AFC Sudbury v Winchester City
The FA Vase Final
St. Andrews, Birmingham
16 May 2004, 3pm

This Sunday’s final will be a particularly special occasion for one face in the crowd at Birmingham City FC.

Twenty-five years after winning The FA Vase with Billericay Town, Doug Young still holds the enviable record of being the only player to have scored a hat-trick in The Final.

Doug will be a guest of The FA at the final between AFC Sudbury and Winchester City at St. Andrew’s and says he is in two minds as to whether he would like to see his record matched or beaten.

But he admitted: "I have always got my memories and it would be nice for someone to have them as well."

Doug joined Billericay Town in 1977 after the club had won The FA Vase for a second consecutive season.

After Hoddesdon Town won the first FA Vase final in 1975, Billericay Town became a dominant force in the competition. They lifted the cup in 1976 by beating Stamford 1-0 aet and again in 1977 after winning the replay with Sheffield 2-1.

In Doug’s first season with the club, they were unable to retain the cup for a third time after being knocked out by eventual runners-up Barton Rovers.

However, Billericay Town bounced back from the disappointment to make it to the final in 1979 for the third time in four years.

For Doug, whose playing days were brought to an end through injury four years later, playing in The Final at Wembley in front of a crowd of 17,500 was to be the highlight of his career.

He recalled: "It was such a special occasion. I was fortunate not to have any nerves. I remember all the players who been in the final at Wembley before telling me to touch everything on the pitch.

"The actual game flew by. I got the first goal with a header in the 11th minute to put us 1-0 up. We scored another one just before half-time from a free-kick and they made it 2-1 just after half-time and put us under a lot of pressure.

"I scored again in the 65th minute with an overhead kick from a corner and managed to get a third one in the 86th minute.

"When I got the hat-trick, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I ran to the corner flag and stood there like an idiot – I was totally embarrassed!"

Doug admitted after the 4-1 win over Almondsbury Greenway that weeks earlier he had dreamt about scoring a hat-trick in the final.

He said: "It did seem a bit strange for it to actually happen. It was the first hat-trick scored in a cup final at Wembley since Geoff Hurst in 1966 so it’s something I am very proud of.

"I have always followed The FA Vase and, every year, I check to see whether my record still stands!

"I’m really looking forward to being at the final. I think it will be a very open game. All I would say to the players is make sure you enjoy it because it’s such a special occasion.

"And don’t finish the game with any regrets. I certainly didn’t come off the pitch with any!"

Thousands of supporters are expected to converge on St. Andrew’s after the turnstiles open at St. Andrew’s at 1.30pm.

Tickets for the final are priced £15 and £10 for adults, and £3 for under 16s and over 65s. Cash sales will be available from the ticket office and turnstiles.

Both sets of fans will be seated in the Spion Kop Stand, with AFC Sudbury supporters nearest to the Tilton Road End Stand, and Winchester City supporters nearest to the Railway End Stand.

The players and match officials will line up on the pitch before the 3pm kick-off to be presented to The FA officials, which will include The FA’s Chief Guest Kevin Ratcliffe.

The match officials will be referee Philip Crossley (London FA), assistant referees John Carter (Durham FA) and Peter Kirkup, and fourth official Michael Pike (Lancashire FA).

As well as being presented with The FA Vase, the winners will receive £15,000 in prize money, compared to the £5,000 awarded to Brigg Town last season.

The FA dramatically increased the total prize fund from £197,000 to £350,000, highlighting its continued support for this level of the game.