Hillingdon Borough 2-1 Bury Town (Hillingdon win 3-2 on aggregate)
Nantwich Town 4-0 Cammell Laird (Nantwich win 5-0 on aggregate)
The FA Vase in partnership with Carlsberg
Semi-Final Second Leg
Winning clubs receive £6,000




Hillingdon Borough of the Spartan South Midlands League will play Nantwich Town of the North West Counties League in this season’s FA Vase Final.

The Final will be played at St Andrews, home of Birmingham City FC, on Saturday, 6 May at 3.00 p.m.

Hillingdon booked their Final place, and an appearance at one of the top Premiership grounds, with a 2-1 win after extra-time over Bury Town at Middlesex Stadium yesterday afternoon.

After a 1-1 draw in the first leg at Bury, Hillingdon went through 3-2 on aggregate. It is a major achievement for a club that was re-formed in 1990 and had no previous form in the Vase competition.

The old “Hillingdon Borough”, who played at Leas Stadium, played in the 1971 FA Trophy Final at Wembley but folded in the late 1980s.

Cheered on by a crowd of 723, more than ten times their usual gate, the Spartan South Midlands League third-placers were overwhelmed by a Bury Town side who were intent on attack in the first half.

Nearly all of the play was in Hillingdon’s half and they had to rely on centre-backs Matt Kidson and Chris Phillips, who were immense throughout, to keep the Suffolk raiders out.

On a typical April afternoon of sunshine and heavy showers the home side shocked their opponents by taking the lead six minutes from the break.

Dave Lawrence, always lively up front, flicked the ball into the goalmouth from the right and Danny Tilbury thumped in a left-footed volley that gave ‘keeper Paul Barber no chance.

Bury Town, the fourth oldest club in the country, must have been bemused that they were behind at half-time after dominating so much of the game.

The second half was a more even affair, with chances at both ends, and Hillingdon looked like holding onto their slim lead with less than five minutes of normal time to go.

Ben Harris had just made a couple of super saves before a scramble in front of Hillingdon’s goal led to a free-kick a yard or two outside the box in a central position.

There was a huge defensive “wall” in place, which took a long time to assemble, but substitute Daniel Thrower still managed to curl his shot into the unguarded right-hand corner for an 87th-minute equaliser.

The momentum may have been with the visitors but most of their players were on the ground as they prepared for the additional half-hour, whereas Hillingdon’s players remained on their feet.

There was some steely determination in the home side’s play as extra-time began and within a couple of minutes they had scored the goal that ultimately earned them a Final spot.

Nick Rundell, who had a near faultless game at left-back, knocked a corner into a crowded goalmouth and the ball dribbled into the net after a player from each side had swung a foot at it and missed.

It only just crept inside the far post but the Bury lads, visibly tiring after all their efforts, must have known the game was up. Hillingdon players went crazy at the end, jumping for joy in the centre-circle.

"It wasn't the greatest game but we battled hard. Ultimately we got value for what we put into the tie," said an emotional manager Steve Ringrose. "They put us under a lot of pressure, but our defence did ever so well dealing with their threat."

Ringrose said his team had worked hard in the week on their set piece play assisted by former Chelsea and England midfielder Dennis Wise and that ultimately the hard work had paid off.

"It's a great achievement for the club and really puts us back on the map. Words can't describe how we're all feeling right now."

At St Andrews they will meet Nantwich Town, who followed up last week’s 1-0 win at Cammell Laird, whom they trail by several places in the North West Counties League, with an emphatic 4-0 victory in yesterday afternoon’s second leg at Jackson Avenue.