FA Vase Quarter-Final: Whitstable Town vs. Whitchurch Alport
The FA Vase has reached the latter stages, and the quarter-final draw saw the side we are currently following, Whitstable Town, drawn at home to Whitchurch Alport. Before returning to the Kent coast, Steve Sharman spoke to Whitchurch Alport manager Adam Shillcock about the impending battle of ‘whits’ between two sides with plenty left to play for this season.
When I started this adventure, it was supposed to be about groundhopping. I had this somewhat naively romantic idea that every round would take me to a new place, and a new ground. That I’d rest my arms on different pitch side barriers and absorb different histories, warm my cold hands on different cups of tea and hear different stories. A more middle-aged, family- and budget-friendly journey to satisfy a never-ending football-based wanderlust.
The idealistic notion that I’d venture further north than Watford Gap or further west than Stonehenge disappeared into a Culverden Stadium-shaped hole when the team we were following, Tunbridge Wells, were drawn at home for the fourth consecutive round. As much as I hold a natural affinity for Tunbridge Wells the town – having lived there for a few years – and as much as the trips to the stadium were fun, I wasn’t keen to keep returning to the same place. I wanted to explore. I didn’t like the idea of going back anywhere.
I have to admit now that this has changed. After watching Whitstable overcome a battling Fleet Town side in a tense fifth-round tie, I tuned in to the quarter-final draw with a great deal of interest. I confess I was genuinely delighted when Stuart Pearce plunged his hand into the magical velvet sack of balls and sent me back to the Kent coast.
You see, sometimes, football just gives you a connection. As Julian Casablancas once said – it’s “Hard to Explain“. Perhaps it was the day down here I spent with my kids eating fish and chips on the beach, perhaps it was finally watching a game under clear blue skies after a seemingly never-ending winter, or perhaps it was seeing what it meant to the 1,200 fans squeezed into the Belmont Ground. Whatever it was, whatever it is, I’m happy to be coming back.
Back Beside the Seaside
Whitstable is a great place to watch football – and has been for well over 125 years, following the club’s formation in 1886. Since the turn of the century, the Oystermen have experienced a taste of football at a higher level, having spent nine seasons in the Isthmian League South between the 07/08 and 15/16 seasons, and four seasons in the Isthmian South-East between 18/19 and 21/22. There’s also some cracking flag action – ‘Cockles, Mussels and the Oysters’ rivals Maldon & Tiptree’s ‘World famous sea salt, you’ll never sing that’ as my favourite non-league flag this season.
Since the last round, the fixtures have been coming thick and fast for Whitstable, who have been in excellent form. After sinking Fleet, The Oysterman won four consecutive league games – 2-1 at promotion rivals Fisher Athletic, 4-0 at home to Tunbridge Wells, 3-1 against relegation-threatened Snodland Town, and 2-0 at Bearsted. A run of wins that, coming into the game today, has pushed the side from the Belmont Ground to within striking distance of the play-off spots, with games in hand on those above them. Whitstable have also progressed in the Kent Senior Trophy following a 3-0 win at Stansfeld.
We often hear the cliches trotted out by commentators and pundits that a cup exit can leave a side ‘free to concentrate on the league’, implying that cup runs are nothing more than a distraction from most clubs’ ultimate goal – league success. However, so far this season, Whitstable are showing that it is possible to compete on multiple fronts; winning is a habit and winning games and scoring goals breeds confidence – something that is clearly flowing through this side – and the FA Vase has become something a lot more significant than a mere distraction.
Dreams of Our Own: Whitchurch Alport
Standing in the way of The Oystermen’s charge to Wembley are Midland League side Whitchurch Alport.
Based in Whitchurch – the oldest continuously inhabited town in Shropshire, that is home to around 10,000 people and over 100 listed buildings – Alport were formed in 1946 and play their home games at Yockings Park. Alport currently compete in the Capelli Sport Midland League Premier Division, having moved from the North-West Counties League following the Covid-impacted seasons of 2019/20 and 20/21.
Alport come into this FA Vase quarter-final in sixth place in the league, just outside the play-off positions and on a mixed run of form. Following the fifth round win at North Shields , Alport won three away games on the bounce – 1-0 at Shawbury United in the TJ Vickers Premier Challenge Cup, followed by league wins at Stone Old Alleynians (3-0) and Studley (3-1). However, Alport were brought back to earth with a bump, losing 3-0 at AFC Wulfrunians in the Midland Football League Cup, then 4-2 at home to 1874 Northwich in the league.
