Saturday 15th December 2012 ko 15.00

FA Vase 3rd Round
SHILDON AFC 3 (McCabe 66 Owens 75 80)
PARKGATE 1 (Lee 8)

Att 157

Entry £7
Programme £1.50
Badge £3
Tea 80p

There’s something slightly unworldly about many Northern League grounds, a by-product of the North-East’s domination of the amateur game in the early part of the twentieth century. You’re just over the border from Teesside into County Durham here, the land of the Prince Bishops, appointed to the two roles as a bastion against Scottish incursions from the north. Shildon is the cradle of passenger steam railways too, the first passenger train drawn by steam was built here, and departed on the new Stockton & Darlington Railway. The trackbed is still there, now a footpath- I wonder whether you can walk the entire length?

That sense of history extends to the Dean Street football ground, nestled in amongst the terraced houses. It dates from early in the twentieth century and there’s still evidence of a long-lost cycle track, forming a neat parallel with my visit to the railway earlier. There’s one of the last Pagoda-style stands in existance too. Its been re-roofed, losing a little of the character it must have oozed in the 1950’s. I spent a good 30 minutes slowly walking around, taking pictures and sucking in the atmosphere of the place.

With the tie having been postponed previously both clubs were keen to get the tie staged, and played good passing football on an extremely heavy pitch. I was intrigued by the Rotherham-based Parkgate line-up, just 2 substitutes, and one was quickly promoted to start when an ankle was turned in the warm-up. With the Northern League’s reluctance to see any of its clubs promoted, they tend to domininate the Vase so I expected a straightforward Shildon win, against their visitors from the parallel Northern Counties East League. As usual, I was wrong, but I did predict the victors correctly!

From the outset Parkgate were penned back, but try as they might Shildon couldn’t make the pressure count. They looked narrow and without sufficient punch to beat Rob Poulter in the Parkgate goal. That said, Poulter did pull off a series of fine saves, but the situation became more worrying when Martyn Lee beat an offside trap set by a dawdling home defence, and a real surprise looked on the cards. It didn’t help that after half time, the temperature dropped and the rain lashed down. Hiding at the back of the stand I wondered how close I was to what it was like to be watching a game when my grandfather walked to Oxford United’s Manor Ground, the atmosphere took the breath away.

What swung the tie in Shildon’s favour was the introduction of Chris Hughes, with just over half an hour remaining. He gave the forward line width and freed up the burly figure of Jamie Owens to become an effective target man. Sadly, the other turning point was an error from the otherwise without parallel Rob Poulter. John Brackstone’s free kick was swung in from the right and under pressure Poulter fumbled. Centre half Chris McCabe was on hand to tap home with the greatest of ease. From there on in there was only going to be one result. Owens scored twice in 5 minutes, one a rifle home, the other a smart shot from the acutest of angles. He could have easily had a hat trick, Poulter denying him with his legs.

Poulter produced two further world-class saves in the dying minutes, but the rest of his team were well beyond finding a route back; in this wet field the effort didn’t pay, and it was Shildon today who will face a long trip to Bitton, near Bristol in the last 32. The romantic in me would hope that trip would be made by train.