Wellington v Friar Lane & Epworth
The FA Carlsberg Vase
Second Round Proper
3pm, Saturday 17 November 2007
Wellington Playing Field, Wellington FC
Winning clubs receive £1,000
There was a time when Friar Lane was a name to be reckoned with in amateur football. In the mid-1970's - they even made two appearances at the Semi Final stage of The FA Vase.
However, hard times have since fallen upon the Leicestershire side, and they have now merged with local side Epworth Forest.
Friar Lane and Epworth manager Alan Brett is hoping that the bond between his young side can help bring back some joy back to the Midland Alliance club, as they prepare to take on Wellington of the West Midlands Regional League on Saturday.
"This is as far as we've been in The Vase for a while," said Brett.
"We're very excited about the game. This club's got a bit of history with The Vase.
"There are a lot of very, very good sides left in the competition so we've got to be realistic, but we're going to enjoy ourselves."
With finances tight at the club, many of the players have come through the youth ranks at both Friar Lane and Epworth, so Brett believes that is the underlying strength in his squad.
"They are all like a unit, they're a bunch of special lads to me," enthused Brett.
"Six or seven of them all came through together. They're very good players and a lot have been tempted to move for better money. Luckily for us, they're such a close knit unit and they're also good pals.
"We've just got to hope that we can keep them all together for another three or four years for when they reach their peak."