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Party time for Kirkham fans



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Published Date: 12 May 2008
THEY came, they saw ... and they conquered!
Wembley reverberated to the chants of "Mighty Kirkham" and "Super White Army" as the home of English football was turned into a small corner of south Fylde.

Non-League wonders Kirkham and Wesham capped a great season by pulling off a sensational late, late comeback – scoring two goals in the last seven minutes to lift the FA Carlsberg Vase.

Kirkham and Wesham at Wembley - day in pictures

Around 4,000 made the long trip south and they exploded into a deafening roar in the final minutes of the clash when teenage supersub Matt Walwyn swept in the two late strikes to clinch the trophy.

'There are just no words to describe how we feel'

Despite being outnumbered three to one by their Lowestoft counterparts, Kirkham and Wesham fans were never outshouted as they cheered Mick Fuller's side home to a victory and wild party scenes.

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Alan and Rosemary Whiteside, who live in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, made a £1,000 three-day return to Britain to watch Kirkham in the final.

Alan, 49, whose son Richard played for Kirkham three years ago, said: "We have always followed Kirkham.

"We came back in January, saw a few games and decided if they made the final we would come back.

"It is a good family day out for us."

Pat Banks, 62, whose father Tommy Gallagher co-founded the club after the Second World War, brought her family to the game.

She said: "Tommy wouldn't have believed it.

"I can remember going to help him mark the pitch out over 50 years ago. It's nice to be able to bring my grandchildren to this game."

Students Simon Woods and Tom Lowcock travelled to the match to watch the performances of their former classmates at Carr Hill high school match winner Walwyn and Mike Clark.

Simon, 19, from Newton, said: "It is not often a team like Kirkham and Wesham will get to Wembley.

"It was weird but great watching them out there. We are used to playing alongside them for the college team."

Tom Lowcock, 18, of Kirkham, added: "We wanted to come today to support them."

In an exhilarating game, defender Phil Thompson opened the scoring for Lowestoft when he headed past his own goalkeeper Peter Summerfield on 10th minute.

However, Kirkham were the better side and kept pressing for an equaliser.

Despite hitting the bar and having the ball cleared off the line three times they were rewarded with victory following Walwyn's late double.

The Kirkham fans who had braved early wake-up calls to reach Wembley then got to see Mick Fuller and his boys make the long journey to the Royal Box to collect the trophy.

Glynis Norcross, 54, from Wesham, thought the thrilling finale was "brilliant".

She said: "In the first 20 minutes it was a nightmare.

Fame

"But we put a lot of hard work in and began playing better.

"It was absolutely unbelievable at the end, especially with Matt Walwyn only being 17."

Lee Anyon, 48, from Kirkham, a former schoolmate of Kirkham boss Mick Fuller, added: "Winning this means everything.

"It's great to see a small team like Kirkham getting their 15 minutes of fame and hopefully they can move on from that.

"I wouldn't say I was never worried, but we never gave up."

The full article contains 573 words and appears in Blackpool Gazette newspaper.
Page 1 of 2

  • Last Updated: 12 May 2008 4:36 PM
  • Source: Blackpool Gazette
  • Location: Blackpool
 
 

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