Lowestoft Town v Blackstones
The FA Carlsberg Vase
Fourth Round Proper
Saturday 19 January 2008

Lincolnshire side Blackstones needed a 90th penalty to get this far in The FA Vase and now they are another 90 minutes and a trip to Lowestoft away from reaching the last 16 of the competition for the first time.

Their Third Round triumph came in a closely fought game against Coleshill and goals from Phil Stebbing and Dan Cotton's late penalty secured a 2-1 win.

Blackstones' manager Tony Lowther is full of praise for Cotton and Stebbing, who have both been scoring well in the United Counties Premier Division too.

Stebbing joined the club after being released from Cambridge City and Lowther said: "He is an incredible player. He's got us about 15 penalties this season as his speed and short physique make him a very difficult player to mark.

"He's been struck by injury before but is having the best run of his Blackstone career now and has scored 17 goals in 16 games."

The club's recent success has been rewarded by increased support from local football fans with a packed bus expected on the two-hour coach journey to Lowestoft.

"The second round of The FA Vase is the furthest we've ever got, and we've grabbed the interest of the town," Lowther added. "We are receiving a lot of good wishes from locals and the support of fans of Stamford Town too. There is huge local awareness.

"We've only had one home tie this season and we would always prefer to play at home, but the team are in high spirits and are looking forward to it."

The Lincolnshire club, whose current squad age ranges from 18 to 38, have recently been celebrating a bit of club history, after Trevor Smith made a record 500th appearance for the club.

And they will be hoping to do better than the last time these two sides met - Lowestoft won a pre-season friendly 2-0 two years ago.