Today’s quarter-final equals Whitchurch Alport’s best-ever run in the FA Vase. The Shropshire side also made this stage in the 2021/22 season, before losing 2-1 at home to Newport Pagnell Town. This season’s run saw Alport enter at the second round, where they won 4-2 on penalties following a 2-2 draw at Coalville Town. The third round saw a 3-1 victory at home to last year’s semi-finalists Lincoln United before Clay Cross Town were resoundingly thumped 5-1 in the fourth round. Alport were handed a tough fifth-round draw at North Shields, but came away with a battling 2-1 victory to earn a quarter-final in Kent.
To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time Whitchurch Alport and Whitstable Town have met in a competitive fixture.
EDIT: You can read about the North Shields v Whitchurch Alport game here, in Hopper Tales #128.
Thoughts of a Manager
Ahead of the quarter-final tie, Whitchurch Alport manager Adam Shillcock is kind enough to find time between his day job and an Alport training session to chat with us about the team, the Vase run so far, and his thoughts on the upcoming clash.
Shillcock – more than generous with his time and happy to talk to me about his team – has been involved in Whitchurch Alport in different capacities for about six years, and has been first team manager since October 2023. Prior to this role, he had been the assistant manager but left to take up the top job at local rivals Market Drayton FC. But, when the opportunity to manage Alport came up, he had to take it – as he describes it, he ‘came home’.
Multiple injuries to the same right leg – broken bones and snapped ACLs – curtailed his playing career prematurely and led to a step into coaching. Having only been in charge for around 100 games as a manager, Shillcock still considers himself to be very much in the early stages of his managerial journey.
Despite the fledgling stages of his career, Shillcock has a clear plan for his team. His main aim is to progress the club through the pyramid, up to at least step four. He has a two to three-year plan to achieve promotion, and feels his young charges are ahead of schedule. For this season, the manager wanted his side to be competitive in the league – at the time of the interview, Alport are currently sixth (so in the play-offs with games in hand), have made the County Cup final, and lost in a League Cup semi-final.
Alport have a very young squad – most matchday squads this season have had an average age of around 20 to 21 years of age. The squad is almost all local lads; Shillcock and his team try to recruit from within Shropshire, and most live within 30 minutes of the ground – something of a Salop Athletic Bilbao. They like players to be invested in the club, to buy into his ethos. In return, Shillcock feels a responsibility to help his players grow within the club and within the game, and plans to build a core group that can stay together and move as a group to new levels.
On the Road to Wembley?
When asked what part of this season’s Vase run has been most pleasing, Shillcock pauses before letting out a deep breath, as if picking just one moment is a challenge. The manager points out that Alport were handed a tough opening draw against Coalville Town, who are previous Vase finalists, were playing in the Southern League Premier Division Central just last season, and reached the FA Trophy Quarter-Finals before resigning from the league and dropping down three steps.
Progress from that tie is obviously a source of pride for Shillcock but in terms of overall team performance, the 5-1 win at Clay Cross is highlighted as a very pleasing result, as was the victory at previous Vase winners North Shields, who Shillcock describes as ‘massive players – giants compared to our young squad’. The overriding sentiment is that he is very proud of how they have travelled, and feels that his team have done well on the road, which is good because it’s the best part of a five-hour drive down to Whitstable!
When I ask him what it would mean to the club to get to Wembley, he has no hesitation in exclaiming ‘Oh, it would be HUGE’. The sense of almost paternal pride Shillcock has is clear to see, and he admits he sees himself as something of a father figure to the young players.
The consequences of a run like this is and the impact such a result would have on his young team is not lost on Shillcock: ‘It’s about making memories and leaving legacies; I want to give them stories to tell their kids, to tell their grandkids – the ‘I was there in the semi-final, I was there at Wembley’- those moments. Making memories across generations.
And that’s the heart of the matter, right there. Making memories. Leaving legacies. This is what football is all about.
Matchday Excitement
The week has dragged on forever, and now Saturday is finally here. I’m not sure if it’s the fact Wembley is in touching distance, the sound of AC/DC’s Whole Lotta Rosie blasting out my speakers, or the fact I managed to drink an entire cup of tea from my travel mug and not spill a single drop on my light grey hoodie that has got me all cock-a-hoop, but today I’m even more excited than usual.
As I zoom down the M2 in the bright sunshine in my brown corduroy bomber jacket and reflective aviators I feel marginally like Tom Cruise, if you can imagine that a bonafide A-List movie megastar buys his clothes second-hand from Vinted and that a beat up silver Vauxhall Corsa in any way bears resemblance to an F-14 fighter jet.
Whitstable are expecting a bumper crowd of around 2000 today, and when I land in the Belmont Ground at 14:20, it’s already packed, with a small portion of the ground enjoying the metallic twanging of a steel pan band. It’s a beautiful day, and the bars and food stands are already struggling. The cues are large and the 18-minute wait for a cheeseburger means that by the time kick-off comes around, it’s hard to find a place to stand as the crowds are two to three people deep around most of the pitch. I make my way around the perimeter to the sounds of Dire Straits’ Walk of Life, almost bumping into a Whitstable substitute who ambles out of the changing rooms, casually munching on a packet of ready-salted Walkers crisps.
