Following Saturday’s FA Vase replay at Ascot United, it emerged that Shildon AFC from the Northern League will stand between Tunbridge Wells and a first ever Wembley FA Vase Final against either Spennymoor or Guernsey.

“I’m really looking forward to the Semi-final game now we know who we have,” first team boss Martin Larkin told www.tunbridgewellsfc.co.uk. “Shildon are a big club with a strong tradition so we are going to be tested like we have not been tested before. That Second Leg is a long one away in Newcastle, but that’s what makes the Vase so special.”

Sitting in mid-table of the Northern League, but with plenty of games in hand on the teams around them, rather predictably our opponents are known as ‘The Railwaymen’. Shildon, located 13 miles to the north of Darlington, has a rich railway heritage and grew significantly after 1825 when the Stockton & Darlington Railway established its engine workshops there.

Built to connect several collieries around Shildon, those who mix an interest in football with railways will know that the Stockton & Darlington Railway was also the world’s first publically subscribed passenger railway, and that among the Shildon works’ most famous locomotives was Sans Pareil (‘Without Parallel’ in French), built by Timothy Hackworth. This steam engine took part in the Rainhill Trials, designed to select a locomotive builder for the nearly-completed Liverpool & Manchester Railway in 1829. 

Boasting a rich heritage of their own, you need to step back into the 1930s to find records of Shildon meeting other sides from Kent – namely Dartford at home in the FA Cup Second Round (1936/37) and then Bromley away (1937/38) in the FA Amateur Cup Quarter Final. These resulted in 0-3 and 1-4 defeats respectively.

Shildon AFC share with Tunbridge Wells in the fact that this is the first FA Vase Semi-Final they have played in. They reached the Quarter Final on one previous occasion when in Season 2009/10 they were beaten by Whitley Bay who were on the march to Wembley to win the second of their record four consecutive FA Vase crowns.

Having received a Bye in the First Qualifying Round of this year’s competition, Shildon began their Vase adventure in the Second Qualifying Round when they hosted, and beat Liversedge 3-2 at home, and the following shows the collision course these two sides have been on since:

Tunbridge Wells
Second Round: Wantage Town (h) 2-0
Third Round: Binfield (a) 2-1, aet
Fourth Round: Dunston UTS (h) 1-0
Fifth Round: Larkhall Athletic (a) 4-3, aet
Quarter Final: Hadleigh United (h) 2-0

Shildon AFC
2nd Qualifying: Liversedge (h) 3-2
First Round: South Shields (a) 3-2
Second Round: Consett AFC (a) 3-2
Third Round: Parkgate (h) 3-1
Fourth Round: Bitton AFC (a) 2-0
Fifth Round: Brantham Ath (a) 4-1
Quarter Final: Ascot United (h) 1-1, aet; Replay 4-1

Back in 1829, Sans Pareil was beaten to the £500 prize at the Rainhill Trials by George and Robert Stephenson’s ‘Rocket’, which was the only engine to complete the trials (although Sans Pareil offered a decent contest before cracking a cylinder - manufactured, ironically, by the Stephensons). The Stephensons ultimately won the contract to produce locomotives for the Liverpool & Manchester Railway.

Not entirely unlike those Rainhill Trials, it’s been a long and testing journey for both of these football clubs as they prepare to climb the final hill of the FA Vase that leads to Wembley. Will Tunbridge Wells keep up their head of steam to derail the hopes of another proud product of Shildon? According to Larkin, the crowd has its part to play to help get his side firing all cylinders. “We know that we are going to have to take advantage of being at home first, and the crowd will have a big part to play in that. The boys really responded to the crowd in the Quarter Finals, so now we want an even bigger gate to really get behind them.”

Having become only the third Kentish club to reach the Semi-Final stage of the FA Vase, we now get a little closer to knowing who stands between us and Wembley. The draw for the FA Vase Semi-Final has been made as follows:

First Leg (Saturday, 23 March)
Walsall Wood/Guernsey v Spennymoor
Tunbridge Wells v Ascot United/Shildon

Second Leg (Saturday, 30 March)
Spennymoor v Walsall Wood/Guernsey
Ascot United/Shildon v Tunbridge Wells

"I'm happy to be at home first," Martin Larkin told www.tunbridgewellsfc.co.uk once he'd come off air with talkSPORT, where the draw had been made live. "I prefer that as it means we can set the tone and then we have the Second Leg to score away goals in giving them less time to recover. Whoever we would have got was going to be tough.

"We now need to focus on important league games and a cup Semi Final (Kent Senior Trophy on Saturday at Culverden) before tackling the winners of Saturday's replay."

This is only Ascot United's third year in the FA Vase. In both of their previous campaigns they have not been past the Second Qualifying Round. Shildon, meanwhile, have been past the Third Round Proper just once before (excluding this season), when in 2009/10 Season they reached the Quarter Final, bowing out to eventual winner Whitley Bay. The two teams played out a 1-1 draw on Saturday with Shildon leaving it late before scoring in the 92nd minute to force extra time. The pair will replay next Saturday at Ascot.

The incredible FA Vase run continues! Only the two games of a two-leg Semi Final now stand between Tunbridge Wells FC and Wembley after Hadleigh United were beaten 2-0 at Culverden this afternoon. Andy Irvine scored twice to see The Wells safely through.

