|
Kirkham & Wesham |
2-1 |
Lowestoft Town |
|
Matt Walwyn 84, 90 |
|
Phil Thompson 10 og |
The FA Carlsberg Vase
The Final
3pm, Sunday 11 May 2008
Wembley Stadium
Click here for this season's results
Winning club receives £20,000
Kirkham & Wesham manager Mick Fuller was in disbelief at his side’s dramatic late win in Sunday’s FA Carlsberg Vase Final.
“It's a fairytale,” a stunned Fuller told TheFA.com.
“You just can't write stories like this."
The match appeared to be slipping away from the Lancashire side, but Fuller changed the team’s formation and, with eleven minutes remaining, threw on 17-year-old striker Matt Walwyn in a last-ditch attempt to get back into the game.
The change worked perfectly as the youngster struck twice in the final six minutes to claim The FA Vase for Kirkham & Wesham.
“We messed around with the side a little when we were 1-0 down in the second half,” explained Fuller.
“We knew we had to do something different rather than make like-for-like changes and it paid off.
“I thought as the game progressed we were getting stronger but Lowestoft did cause us a few problems when they were pushing forward and they could have nicked a second goal. As an advert for football, I thought it was brilliant.”
Kirkham & Wesham were behind for most of the match, after Phil Thompson put through his own net in the tenth minute, and Fuller was pleased that moment didn’t end up costing them when the final whistle blew.
“He's tried to put it out for a corner and perhaps caught it wrong,” he added.
“It would have been a cruel blow for someone who's been outstanding this season so I'm pleased for Thommo that it didn't end up 1-0 because I don't think he'd have been too happy about it!”
Fuller was also quick to praise the man who made the difference, Matt Walwyn.
“The way he took his first goal was absolutely brilliant,” Fuller enthused.
“Talk about a finish! That was phenomenal!
“The second one was a little bit easier – he got into the right place at the right time and it just fell to him.
“I talk about Peter Pan and fairytales, but that lad’s living a dream at the moment.”
The Final at Wembley marked the end of a remarkable journey for Fuller and his team, who started the competition at the very beginning, at the First Round Qualifying stage. Ten rounds and eleven matches later, they are FA Vase winners.
“We set out on a journey to look at new challenges, to look at new teams from around the country, see how we compare and just go as far as we could and enjoy it," he admitted.
“As we started to edge a little bit closer we thought ‘this is achievable’. Two or three rounds ago the team started to believe we could win this and once you get to Wembley, you don’t want to lose, do you?
“At the final whistle, I just couldn’t believe it. Seven minutes before when I looked at the clock, we were 1-0 down. I just couldn’t believe that we’d turned it round.
“It’s been brilliant, absolutely brilliant!”