Kidderminster Harriers

Kidderminster Harriers is a professional football club from the town of the same name, who were formed in 1866 from a successful local rugby union and athletics club.

The club started out playing matches at Chester Road, which became the town’s cricket club. In 1887, Harriers moved to Aggborough, and at the same time, a rival club, Kidderminster Olympic, was formed, with both becoming founder members of the Birmingham & District League in 1889.

Both clubs drew regular attendances of 2,000, while derbies drew over 7,000. The clubs amalgamated after Olympic won the league in 1890, becoming Kidderminster FC and joining the Midland League as a professional outfit. The new club found it tough going. They resigned from the league and were wound up in March 1891. The club reverted to amateur status and joined the Birmingham & District League as Kidderminster Harriers.

Several famous names of the time, such as Jesse Pennington, Stanley Fazackerley, and George Getgood, had short spells with the club before Harriers were crowned as Birmingham & District League champions in the 1937-38 season. Harriers had a brief spell in the Southern League before returning to their roots at the outbreak of war.

In 1945, Harriers joined the Birmingham Combination before moving to the Southern League for 1948-49. Future FA Chairman Ted Croker, as well as future England international Gerry Hitchens, played for Harriers around this time.

On the 14th September 1955, Harriers became the first team to host a floodlit FA Cup tie, as they defeated Brierley Hill Alliance in a Preliminary Round replay. The club struggled financially, leading to a return to the more localised Birmingham League in 1960.

The league changed its name to the West Midlands (Regional) League in 1963, which also saw the debut of Peter Wassall for the club. He would go on to score 448 goals in 621 appearances in a Harriers shirt. His stellar performances led to Harriers being crowned as league champions in 1964-65, 1968-69, 1970-71, and 1970-71.

The club returned to the Southern League for the 1972-73 campaign in Division One North. Following a league restructuring, Kidderminster were placed in the Midland Division of the Southern League in 1979-80.

My drawing of Aggborough before its redevelopment, team kits, and club crests.
Click on the image to enlarge it.

In 1982, Harriers were placed in the Premier Division, before progressing into the Alliance Premier League for 1983-84 when they ended as Southern League runners-up to AP Leamington, who were denied entry to the top tier because of ground facility issues.

Leamington suffered further a few months later when their boss Graham Allner moved to Aggborough to start on a sixteen-year association at Harriers. In July 1985, striker Kim Casey was signed from Gloucester City for a £2,500 fee. This would prove to be a very wise piece of business as his partnership with Paul Davies tore many defences apart.

In 1986, Harriers reached the final of the Welsh Cup, where they were defeated in a replay at Aggborough by Wrexham in front of a crowd of 4,304. The following year, Harriers lifted the FA Trophy, as Burton Albion were defeated 2-1 at The Hawthorns following a 0-0 draw at Wembley Stadium. In 1989, Kiddy once again reached the Welsh Cup Final, but went down 5-0 at the Vetch Field to Swansea City. 

In 1991, Harriers were defeated 2-1 at Wembley against Wycombe Wanderers in the FA Trophy Final. The success continued on the pitch as Harriers won the Football Conference, as the Alliance Premier League had been renamed in 1993-94, but they were denied promotion to the Football League because Aggborough was deemed not up to standard. The season also saw a remarkable FA Cup run.

Wins over Chesham United, Kettering Town, and Woking led to a third-round tie away to near neighbours Birmingham City at St Andrews. Harriers defeated City 2-1 to set up a home tie with Preston North End. Once again, Kidderminster pulled off a huge shock with a 1-0 win. The reward was a fifth-round home tie against West Ham United. 

The Hammers won the match by a solitary goal in front of the Match of the Day cameras and an Aggborough crowd of 8,000. Another Trophy final defeat followed in 1995. This time, a 2-1 defeat to Woking at Wembley would break Aggborough hearts. In 1996-97, Harriers ended as Conference runners-up to Macclesfield Town.

Local retired retail millionaire Lionel Newton took over the club for the 1999-00 season and appointed former Liverpool and Denmark star Jan Molby as manager. The move worked as Harriers beat Rushden & Diamonds to the Conference title by nine points to win promotion to the Football League.

The move of former player Lee Hughes from West Bromwich Albion to Coventry City netted Harriers £700,000 in sell-on fees. However, low attendances and the collapse of the ITV digital deal led to financial problems and relegation back to the Conference in 2005. In their five seasons as a League club, Kidderminster’s best finish had been tenth place in 2001-02.

Managers Molby, Shaun Cunnington, and Stuart Watkiss all had a go in the League before Mark Yates arrived during a disappointing first season back in the Conference. In 2007, Yates’ side reached the Trophy final once again. This time, they were defeated 3-2 by Stevenage Borough in front of an astonishing crowd of 53,262 at Wembley.

In December 2009, Yates departed to take the manager's job at Cheltenham Town to be replaced by Steve Burr. His side finished just outside the play-offs in his first two campaigns. An incredible run of twenty-two wins in twenty-six league games in 2011-12 saw Kidderminster in a battle with Mansfield Town for the title. 

