Non League Finals Day
Non-League Finals Day returned to Wembley Stadium on Sunday 20th May and here we have a look at the four teams taking part!
Over 31,000 fans were present to see Bromley lose on penalties to Brackley Town in the Trophy Final and before that Thatcham Town saw off Stockton Town 1-0 in the Vase Final.
Lets have a closer look at all four teams and how they got there.
The Road to the Finals
Bromley reached Wembley for the first time in 69 years after travelling 3142 miles up and down the country for their 5 games on route to the FA Trophy Final. The National League side finished 9th in the table just outside the play-offs and come from the South London / North Kent borders. Their manager Neil Smith is a local lad who went to school opposite the ground and will have immense pride when leading the Ravens out underneath the arch. Here is their route to the Final….
SF – Gateshead 4-3 on Agg
QF – Spennymoor 0-0, 2-1
R3 – Workington 1-1, 7-1
R2 – Blyth Spartans 4-1
R1 – Hartley Witney 2-0
Brackley Town will be making the trip to Wembley for the very first time when they line up against Bromley after completing a comfortable double victory in the semi finals against Wealdstone. The Northamptonshire side are just about Northern enough to play in the National League North and finished in 3rd position. Last week they lost in the play-off Final to Harrogate. Their manager is Kevin Wilkin and they play at a ground called St James Park. They had to come through a qualifying round to get this far and here is their progress….
SF – Wealdstone 3-0
QF – Stockport 1-1, 2-1
R3 – Sutton United 3-1
R2 – Barrow 2-0
R1 – Braintree Town 0-0, 2-0
Q3 – Salford City 4-0
For those interested the current betting odds for the game are (Skybet) Bromley 8/15 and Brackley Town 11/8
The Bromley supporters will be located in the stands immediately to the right of the players as they come out of the tunnel with the Brackley fans to the left.
For tickets click through to the FA website here
The FA Vase is for clubs at Steps 5 and lower and this year the finalists are Thatcham Town and Stockton Town.
Thatcham Town are based near Newbury in Berkshire and play in the Hellenic League where they gained entry to Step 4 by winning the title. They are managed by Danny Robinson and play at a ground called Waterside Park. This is their route to the final….
SF – 1874 Northwich 4-2 on Agg
QF – Melksham Town FC 1-0
R5 – Bromsgrove Sporting 2-1
R4 – Biggleswade FC 2-1
R3 – Sevenoaks Town 3-1
R2 – Broadbridge Heath 8-2
R1 – Horsham YMCA 2-1
Stockton Town come from Stockton-On-Tees near Middlesbrough and play in the Step 5 Northern League Division 1 and finished in 6th place. This will be the Anchors first trip to Wembley and they were aided on their journey there by being able to play both of their Semi-Final legs on their own 3g pitch due to their opponents having a waterlogged pitch. This is how they made it through….
SF – Marske United 4-1 on Agg
QF – Windsor FC 2-0
R5 – Stourport Swifts 3-0
R4 – West Auckland 2-1
R3 – City of Liverpool 1-0
R2 – Bootle 4-2
R1 – Whickham FC 2-0
A look at the betting shows that this is expected to be a close game with Stockton favourites at 4/6 and Thatcham Town at 6/5.
The Thatcham Town fans will be placed in the far right corner of the stadium as the players come out of the tunnel, with Stockton to the far right.The ticket entitles holders to stay for both games.
For tickets click through to the FA website here
Kick-Off time is 12:15 and it will be shown on BT Sport.
Good Luck to all teams involved!
