|
Bury surrender lead in tense Vase battle
Both teams were making a bit of history for themselves by reaching this stage of the FA Vase for the very first time. Leading up to the game, the Blues from Bury had played most of their matches away from home and had only conceded one goal throughout all of the previous rounds (this was against fellow-Ridgeons side Soham Town Rangers back in December). For Boro' the path to the Semi-Final had not been such an easy journey, coming in at the second qualifying round stage and needing replays (against Littlehampton and Rye & Iden); amazingly the game at Ram Meadow was their tenth match in the competition.
By switching the game to a Sunday the Blues had hoped to attract a large crowd. As expected the match had been well publicised on regional TV and radio, in the local press and on the club website, with an estimated attendance of 2500 anticipated for the big day. Although the official figure fell slighty short of this, there was still plenty of atmosphere in and around the ground. Many fans had turned up in high spirits and were determined to enjoy the occasion, donning wigs, wearing bright face paint, carrying large balloons and beating drums, all displaying their club colours of blue and white.
The opening half was a nervous affair with very little to choose between the teams. You could feel the tension! A strong crosswind made control very difficult and many miscued passes ended up sailing high over the stands and out of the ground. Bury started to take command and opened the scoring after 13 minutes from a free-kick. It was the robust and burly figure of 38 year-old Steve McGavin who unleashed a sweet low left foot drive placing the ball beyond the Boro' keeper and into the net. The ex-Colchester striker almost added another, minutes later, when his rushed effort skimmed wide of the visitors goal.
Hillingdon, wearing garish orange shirts, got back into the game midway through the first half following a clumsy challenge in the box. Darryl Craft calmly slotted the ball home from the spot giving 'keeper Paul Barber little chance. Bury could not make home advantage count as the young visitors stood firm in the second-half. The giant defender Chris Phillips was particularly prominent. The second period saw few chances and frustratingly for home supporters ended at 1-1 when referee Proctor-Green blew his whistle just after ninety minutes. Many locals felt that it was going to be a tough battle for the Blues when they travel down to the Middlesex Stadium for the second leg next Sunday.
The all-ticket game attracted 1773 spectators, including several travellers who took advantage of a rare Sunday kick-off. An excellent glossy 44-page souvenir programme was issued for the game, priced £1.50. This was a terrific effort and contained plenty of information and statistics about both clubs, the Vase and the game. There were several black and white photos taken from the Quarter-Final tie, played in March, when Bury beat Crook Town to book their place in the last four. A range of refreshments were on sale from a couple of mobile catering vans parked inside the ground. The constant small of onions filled the air. Daughter Jo and I decided that the bacon cheeseburgers garnished with tomato sauce were particularly tasty if not extremely high in calories!
As many travellers probably know from their own visits to Ram Meadow, the facilities, although dated, are still pretty good and the envy of many clubs in the Ridgeons Eastern Counties League. It may be a legacy from the days when the Blues played in the Southern League; it must be over a decade ago when evening games down to such places as Fareham and Newport, Isle of Wight were a regular feature on the fixture list. Crazy! The ground itself boasts cover on on all four sides with plenty of seating in the main stand next to the club house (reserved on this day for FA and Club officials) and in the long shelter opposite. There is also plenty of car parking space next to the ground with a large council-owned site close to the main entrance.
The club is situated in the centre of the historic Suffolk market town of Bury St. Edmunds, famed for its Abbey, Silver Spoon sugar plantation and of course the Greene King Brewery. It can easily be reached from the main A14 dual carriageway by coming off at the second exit for the town centre (next to the Beet Factory and large Tescos) into Compiegne Way. Turn left at the roundabout into Northgate Street and then left again at the traffic lights into Mustow Street. The ground/car park can be seen after taking the next left turn into Cotton Lane.
FGIF Rating: 3* | 