The Nottinghamshire club came out victorious on the final day of the season. Harriers lost 5-2 on aggregate to Wrexham in the semi-final of the play-offs. Burr was sacked in January 2014 following a rocky period. Former Wimbledon and Newcastle United centre back Andy Thorn was appointed in his place but lasted only fifty-four days, despite a giant-killing win at Peterborough United in the FA Cup. 

Star youngster Joe Lolley departed for Huddersfield Town. Burr’s former assistant, Gary Whild, was Thorn’s replacement. His budget was greatly reduced at Christmas 2014 because of financial concerns. Thirty-eight-year-old Lee Hughes returned to the club, but several players departed.

After a terrible start to the 2015-16 season, Whild was moved upstairs to the post of Head of Football Operations. Tim Flowers declined the invitation to take over as Head Coach, leading to the appointment of former agent Colin Gordon, taking up the hot seat, with Whild departing the club.

John Eustace was appointed as team manager in April 2016, but he could not save the side from relegation. Eustace headed off to Queens Park Rangers to be replaced by Neil MacFarlane, reaching the 2016-17 playoffs before going down to Chorley in the semifinals.

The playoffs followed in 2017-18, which saw defeat at the first stage by Bradford Park Avenue. Former boss Yates returned in January 2019. John Pemberton was appointed as manager a few months later, before Russ Penn took over.

A run to the fourth round of the FA Cup and a defeat to West Ham United followed in 2020-21, as well as a fifth place, in a season without playoffs owing to the Coronavirus pandemic. A quarter-final defeat in the playoffs to Boston United followed twelve months later.

The 2022-23 campaign saw another playoff campaign. This time, Alfreton Town, King's Lynn Town, and then Brackley Town were defeated in the final through two goals from Ashley Hemmings. Penn was replaced by Phil Brown in 2022-23 on their return to the National League, which ended in relegation.

Brown's side reached the playoffs in 2024-25, losing their home semifinal tie to Chester. Adam Murray was appointed as manager shortly after, taking the side to the playoffs, where they defeated Macclesfield to set up an away final to South Shields, which they won 2-0 to return to the top level of non-league football.

Kidderminster Harriers FC will play in the National League North in the 2025-26 season

My visits

Tuesday 21st October 1987

Scarborough were playing away to Hereford United in the old Division Four. I was on annual leave from the Post Office, so I was delighted to get a seat with our regular driver Jon 'Doomy’ Dyer, along with Crusher and my brother Nick.

We set off nice and early and decided to visit a few grounds along the way. We’d been inside Eton Park at Burton, Villa Park, Fellows Park, and The Hawthorns, as well as been turned away at The Molineux.

We stopped off in Kidderminster around dusk, with the people in the club office on the ground forecourt being friendly with us, having a gander inside.

Aggborough was quite a basic venue at the time, with the remains of a cycling track around the pitch. Both ends were open shale standing. The far side had a cover over a few steps of terracing, while the Main Stand on the near side had seating in two sections, with an extended roof over the original offering cover to the patrons.

We headed down to Hereford for pre-match beers to see a 1-1 draw in which future top-flight star Craig Short came on as a Boro substitute for his Football League debut.

England U-20s 1 Brazil U-20s 2 (Sunday 4th September 2016) Friendly International (att: 4,007)

Aggborough had been on my radar for some time, having even missed one trip I’d already booked train tickets for. I was not going to miss out on the opportunity a second time, especially for an international charging just £3 admission. The programme cost me more at £3.50!

I managed to buy a decent value rail ticket from Marylebone to Moor Street, from where I took a train straight across through the West Midlands and into Worcestershire. The streets leading up to the stadium had vendors selling their souvenirs. Lots of families were also grabbing a great offer to watch the stars of tomorrow.

My ticket was for the far end, which on normal match days had segregation for the away fans. The barriers were open for the day, so I could choose anywhere behind the goal.

Aggborough really was a super little stadium, with identical covered terraces behind both goals. The Main Stand to my left had corporate facilities and a smart roof. The seated stand opposite was neat and tidy. The ground was well looked after everywhere I looked.

Of course, I couldn’t visit without testing out the legendary catering. The soup was good and thick, but didn’t taste as I’d envisaged. However, the cottage pie was extremely filling and of top quality. It cost £4.50 but was worth the money. Once full and having taken my photos, I settled into a spot to enjoy the action.

Often, I complain about modern football; maybe a bit too much so? Players do get too much money, but those at the top have generally achieved. It’s the youth team players demanding this and that the other, without even starting out in the gam,e that annoy me. I could imagine I was watching a fair few of those on this occasion.

For the first twenty minutes, the England team were a shambles, full of errors and aimless and misplaced passes. Lucas Pacqeta put Brazil ahead in seven minutes when he nipped in between the slumbering defence and keeper Freddie Woodman to score. England were awarded a penalty shortly after, but Adam Armstrong saw his penalty saved by Caique in the visitors' net. 

