STEWART ANDERSON scored the Wembley winner to hand Colne Dynamoes the biggest prize in their history – but little did anyone know the club would fold within two years.
Bankrolled by local businessman and manager Graham White, the club looked set for the big time after lifting the FA Vase in 1988 and then the Northern Premier League two seasons later.
But after being denied a place in the Conference because their Holt House ground didn’t meet grading requirements, the club ran into a brick wall and once a final desperate plea for a £500,000 groundshare with Burnley was rejected, White decided enough was enough.
“We had a good side and money talked then obviously,” Anderson recalled. “Chalkie White was one of the first to start paying good wages at that level.
“Crowds were only 200 at the time but then our final home game, when we won the Northern Premier League championship, attracted 1,500.
“It had really escalated and even though he brought a lot of players in we still had the same backbone of players who moved throught the leagues and stayed right the way through to winning the Northern Premier.
“I think they would have got into the Football League without a doubt. But from there I don’t know. We had the players. The problem was the ground facilities weren’t very good.
“They wanted to ground share with Burnley but it got turned down because it was out of the radius.”
Anderson laughs when he recalls the only goal he scored during the Dynamoes’ successful FA Vase campaign, which saw them score 21 goals through eight rounds to play Emley in the final.
White’s side got to the Twin Towers the hard way. They were 4-1 up against fellow North West Counties side Glossop in the preliminary round but after making a couple of substitutions, needed a late goal to win 5-4 before then requiring extra-time to see off both Darwen and Heswell.
Up until scoring the most famous goal in Dynamoes’ history, Anderson had made something of a habit of scoring in cup finals, but admitted he had “saved the best ‘til last”.
“I just remember Marshall Burke took a corner and it was headed out,” he explained. “The ball was knocked around and I was just unmarked at the far post.
“My team-mates used to say ‘you’ve scored again in a cup final’. I had a good record in local finals too.
“We didn’t have an easy road to Wembley though. I remember playing Atherstone in the fifth round. They were a good side and the favourites to win the Vase that season. They had some good players but Mickey Wood scored two that day to see us through 2-1.
“Then in the semi-final we went down to Sudbury and it must have been an eye-opener for them. They had some very nice facilities and we drew 1-1 then they came up to ours and it was torrential rain for about two or three days.
“The pitch was just a mud bath and it was touch and go if it was going to be played or not, they were a nice footballing side, so to play us must have been a shock.”
BACK ROW FROM LEFT TO RIGHT
1. Steve Lampkin: An engineer, who now runs his own company, A & A Lampkin, in Silsden, West Yorkshire.
2. Steve Whitehead: He was a Burnley-based cabinet maker and has been chief executive for a training company in Bolton for seven years.
3. David Stoobs: Works as a tool maker for an engineering company, living in Fence near Burnley.
4. Keith Mason: He now lives in the Cumbria area. Managed Workington AFC and has worked as a sales rep at a plumbers merchant.
5. Steve Bentley: Ater having worked in the building industry for 40 years, he is now a surveyor and estimator for Nationwide Interiors and is a qualified referee.
6. Mick Wood: He is now based in Baildon, near Shipley, Yorkshire and has worked as a printer for many years.
7. Nigel Coates: Having done a number of jobs including warehouse manager and running pubs, he is now Colne FC manager and works as a window cleaner.
8. Ray Birch: Now based on Merseyside, he has been a civil engineer for the past 28 years and works for Oldham-based firm DCT Civil engineering.
MIDDLE ROW FROM LEFT TO RIGHT
9. Ken Riley (Asst coach): He ran his own steel fabrication business Pendle Engineering until his death in August 2007, aged 58.
10. Syd Parkinson: A fitter for Rolls Royce, he died in December 2011, aged 97, and had been involved in East Lancashire football for 87 years.
11. Clive Dunn: The former joiner lives in Clayton-Le-Moors, Lancs, and earns a living working as a dry liner.
12. Stewart Anderson: A former paint sprayer who has been a postman for the last 20 years and is coaching Rochdale‘s under 16 side.
13. Andy Samuels: A former engineer at Lucas in Burnley, he is now the groundsman for Burnley Golf Club.
14. Duncan McFadyen: A former builder, he now lives in Fence, near Burnley, and is a funeral director for Holgate Bros.
15. Andy Sunter: He worked for Graham White’s Timber firm but now lives in Burnley. Was a wood router and is now a carbon fabricator for Aircelle.
16. Billy Gaskell (coach): He ran swimsave in Burnley until retiring and now lives in Osbaldeston, Clitheroe.
17. Bill Bowden (Res boss): A builder in the Pendle area, he ran William Bowden Quality Properties until his death in February 2010, aged 61.
FRONT ROW FROM LEFT TO RIGHT
18. Billy Rodaway: He worked for a Colne building company while managing Accrington Stanley. Billy lives in Liverpool and works for a scaffolding company.
19. Simon Westwell: A salesman, he works as the residential lettings manager at Pettys Estate Agents in Burnley.
20. Barry Diamond: He has been a roofer for all of his working life and now runs Adams Roofing Company, near Rochdale.
21. Graham White (manager): He was the managing director of a Timber Company and is now a successful property developer.
22. Marshall Burke: The former insurance rep still lives in the Burnley area and is a regional sales manager for Thwaites brewery.
23. Neville Roscoe: He worked as a plumbing and heating engineer for over 20 years. He is still based in Colne and is the director for M5 Gas.
24. Peter Sayer: Has worked as a community officer and is now the bar manager of the Preston Golf Club.
25. Malcolm Wright: Malcolm was a ground worker in the building industry in Thackley, West Yorkshire.
Good article, I went to Wembley with Dynamoes, wish they were still going!
Thanks David Emery and team for this – I worked with you lot for a short time!