Play-Off Semi-Finals Night

I guess this is it then. We are now just hours away from probably one of the biggest games you will ever have seen Chesham United play. No longer can we look to a Romulus or Malvern Town to give us another chance, it's all about tonight and whether the season extends to Saturday's final or not.

"Tonight's game typifies why we are all involved in football, Managers, Players and Supporters alike" observes manager Andy Leese. "We have given ourselves a chance to progress after a long hard season, and with very few prizes to go around at any level of football, it is fantastic that we have the opportunity to do that. It is a Cup tie in reality, and there will be a cup tie atmosphere given the anticipated crowd."

It's cup football with a difference; the prize for winning the next two games is massive, it's not about a trophy for the cabinet, it's about where and what level of football we will be watching for the next 12 months. We have seen some stunning performances, and results, away to supposedly superior teams this season, and make no mistake, Nuneaton Town are massive favourites for this game.
Let's not forget we have already beaten 2 Conference South teams (Weston-Super-Mare and Maidenhead Utd), the Southern Premier Champions (Corby), the Southern League South-West Champions (Truro) and also, memorably, Nuneaton Town on their own turf just a few weeks ago...in other words, we are not there just to make up the numbers.

Andy Leese's record in games as the underdog is highly impressive, not just since arriving at Chesham, but whilst at Potters Bar Town too. A fact not overlooked by Andy: "We have shown ourselves to be a decent side in the one off games this season, and the key to that has been our preparation. We know what to expect tonight, but I guess Nuneaton will say the same. Their Management team is experienced, and we had a good look at each other in the League game a couple of weeks ago. They have a great set up off the field and some very experienced quality players. We will go in as underdogs, given the respective League positions, but that suits us as it has done many times over the last couple of seasons. The squad is in great spirits after the weekend, and they are mentally prepared for a one off game. We will leave nothing to chance, and we should have everyone available for selection. Leon Archer is the only doubt at present, and we will decide on him when we arrive tonight."

However, let's not get carried away here. Nuneaton did finish the season 16 points better off than us and, give or take a slight name change and a few people left short changed from money owed to them, they are pretty much the same club as that finished 7th in Conference North last year.

As Andy says: "Our support has been magnificent this season, and we hope that continues tonight. The players respond to the backing you give us, and I am sure you will respond to the occasion tonight. See you in Nuneaton! "

We Did It!

The unimaginable ups and downs of the season continued right up to the very last minute of this most dramatic of seasons...which now goes into overtime with a play-off semi-final at Nuneaton Town.

If you had sent this script to a publisher it would have been returned marked "good, but the end is just silly". Where do I begin in explaining the emotions that had me feeling physically sick throughout much of Saturday afternoon? How do you even begin to contemplate the fact that we have reached the play-offs by getting two points and one goal in our last three games of the season?

Remember the scenario? Bury Town were at bottom of the table Malvern Town, the league's whipping boys. Assuming that the Suffolk side picked up the three easy points Chesham simply had to win against mid-table Bromsgrove Rovers.

It started badly. First Chesham went a goal behind, and then word got through that Bury Town had gone 1-0 up at Malvern. The wheels had well and truly come off our season.

Chesham were creating chances, Burnell might have had a hat-trick by the break, but it wasn't happening. After the break Dom Marsala hit the post, but Bromsgrove still threatened on the break. I imagined that Bury were half way to a cricket score at Malvern, contemplating a declaration...I didn't want to know. Chesham had to score two goals.

A reckless challenge by substitute Josh Cooper left the referee with little choice other than to show the red card. Chesham were down to ten men and losing 1-0. We needed to score two goals. By now I was fuming, I didn't know what to do with myself. I went behind the goal to help with some singing, but the red card had dented all morale and I couldn't stand the silence so I went stomping back around to the terrace in front of the clubhouse...

With 5 minutes to go Danny Burnell scored. 1-1. The heat was on, Chesham had 5 minutes to throw everything at getting one more goal to take us into the play-offs.

As the atmosphere began to grow for the first time since 3.06pm when Bromsgrove scored, the afternoon took its most unbelievable turn of the whole season.

