By Garry Clarke
DREAMS do come true after Warrington Rylands 1906 won the Buildbase FA Vase at Wembley beating Binfield 3-2 on the next step of the club’s journey.
Backed with promotion to the Northern Premier League and now just one division below neighbours Warrington Town, club owner and well-known sports agent Paul Stretford sees it as the next step on the club’s journey.
It was a surreal experience for those who have been following Rylands, a team not so long ago which played their games in front of the proverbial one man and his dog, now playing at the National Stadium.
Teams like Rylands, a works team from Orford, do not generally get the chance to play at Wembley.
Their opponents Binfield, from a small village (population 8,000) in the Bracknell Forest probably thought much the same thing.
But play at Wembley they did, and what a treat they put on for their fans who had managed to secure a ticket to watch their team play in the flesh for the first time this year.
Cup finals are often dour affairs between two nervous teams not wanting to take any risks, however this one as anything but. Any jitters soon disappeared as play switched from end to end as control of an open and entertaining game ebbed and flowed between two teams committed to attack.
The destination of the Vase came down to a shoot-out between two goal-hungry centre forwards.
In the blue corner Elliot Nevitt, in the red Liam Ferdinand.
Nevitt struck first in the 24th minute volleying home from close range, Ferdinand leveled with a header three minutes before halftime but Nevitt restored his sides lead a minute later from the penalty spot. After the break Nevitt doubled Rylands advantage in the 58th minute with a powerful header before Ferdinand scored again in the 66th minute to set up a nervy finale.
Named man of the match Nevitt, who scored the winner in the FA Sunday Cup Final a week earlier, and his teammates managed to hold out to bring the FA Vase back to Warrington for the first time in the competition’s history.
In fact it is the first time any Warrington team of the round ball variety has won a major national football competition.
Lifting the Vase was the culmination of probably the most significant week in the club’s 115-year history as earlier in the week their elevation to the Northern Premier League was confirmed as part of the FA’s league restructure.
While for many winning a cup final at Wembley is the culmination of a dream for Warrington Rylands 1906 it is just the first step on the next stage of their journey.
Stretford, who has spent the past 3-4 years making the club “fit for purpose” to enter the national league system in the Northern Premier League praised the fantastic achievements of his management team Dave McNabb and Fraser Ablett and those who had stepped out across the whitewash.
In a recent interview with the BBC he said: “We have an exceptional group of players on board and great spirit.
“When we started this journey we set out ambitious plans for getting into the national league structure. With the first stage now completed it is the beginning of the next journey.”
Describing Warrington as a footballing town, with one of the biggest junior league setups in the country, Stretford praised the work of neighbours Warrington Town for flying the flag for football in the town and was looking forward to a future derby, with capacity for two teams to be supported in it.
“If we get promotion it means we have completed the next stage of the journey and can look forward to a derby. Of course that could happen if Warrington Town gets relegated – but I would rather us get promoted,” he said.
For more pictures from Mark Percy – Click Here
🎬 We really enjoyed this compilation of Rylands’ fans young and old alike enjoying a memorable day out at Wembley 🏟🏆 pic.twitter.com/j92aaDoyH2
— Warrington Rylands FC (@RylandsFC) May 23, 2021
Nevitt is the hat-trick hero as Warrington Rylands lift FA Vase in Wembley thriller