The home side lineup in their customary all-red strip, whilst the away team, who travelled down last night to optimise preparation, wear an all-yellow kit with dark trim. The visitors settle first and take the lead barely ten minutes in, with forward Callum Knowles taking advantage of the home defence waiting for an offside flag that doesn’t come to open the scoring. Minutes later, the lively Harry Bower takes advantage of a mistake from Whitstable player-manager Jamie Coyle, whose header back to keeper Dan Colmer falls short, to double Alport’s lead. It’s a blistering start, and the visitors are swarming all over their hosts and look much the better side; Whitstable need to get a foothold in the game before the tie gets away from them.
The home side get the lifeline they need after 20 minutes, when Alport fail to deal with a long ball and fan favourite Ronald Sithole strides through the visitors’ defence before finding the net with a thumping right foot finish, the ball dipping into the far corner past the Alport keeper’s outstretched glove.
Shillcock is animated in the technical area, and Whitstable are right back in this. On the pitch, it’s all action; the home side are seeing lots of the ball but Alport are quick, strong, and physical and carry a constant threat. Whitstable midfielder Connor Wilkins crashes a shot off the crossbar, and there’s a short delay as the headmaster-esque PA announcement reprimands fans for chucking plastic bottles onto the pitch in the visitors’ goalmouth, before an off-the-ball clash results in a yellow card for each side.
Alport move the ball quickly – quick throws, quick distribution from the keeper – which keeps the game flowing and rarely allows the home side to settle, and the action only relents when the referee blows for half-time. After a lightning start from Alport, Whitstable have done well first to hold on, and then to haul themselves back into the game. There is all to play for in the second half; it might be a cliche, but at 1-2, the next goal is crucial.
The second half starts and the first 15 minutes are a bit niggly, but the longer the game goes on, the more Whitstable press for the elusive equaliser. The pressure eventually tells when, with about 20 minutes to go, a ball over the top entices Alport keeper Jack Sheward out of his area, but Whitstable striker Nathan Jeche gets to the ball first, leaving the visiting stopper in no-man’s land. The forward calmly strokes the ball into the empty net to level the scores at 2-2.
It’s lively now on and off the pitch, and as we go into the last ten, the momentum is all with Whitstable. Alport are holding on a bit, but the drama is yet to come. With seconds left on the clock, home captain Jake McIntyre bursts into the Alport penalty area, and is brought down; the ref points to the spot – penalty to Whitstable!
What a chance to win the game!
Substitute Harvey Smith shoulders the huge responsibility of taking the spot kick. The masses at the Gasworks End hold their collective breath as Smith waits patiently, before striking the ball low and hard with his right foot towards the bottom left corner, but it’s saved!!
The danger is not clear, though. The ball ricochets off the keeper’s arm and squirms back across the six-yard box, where Smith is alert enough to react first and gratefully tuck the rebound into the back of the net, to give Whitstable the lead for the first time in the match.
To add to the drama, the fourth official indicates eight minutes of added time. No one is leaving early, no one can take their eyes off the pitch. The minutes, the seconds, count down, but there’s still time for a red card for Alport’s Harry Bower, who started the game so well, for a second yellow after a cynical foul to stop a Whitstable breakaway as the visitors desperately press for an equaliser. The ref finally blows his whistle to bring this pulsating cup-tie to an end, leaving Whitstable to claim a famous 3-2 victory.
What. A. Finish.
The final whistle sparks pandemonium on and off the pitch. What a game, what a club, what a superb advert for this competition and for wider non-league football. The match was watched by a crowd of 2,656 – the highest ever attendance recorded at The Belmont Ground, beating the previous record of 2,500 from back in 1987.
There are tears for the Whitchurch Alport players, whilst flares erupt in the stand behind the goal, filling the air with red smoke. Players from both teams are an absolute credit to their clubs; they have given it their all, and look absolutely shattered. Bodies are scattered over the pitch as players sink to their knees, some in joy, some in despair.
As they drag themselves back to their feet – some excitedly, some reluctantly – players from both sides hug family and friends over the pitchside fence, seeking both celebration and commiseration. The elation of the Whitstable players contrasts sharply with the heartbreak of Alport.
The Whitstable fans are absolutely over the moon. There are lots of songs about Wembley, and why not? The Oystermen are now just 180 minutes away from the biggest game in their long history.
I find myself grinning like a Cheshire cat. Maybe it’s the heady combination of sea air, the sulphuric smell of the smoke from the flares, and the infectious optimism and fervent support of the Whitstable faithful that are filling my head and my heart.
Whatever it is.
Whatever this feeling is.
I’m starting to believe it’s Whitstable’s year.
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