Merstham v Needham Market
The FA Carlsberg Vase
Sixth Round Proper
Saturday 1 March 2008

Wembley Stadium is on the horizon for the clubs that have reached this Saturday’s FA Vase Quarter Finals but, for Merstham, they’ve already come face-to-face with the big prize.

Monday morning saw the Vase trophy drop in at the Surrey side’s Moatside Ground before heading over to nearby primary school, Furzefield, where the children put their Premier League loyalties to one side to support their local club.

The Monday lunchtime shopping rush also got involved with The FA Vase roadshow, concluding at Redhill’s Belfry Shopping Centre where club chairman, Ted Hickman, rallied round for support ahead of this weekend’s crunch game against Needham Market. 


To call Merstham's journey through this season's FA Vase a roller-coaster would be something of an understatement.

After coming from two goals down in both the third and fourth rounds, the Combined Counties League leaders achieved the feat twice in the last round against Consett.

They trailed two-nil and four-two before eventually winning 5-4 in extra time.

Manager Mick Sullivan is now eagerly awaiting his team playing Ridgeon's League Premier Division side Needham Market on Saturday for a place in the last four.

He is understandably proud of the way his team have fought back throughout the competition so far.

"The players never say it's finished 'til it's finished," Sullivan said. "It shows the spirit within the camp."

However, Sullivan does admit that he would like to have a less stressful afternoon this time. "I hope the players can win a game without putting me through 90 minutes of biting my nails," he said.

His luck might be out on that front, though, as he expects another tight game.

"It's very even looking between the clubs," Sullivan explained. "We're very similar sized; we've both been on long unbeaten runs; and we've both lost only once in the league."

Despite chasing silverware on several fronts, there's no doubt about the Surrey club's priority.

"There's nothing more important than the Vase," said Sullivan. "We're focused on it."

Merstham had never been beyond the fourth round before this year, but Sullivan knows his team can go further. "If we go out at this stage we've still done well, but we want to go as far as we can.

"A lot of the other teams in the competition have more history than we have. I just hope we can do it for the smaller clubs."