- 1


i 'lilli S p a n THEY’VE DONE IT! Butcher goal carves out Wembley route I C l i lh e r o e 2


M o n g o t s f i e ld U n i t ed 0 (after extra-time)


\ r Z \ r ‘: ' 2- , n ' ' aB'jreyate


I ; , ' '"OU 1 crowd a t Sh aw - dgo on S a tu rd a y saw th e


1)o!)k " H' ' C rewrite their history 1 lie Hines booked themselves a trip


o the most, famous football stadium m t lie world.


o f r 'a ^ 'M in n ' r ' 0 lockod ju s t before kick' i th,.ir -h °° ,fa" s crammo(l in to cheer


m l.uiLL from Clilheroe but that didn’t At around 5-30 p.m., when the whistle


anor. i1m ,bi ? Vn ,on. \hc final Period of extra- mit, Shawbridge erupted.


br UeS P°Urod 0,1 lo the Pitch t0 cele- Some of the players collapsed on to the delight'' ' 10 oU,ers raced around in Wembley was no longer just a dream.


niiti,er th? fT st IeS in Bristol when Clitheroe dominated without getting the


reward they deserved, the roles were reversed at Shawbridge as Mangotsfield


. threw everything they had at the Blues. Mangotsfield came with a plan — they


were going to stop Clitheroe playing. Striker Andy Perrett was left on the bench and Mark Madge came into a


rwfCmai? midfield which stifled oiitheroe s passing game. Clitheroe never really found their


rhythm as the Mangotsfield midfield, with Nigel Gillard particularly out­ standing, were first to the tackle as the Blues were left chasing shadows. The game opened at a furious pace as


both sides looked nervous in front of the big crowd.


I t was Gillard who produced the first effort at goal but his drive from the edge


of the box was well blocked by Neil Baron. One goal down from the first leg,


Clitheroe knew an early breakthrough was needed if they were to stand any chance of making it through. They got it with just 12 minutes on the


clock.


Clitheroe won a free-kick out on the left wing and Dennis Hill stepped up to fire it into the area.


Andy Taylor rose above the much big­


ger Mangotsfield defence to place a per­ fect header past Jason Matthews in goal. The nerves really set in after the goal as


Mangotsfield started to take control again. Clitheroe just couldn’t find the time or


the space to get their game into gear and they gave the ball away in midfield time and time again. But much of their success this season


has been built on solid defensive work, and the mettle of Rowbotham, Baron, Westwell and Lampkin was truly tested. Mangotsfield were kept at bay and only really threatened Clitheroe’s goal with a ball over the top from Thompson which was well gathered at the feet of the advancing strike force by Carlo Nash, and a long-shot from Gillard which flew high over the Clitheroe cross-bar. Despite the pressure and possession


Mangotsfield enjoyed, perhaps the best other chance of the half fell to Clitheroe. With eight minutes of the half left


Clitheroe produced a move which was more typical of the team we have seen


IT’S TIIIiRK! GARY Butcher fires home Clithcrne’s winner.


over the last couple of months. Taylor and Clive Dunn combined well


down the left to find Andy Rouine unmarked on the edge of the box but he pulled his shot well wide.


Clitheroe started the second-half a lit­


tle better with Dennis Hill threatening the Mangotsfield goal with two long- range efforts.


But Mangotsfield were soon back in the


groove and they started to work the ball around well. Stuart Minall began surging forward


down the left and with lone striker Matthew Rawlings working hard up front the Blues had their hands full. But time and again the Mangotsfield strike-force were thwarted by the Blues’


defence who kept keeper Nash well pro­ tected. The closest anyone came to breaking


the deadlock was when Rawlings had a close-range effort disallowed for off-side. With Clitheroe still struggling to find


their best form and the visitors frustrat­ ed by Clitheroe’s solid defence, extra­ time began to look inevitable. Clitheroe had made two substitutions


with Andy Darbyshire on for Rouine and Geoff Smith taking over at right- back from Rowbotham, who went off suffering from cramp after giving his all for 80 minutes.


