Matt Walwyn hugging Manager Mick Fuller with Kirkham officials Matt Walwyn hugging Manager Mick Fuller with Kirkham officialsMatt Walwyn hugging Manager Mick Fuller with Kirkham officials Matt Walwyn hugging Manager Mick Fuller with Kirkham officials Neil Fenton and Mick Baldwin looking on. Picture by Albert Cooper
SUBSTITUTE Matt Walwyn fired Kirkham & Wesham into an FA Vase Wembley Final date on Sunday, May 11, and sank the hearts of Needham Market in deepest Suffolk on Saturday with an injury time money spinner for the Lancashire side in front of a ground record crowd.
Sub Walwyn, who has a knack of scoring late on in games this season was handed the simplest of chances to side foot his side to Wembley when fellow sub Ritchie Allen laid the chance for him on a plate.
Kirkham's youngest player said later: "This is a dream come true for me, but every credit to Ritchie (Allen) he was so unselfish passing to me when perhaps he could have shot.
Looks like l'll have to buy him a drink tonight.
"I half expected the ball to bobble but it didn't - great feeling and thankfully it went into the back of the net.
"Now l just need to score at Wembley."
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Needham did get the ball into the Kirkham net after 71 minutes but sub Nathan Szyszlyk's effort was adjudged offside - it was the little bit of luck Kirkham needed.
Victory for Kirkham had never been so hard earned with at times a backs to the wall display that saw their defence hold out the home side in a second-half onslaught in which the Suffolk side threw all but the kitchen sink at the Kirkham rearguard.
Matt Walwyn points the way to Wembley. Picture by Albert Cooper
And for skipper Phil Thompson the realisation of a dream for him and for the whole Kirkham squad.
He said after: "This is fantastic, but the more rounds we got through the more we began to believe we could make this happen.
"What a feeling this is - it's unbelieveable, amazing. At no time did I ever think we would get beat and when Ritchie (Allen) showed his class to set up Mattie (Walwyn), well what can you say, we went crazy.
"All credit to Ritchie too he was so unselfish passing to Mattie - fantastic."
For Thompson it was a true captain's role and he only knew of his role an hour or so before the game when boss Mick Fuller rested club captain Dougie Shaw to the bench to play with his regular full-backs, Allan Jackson and
Tony Keefe.
And the pair didn't disappoint either with Jackson my Man of the Match for his defensive and attacking qualities on the right, while Keefe was involved in almost all Needham's attempts on goal with his header off the line in the 57th minute arguably his finest moment.
This came in a two-three minutes spell from the home side who simply hit Kirkham with all they had.
Jon Moffatt, tall in defence alongside skipper Thompson slid in to deny Needham's top star Danny Thrower a chance and from the corner it was Keefe who headed a Tom Smith thunderbolt over the bar.
For Kirkham this is a realisation of a dream, no a fairy tale that started back in September against Worsborough Bridge at Kellamergh Park and nine rounds later they find themselves at the foot of the famous Wembley steps.
Their May 11 date will be against another Rigeons Eastern Premier Division side, Lowestoft Town who in their second-leg on Tyneside lost 3-0 to Whitley Bay but went through to Wembley 4-3 on aggregate having won their home leg a
week ago 4-0.
Kirkham boss Mick Fuller said after: "For once this week I'll sleep well tonight.
"This is a massive achievement for everyone at this football club.
"It's the dream of dreams and Peter Pan couldn't have written a better story."
This time two seasons ago Kirkham and Wesham were playing league games on a park pitch at Coronation Road and now they are going to Wembley.
Fuller added: "We've come a long, long way in this competition and before the game I thought what it might be like to lose but I didn't want to contemplate that feeling at all.
"We had to achieve this as a team and now we shall enjoy ourselves for 24 hours before we have that very important league game at Chadderton on Monday.
"An amazing day, an amazing feeling and what an amazing team - tremendous."
For Fuller, who has guided the Kirkham ship through some troubled waters down the years this was a performance to top any performance.
His side came through a real storm from the Needham side in the second-half and his substitutions in the end sank the Suffolk side into deep waters, as indeed they had a week ago late on when they turned a 2-1 defeat into a
priceless 3-2 victory.
For Kirkham this game added a further £17,000 into the club coffers with victory in the round (£7,000) and £10,000 for reaching Wembley.
Now they will have the opportunity of adding to that with another £10,000 going to the winners.
One sad note to end with was the late sending off of needham Market's sub Glenn Snell for a tough tackle on Keefe just after Kirkham had taken a late lead.
Thankfully for the Kirkham full-back not too much damage but he told me after he had gone over on his foot but that the win made it feel a lot better.
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