Making the occasion even more special was the raucous backing of the 1,180 crowd that eclipsed the previous club record of 967 (since reforming), and part of which is pictured by Steve Tervet crowding out the Culverden terrace here.

Congratulations to the entire team on this exceptional achievement, and to the support for turning out in such numbers!

Tunbridge Wells will now take their place in Monday’s FA Vase semi-final draw, due to be made at 3pm, live on talkSPORT (1089 or 1053 AM). Northern League outfit Spennymoor are also guaranteed a semi-final spot after winning 3-1 at home to Gornal. Walsall Wood and Guernsey (who played out a 0-0 draw after extra time) and Ascot United or Shildon (who drew 1-1 at Shildon after extra time) will replay next weekend to decide the other two semi-finallists.

The dates for the two semi-final games are Saturday March 23 and Saturday March 30. Keep them free in your diary, and in the meantime, keep spreading the word around town that there’s something great in the making at Culverden!

AND... Don't forget that next weekend, The Wells will be playing in another semi-final - this time the Kent Senior Trophy - against Erith & Belvedere. If this was your first time at Culverden and you enjoyed it, why not come back next weekend for another dose of Cup football and see if The Wells can set up a Cup Final with Lordswood?

In the lead up to Saturday’s big FA Vase Quarter Final match against Hadleigh United, www.tunbridgewellsfc.co.uk found a window in first team manager Martin Larkin’s busy schedule to pose some questions.


TWFC Web: What does it mean to Martin Larkin and the players to have got to the Quarter Finals of the Vase, and what’s the vibe around training been like this week?

ML: It’s a fantastic achievement to get to the final eight. No one has ever done that wearing a Tunbridge Wells shirt before, so the players are very proud of what they have achieved in the last few weeks. The flip side to that is you don’t get a medal for reaching the Quarter Finals, and we are desperate to win things as a group.

Training last night was fantastic! Everyone really upped their game as we are carrying a squad of 20 and obviously we only have 16 slots for the weekend - so everyone wants to be involved. The tempo in training was good and the atmosphere from after the game Saturday has certainly been carried back from Bath to Tunbridge Wells within the group.

TWFC Web: I’m guessing if you squint hard enough, you can see Wembley on the horizon by now… You must all be dreaming of what could be, in any case…

ML: To be honest Wembley is the carrot you dangle right from the very first game, but once match day comes around we are very focused on what needs to be done. You can’t just rely on the guys working hard because of the chance to play at Wembley is there. They need clear focus on the instructions given them to win those games ,and that’s what we will concentrate on in training this week.

TWFC Web: How do you expect your players to respond to the occasion on Saturday?

ML: With the right level of work-rate and desire that they bring every week. I then expect them to use the energy from the crowd to take those levels to a whole new level to ensure we can compete with what will be a very good Hadleigh side. We have always played well when the crowd really get into the game and I expect the same come Saturday.

TWFC Web: If the general chit-chat this week is correct, the club can expect local MPs, Mayors and several hundred additional people through the gate than usual. This Cup run is causing a stir in the town. What do you hope will be the lasting legacy for the club?

ML: An increase in crowd size for the league games is what we hope for. We are already the biggest club in the league and we want to regularly be playing in front of 250 each week, I have stressed to the club that we will never have a better chance to sell the club to the town than we do right now.

The players have been superb and we spoke about winning things as a group and leaving a legacy of being the best side the club has ever had. To do that we need to deliver for the next 2 months and pick up medals; if we can then the players will cement their legacy, but that will only be done if we consistently perform every week in the big games.

TWFC Web: And what is your message to the crowd for Saturday?

ML: To enjoy it! The players will certainly be enjoying the occasion so the fans need to also. The louder they can be and the more supportive they can be, the better it is for us. Home advantage in a Quarter Final is massive and we need to use it as much as possible. The support from the fans is something the players speak about a lot and we are looking forward to hearing them all on Saturday.

If you thought having the Vase holders coming to Culverden two weeks back was a big occasion, next Saturday will eclipse it! Hadleigh United of the Eastern Counties League will come to town.

WITH A PLACE IN THE SEMI-FINALS OF THE FA VASE AT STAKE, bring your friends, family and neighbours to Culverden to roar on The Wells.

Having broken the club record two weeks ago by getting to the Fifth Round of the FA Vase, Tunbridge Wells raised the bar again today, beating Western League outfit Larkhall Athletic 4-3 – After Extra Time - to reach the Quarter Finals.

Once again, Congratulations to Martin Larkin, Brad Sandeman and the team!!!

Falling behind to an early penalty, Josh Stanford levelled on the half-hour mark before Andy McMath picked a prime moment to score his 50^th goal for the club, putting the Wells 2-1 up two minutes before the break. Larkhall hit back from the penalty spot shortly after the break before taking the lead with 18 minutes left. Andy Irvine squared the scores at 3-3 after 80 minutes to set up extra time. Although reduced to 10 men with about 5 minutes remaining when McMath was sent off, and with thoughts turning to a replay next weekend in Kent, Jack Harris had other ideas for The Wells and hit a 120th minute winner to put The Wells into the LAST 8!

The Revised Draw for the FA Vase Quarter Final is:
Walsall Wood v Guernsey
Shildon v Ascot United
Spennymoor v Gornal
Tunbridge Wells v Hadleigh United