As early as the second minute of extra­


time the Clitheroe defence was breached and Nash produced the first of two match-winning saves. Rawlings was through all on his own,


and with only Nash to beat he smashed it across the face of goal towards the far corner but Nash was down to it and his


finger-tip touch was enough to send it safely past the post. Good work from David Bright sent


Rawlings through again five minutes later but once again Nash produced a


brilliant stop to deny Mangotsfield the aggregate lead.


to be. It was Nash again who denied Rawlings


How valuable those saves would prove § v - v * : r „ - * ^


W ELL DONE! Clilheroe players swamp Gary Bulclier after Ills shot litis Hie back of (he net.


GOAL HERO BELIEVES BLUES WERE BETTER SIDE


GOAL hero Gary Bu tch e r said Clitheroe made it through the FA Vase


semi-final because they were the bet­ ter side.


“Over two legs we scored two goals and


they scored one,” he said. “When you’ve played 210 minutes of


football I think the best side has to be the winner.


W E ’R E GOING TO WEMHLEY! — Players and managers celebrate in (he Bints’ dressing room after the dramatic win.


“Denis and I wanted to put on a good performance for the crowd but in the end I think everybody was more than happy


to see us through, whatever the match was like. “We played them off the park down


there but it just didn’t seem to happen for us.


“When we were down to the last min­ utes of extra-time, I looked around the


team and wondered where the goal was coming from. We didn’t look as likely to score as they


did and I was beginning to think we would have to settle for a replay. Just before we got the winner I think


we d just begun to apply a little bit of pressure.


. The ball came to me on the right and I


PARTY T IME! Chairman Steve Rush and co-manger Denis Underwood celebrate with Blues’ fans after the game.


- n - ........................


just looked to play a one-two with Andy Taylor to try and get behind them. Andy played the ball back to me but had tracked my run.


« e


“In the end it was a bit of a fifty-fifty ball so I decided just to kick it through


towards the goal. “I t went through the defender as well


and it looked as if I had got quite a bit on it.


“I t went across the face of goal and I


saw the defender stick out his leg and in it went.


than anything else. “I t ’s very hard to say how you feel when


you score a goal like that. I t was just unbelievable.


“But there was still five minutes left, so


I thought lying there would kill a bit of time— an old pro’s trick! “When the final whistle went, we were mobbed by the fans, but I just wanted to get off the pitch and get some air. I was exhausted!


“It is a very big thing for the club and it should be a good day.


“The one thing we won’t have to worry about is the quality of the pitch — we


should be able to play our kind of foot­ ball.


“But between then and now we have 11 league games to play and I want us to win them all.


“If we do that we will only have eight points less than we did last year and that


would be a real achievement considering the start we had. “The players have a real incentive to


perform now, knowing that places for the team at Wembley are up for grabs.”


BLUES skipper Simon Westwell with Mangotsfield eaplain Dave Ewens, match offi- cials and the Mangotsfield mascot


A Are pleased to^p^CL^HER^ FOOTBALL CLUB” at Wembley on Sunday May 12th 1996 Are nleaserl tn snnnnrt “a i r u c o n r C A O T D A I I A 1 l i n t ) - i III___» » _ ___ . M


The Clitheroe m dvertiser and 1 imes


Always on the ball with the Blues! .......~...”


P - C n B i S H O P (Electrical)


I--------— ----------------------------- National Inspection


Council (or Electlcal Installation Contracting


Industrial, Commercial and Domestic Installation, Maintenance and Breakdown Road, Clitheroe * Telephone: (01200) 22789/25058 » Fax: (01200) 21720


APPROVED CONTRACTOR “I just lay there, more out of tiredness LEVEL! — Andy Taylor nods home Clillieroc’s first to equalise. p i ? m 3 m


six minutes into the second period of extra time when he was perfectly posi­ tioned behind a fierce long-range effort. With just nine minutes left and a replay looming Clitheroe finally got it right. Lampkin raced down the left flank and


crossed. The ball missed everybody in the area but was picked up by Gary Butcher on the right. He exchanged passes with Taylor and fired a shot in which was deflected past


the stranded Mangotsfield keeper and into the net. For a moment he lay outstretched on


the grass before half a dozen players leaped on him in celebration. The crowd really did go wild and the


Clitheroe bench joined in with the cele­ brations.


