The FA Trophy, in partnership with Carlsberg
Semi-Finals


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First Legs
Saturday 27 March, 3.00pm

Aldershot Town           v             Hednesford Town                                  

Telford United              v             Canvey Island

 

Second leg

Saturday 03 April, 3pm

Hednesford Town        v            Aldershot Town            

Canvey Island             v            Telford United


The most successful side in the history of The FA Trophy, in partnership with Carlsberg, is just two games away from clinching non-League’s most prestigious silverware for a record fourth time.

Telford United are one of three clubs to have won the nation’s premier non-league cup competition three times, but have also twice finished runners-up.

 

They followed their FA Cup defeators Millwall into a prestigious semi-final with a 2-1 win over local rivals Shrewsbury Town.

 

Isthmian League Premier Division leaders Canvey Island now stand in Telford United’s way of reaching a historic sixth final in the season that the competition celebrates its 35th anniversary.

 

In a battle of former winners of The FA Trophy, the two sides will meet on Saturday (March 27) in the first of the two-legged semi-finals.

 

At stake is the chance to reach the final at Aston Villa FC and to be awarded the £50,000 in prize money that comes with clinching

The FA Trophy.

 

The other semi-final will be between Conference outfit Aldershot Town and Hednesford Town, from the Southern League Premier Division, with neither side ever having reached this stage of the competition before.

 

Telford United won The FA Trophy in 1971, 1983 and 1990, and finished runners-up in the first ever final in 1970 and in 1988.

 

Canvey Island proved that anything is possible in 2001 when they overcame the might of Conference side Forest Green Rovers.

 

The irony of Telford United and Millwall both reaching the Semi-Finals of their respective cup competitions is not lost on manager Mick Jones.

 

He said: ‘It was a fantastic win over Shrewsbury. It was a pulsating game from start to finish. I thought both teams were a massive credit to the Conference and to The FA Trophy.’

 

Having reached the final of The FA Trophy as manager of Kettering Town in 1979, Mick is relishing the chance to get there again – and, this time, win.

 

Kettering Town lost 2-0 to Stafford Rangers at Wembley in front of 32,000, which stood as the record attendance for an FA Trophy Final until 1991 when 34,842 watched Wycombe Wanderers beat Kidderminster Harriers.

 

Mick recalled: ‘It was my first job in management and I can remember every minute of it. Ron Atkinson told me not to forget the occasion because it would go so fast.’

 

He hopes his experience will help going into the semi-finals, but believes all the pressure will be on Telford United because of their record in the competition and because of Canvey Island’s league success this season.

 

He said: ‘No matter what anyone says, they are champions already. Anyone who can get so many points as they have at this stage of the season has got to be a good side.

 

‘When you get to the semi-finals, it’s anybody’s game and I believe any of the four teams can win it. Who would have thought that Yeovil Town could have been beaten by Burscough last season? That’s a stark warning for us.

 

‘At the moment I would say that Canvey Island are one of the top non-league clubs in the country and they will get nothing but total respect from. We have got to be on our toes and well-prepared.’

 

Canvey Island have already taken one Conference scalp to get to the semi-finals, beating Farnborough Town 6-0 in the Third Round.

 

Manager Jeff King said: ‘Obviously, it’s going to be a very hard game for us against Telford and they will be favourites.’

 

Both sides boast players with experience at a higher level of football and Canvey’s squad includes some eight players who won The FA Trophy three seasons ago.

They include Ben Chenery, who scored the winning goal, and John Kennedy, who was awarded Man of the Match.

 

Jeff said: ‘Of course we would like to get to the final again – it was a great occasion for everybody involved.

 

‘We will do our best and hopefully that will be good enough.’

 

Having lost twice before at this stage of The FA Trophy, Aldershot Town manager Terry Brown is hoping it will be third time lucky.

 

He said: ‘It’s the first time the club has got this far in The FA Trophy and winning it was one of the targets that we set the players at the start of the season.

‘I have lost in the semi-finals as a player with Slough against Dagenham and as a coach with Wokingham against Telford so I just think it’s third time lucky. I have felt the despair of losing in the Semi-Finals and I don’t want to feel that again.’

 

He believes winning The FA Trophy two seasons ago was the catalyst for Yeovil Town to gain promotion into the Football League and hopes Aldershot Town can mirror that success.

 

He has just signed Chris Giles and Jamie Gosling from Yeovil Town to bolster his squad ahead of the semi-finals. Chris scored in the Semi-Finals for Yeovil Town in 2002 and went on to pick up a winner’s medal.

 

Having been given a wake-up call by Blyth Spartans in the Fourth Round, Terry says Aldershot Town will not make the mistake of under-estimating Hednesford Town.

 

Terry said: ‘Blyth Spartans has been the hardest game for us. They murdered us and we nicked a 3-1 win. That was a massive win for us.

 

‘The game against Hednesford will be a totally different game for us. They are a big strong physical side and we are going to have to match them physically and then hope we have enough ammunition to hurt them up front.’

 

Hednesford Town’s manager Barry Powell has also experienced the despair of losing a major semi-final.

 

Barry said: ‘I played for Wolves against Leeds in the semi-final of The FA Cup in 1973 and we lost 1-0 so I know what it’s all about and what it takes.

 

‘You have got to be strong to survive a semi-final and it will be interesting to see how we go against a club that’s higher in League status. You have to be mentally strong as well as physically.’

 

Although Hednesford Town have enjoyed good runs in The FA Cup, they have only got as far as the Third Round in The FA Trophy before. Their record-breaking exploits in the competition have come in a season when they have struggled in the League.

 

Barry said: ‘I have got some good players that are capable of causing some shocks, but we have not quite fulfilled the potential in our League games. We have been good in the League on occasions but, as good as we have been, we have been as bad.’

 

Hednesford have played more games than any of the other Semi-Finalists to get this far. They came in to the competition at the First Round and have played a total of eight games, including two replays.

 

Barry said: ‘Aldershot are favourites and it will be nice to go in as underdogs and let’s see what we can do against a Conference side.

 

‘We are looking forward to it and it will be a tremendous occasion for everyone involved with the club. The first leg will be difficult down there, but we will be up for it and let’s hope we can come away with a decent result.’

 

Villa Park will host the final for the fourth consecutive season on Sunday 23 May, kick-off 4.05pm, and it will be shown like on Sky.

 

More than 14,000 supporters enjoyed last season’s final, regarded as the showpiece finale of the non-league calendar, between Burscough and Tamworth.

 

This is the second consecutive season that Carlsberg has been The FA’s presenting partner for The FA Trophy and forms an integral part of their support of football in this country.

 

Carlsberg is also The FA’s presenting partner for The FA Vase and The FA Sunday Cup, highlighting their commitment to non-League and grassroots football.