"Malvern have equalised" Did I hear that right? Someone on the terrace said Malvern had got a late equaliser against Bury? No, that cannot be right. It is impossible to describe the feeling of watching the game in front of you, desperate for a Chesham winner, but all around you people are trying to find out if we had another lifeline. If both Bury and Chesham draw then it is Chesham in the play-offs...I had not even contemplated anything other than a Bury victory.

Concrete confirmation finally came through from Malvern that it was indeed 1-1 there (you can never be certain when you hear these rumours. I remember many years ago when Chesham and Basingstoke were going for the league title, we were down in Canvey Island seconds away from guaranteeing promotion with another win; when Basingstoke called to ask us the score we said we were losing! Evil).

So, there we are with 2 minutes of the season remaining desperate for either a Chesham goal or the final whistle at Malvern. The emotions going through the body simply undescribable.

I was on the phone to Dave Jeffrey who was stood with noisy fans behind the goal, I was standing next to Brian McCarthy who was on the phone to Malvern Town, listening through the final seconds there...Chesham were still attacking.

"It's finished has it? Thank you very much" Brian sounded so calm.

"IT'S OVER. BURY HAVE DRAWN. THEY'VE FINISHED, MALVERN I LOVE YOU..." I don't think I gave Dave a chance to answer on the end of line as I went jumping along the terrace telling anyone and everyone the news. The same news began to spread behind the goal and soon the huge cloud of depression that seemed to loom over The Meadow all afternoon lifted and new hope and optimism shined.

News naturally filtered onto the pitch and the bench, leading to a sudden dramatic change in tactics - stop throwing the kitchen sink at the Bromsgrove goal and defend at all costs! A 1-1 draw now will do very nicely thank you.

The final whistle sparked stunned scenes of celebration. For so long over the past week it looked as though the play-offs were slipping out of our grasp. The 0-0 draw at Romulus, the 0-1 reverse at Sudbury, trailing Bromsgrove Rovers with 5 minutes remaining...but that is all behind us now. From now on it is cup football, win two games and we will be watching Premier Division football again next season, lose...well, then I guess we have to go through all of this again.

The Big One

So, here we are. Parking all stinking hangovers aside (thank you to everyone that came along to the Micky Quinn Sportsmans Dinner last night), tomorrow is a big BIG day for Chesham United. The equations are quite simple now; win and the season carries on into next week with the play-offs, lose or draw and it is more than likely that we will miss out on that 5th place and the accompanying play-off game(s).
Earlier this month we travelled to Bromsgrove Rovers and came from behind to win 2-1, backed by superb vocal support, a repeat of that result will be perfect tomorrow...but don't go counting any chickens just yet...Home advantage has not always been significant to us, indeed for the second season running we have picked up more points away than we have at The Meadow and in terms of an advantage, Bromsgrove Rovers have played on our pitch more recently than we have, beating Aylesbury 2-1 at our place as recently as Wednesday night.
Manager Andy Leese is looking forward to getting on with the game and pushing on to the play-offs: "It feels like the end of a very long week, but the Play off permutations are now clear" he explains "Win tomorrow, and we are in with a real chance of promotion! I was looking at previous seasons in the Midlands Division, and it is a few years since a team from outside of the Midlands Clubs, made it into the Play off spots. We were in a similar position at the end of last season, but this time around our destiny is in our hands. It will be another tough game tomorrow, as Bromsgrove will no doubt look to finish their season with a flourish. We will prepare as we always do, and the players will not need any motivating. They have worked extremely hard to get to this position, and I trust them not to waste the opportunity. We will have Coxy available again, and I am hoping that a couple of minor knocks from the Sudbury game will have cleared up. We were frustrated by the opposition last weekend and on Tuesday at Sudbury, but I expect tomorrow to be a more open game.
"The key tomorrow will be patience. I include Management, Players and Supporters in that. We know that in most games in this division you have to match the physical aspect of the opposition before you can look to impose your own game. We need everyone backing us as you have done all season. The support at Sudbury was fantastic, and I hope we hear more of that throughout.the game. See you all at 3pm tomorrow!"
C'mon The Chesh! Let's hope by the time the fat lady starts singing at around 4.45pm tomorrow we are laying the foundations for another morning hangover after a night of celebrations and planning a Tuesday night trip to Nuneaton Town in the play-off semi-finals.