season while the National League South Beachboys haven’t played since February, it meant they had a mountain to scale.
Captain Josh Falkingham slammed in a 76th-minute winner as Town beat National League South Concord Rangers to claim a unique slice of history as the first EFL side to win the competition.
Nevitt’s fine 62nd-minute strike was enough to end the five-day defence of the 2019-20 title which the Hornets clinched in a dramtic finale against Consett at Wembley on Monday.