But it wasn’t over yet. Deep into injury time a long ball was


pumped into the Clitheroe box. Nash, for once, missed and it bounced agonis­


ingly around the area before being cleared to a huge collective sigh of relief. That relief was replaced by joy at the sound of the final whistle when the play­


ers were swamped as fans raced on to the pitch. The biggest day in the club’s history and


into the nightl C l ilh e ro e : Carlo N a sh , S iev e Lampkin,


Neil Rowbotham (G eof f Smith 7 8 ) , Neil B a ro n , S im o n W e s tw e l l , Andy R o u in e (Andy Darbyshire G2), Gury Butcher, Andy


Taylor, Chris Grimshaw, Clive Dunn (Jon Riley 9 7 ) , Dennis Hill. M ang otsf ie ld: J a so n M a t th ew s , Wayne


M o r r i s , S tu a r t M in n a l l , D av e Ewc’n s , R ich a rd T h om p son , Ga ry Taylor, Nigel" Gillard, Gary Hewlett, Matthew Rawlings,


Mark Madge (David Bright 7 8 (Andy P c r - retl 1 0 8 ) ) , Simon Winstone.


the biggest day in the lives of many of the players had ended in victory. No wonder the celebrations lasted well


nur side on lo a remarkable win. 'n;lyf'uit ''ovc been a vintage perfor-


Indescribable feeling as


match is won


INDESCRIBABLE! That was the only word Clitheroe FC Chairman Steve Rush could find to


sum-up his feelings at 5-30 p.m. on S a t - ' urday.


“At the final whistle I just stood and looked at the people swarming over the pitch, trying to spot Denis Underwood, Gary Butcher and Keith Lord,” he said. “People were slapping me on the back


and saying ’well done’ and 'congratula­ tions’ but I just couldn’t move.


It was just something I couldn’t ever


imagine happening at Shawbridge. The scenes were like a professional club when a championship has just been won. “For the club it more then makes up for the disappointment of not getting into


the UniBond League at the end of last season.


“We wouldn’t want to swap places with Bradford Park Avenue for anything now!” Things will be hectic at the club for the


next few weeks as officials work behind the scenes to organise travel for the play­ ers and supporters down to Wembley. Steve said: “We’ve got some ideas about what we want to do, but we have to go down to Wembley with Brigg Town offi­


cials next week so we should know more then. “There’s talk of us arranging a train for


supporters and a few other ideas but noth­ ing is arranged yet.


“John Robinson of J and Y Coaches had been co-opted onto the committee to help with the planning because he did such a ■ good job for us when we went down to Mangotsfield. “But just at the moment we are still up in


the air about getting to Wembley. “The last five minutes of the game seemed to last forever, but there are no


words to describe how we all felt when the final whistle went. “I never thought I ’d see us break the


crowd record like that. The gates were locked five minutes before the start and


people were hanging over the walls to get a view. “It just goes to show how much it meant


to an awful lot of people." Club officials are hoping to have some Carlsberg FA Vase tickets for sale at the club within the next couple of weeks. They are stressing that the club will be


the only outlet for tickets in the Lan­ cashire area.


,£5 and £18. News of ticket availability will appear


It is expected they will be priced between


here when the details have been finalised next week.


/ A •~cr © VASE


REPORTS: JUSTIN CONNOLLY PHOTOS: JOHN BARRY


i-.diUmal), 22:123 (Advertising), Burnley 422331 (Classijied) Clilheroe Advertiser & Times, March 2Sth, 1996 35


SHAWBRIDGE SPECIAL J.A.


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