The home side and Woodman in particular were made to pay on twenty-six minutes when he dithered while trying to decide where to clear the ball, only for Malcolm to nip in, mug him and roll the ball into an empty net. By this stage, I’d made eye contact with an older fella who stood close by. It was clear from his expressions that he wasn’t that impressed.

He was a really nice chap, with that downbeat Brummie persona, who went to Birmingham City and Solihull Moors. We chatted about all things football and lamented just how we should be concerned about the future of the national team if these were the best players that the coaches and scouts could pick out.

Arsenal player Ainsley Maitland-Niles was lively enough, if a little greedy at times. He set up Tottenham’s Joshua Onomah, who somehow scuffed wide soon after the interval. Caio Monteiro nearly extended the visitors' lead, but at least they were being forced back a little as the home team resorted to a pressure game rather than the forlorn hope of trying to outplay the Brazilians.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin of Everton and Ademola Lookman, who would join him from Charlton later in the season, both had efforts well saved by Caique. With a few minutes remaining, Calvert-Lewin scored with an excellent header. England piled on the pressure but couldn’t find an equaliser in the closing stages.

At full-time, it had been agreed that both sides would play a penalty shoot-out regardless of the result, with the PA man emphasising the point in the hope that the crowd would stay behind. I thought this was an excellent idea for young players to practice in a live environment rather than a training ground.

My pal and I wandered back to the station. Our main concern about the England side was not so much the forward players, but the standard of the defending. The team contained Reece Oxford of West Ham and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson of Manchester United, who had both appeared in the Premier League. Neither installed much confidence in either of us.

I alighted at Moor Street once again as I had a couple of hours to kill. Steve Barnes had earmarked a couple of pubs for me to try in Digbeth, just south of the city centre. The White Swan was a traditional old corner house with an uninspiring beer selection.

The Anchor had the Slovakia v England World Cup Qualifier on TV. Sadly, it looked like they’d sold most of their beer the day before. I found a couple that were OK, if not outstanding. The actual pub was a belter. The match was hard work, but I celebrated happily with the locals when Adam Lallana finally broke down a host team who were masters of the dark arts.

Once back at Marylebone after a nap, I headed to the Wetherspoons outlet at Harrow-on-the-Hill for beers with Steve Speller.

Greenwich Borough

Greenwich Borough FC was a non-league football club based in south-east London who were formed in 1928, before being dissolved in 2020. 

The club began life as Woolwich Borough Council Athletic Club, playing in the Woolwich & District League and becoming champions in their first season playing at Danson Park in Welling.

In 1929, the club became a member of the Kent County Amateur League, before moving to Harrow Meadow in 1937 and leaving to join the South London Alliance for the 1949-50 season. Consecutive promotions in the mid 50’s saw the club reach the league’s Premier Division.

Borough went on to win the Premier Division title in six successive seasons from 1960–61 to 1965–66. Following a change of London Borough boundaries, the club became known as London Borough of Greenwich FC for the last of the title wins.

A seventh South London Alliance Premier Division title was accrued in 1973-74, leading to a move to the London Senior League. Winning the Senior Division in 1979-80 led to promotion to the Premier Division as the club changed its title to Greenwich Borough FC.

Borough found themselves transferred to the Kent League for the 1984-85 campaign, with future Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright playing up front, before Crystal Palace spotted him, sparking the start of an amazing professional career.

Greenwich became league champions in 1986–87 and 1987–88, as well as lifting the League Cup on a couple of occasions. While the team was doing their stuff on the pitch, the club was restricted from making progress.

The club was denied promotion because its Harrow Mead ground didn’t match the ground grading criteria. Borough decamped to Erith & Belvedere’s Park View home for the 1988-89 season, while works were carried out on their home venue.

Harrow Mean was sold to property developers in 2008, with the club moving to share with Holmesdale FC. Greenwich finished bottom of the Kent League in 2011-12 before the league was renamed the Southern Counties East League for the 2013-14 season as the club moved in with Dartford at Princes Park.

New owners arrived at the club with David Skinner providing the money to his brother Perry to run the club as chairman to enable the move as they searched for a new home ground back in the borough of Greenwich, while Ian Jenkins managed the team.

Borough submitted plans to rejuvenate football grounds at Avery Hill in Eltham in June 2015, as former regular Football League goalscorer Gary Alexander was appointed as manager to replace Jenkins, after the team ended in fourth place in the league.

Alexander’s team went on to lift the Southern Counties East League title and promotion to the Isthmian League in 2015-16 as the playing budget was extended. In the summer of 2016, the club signed a thirty-year lease to share the Badgers Sports Ground with Cray Valley PM FC.

In the 2016-17 season, Borough took to their new status instantly and ended the campaign in third place to qualify for the play-offs. In the semi-final at the Badgers Sports Ground, Greenwich went down 4-3 to Corinthian Casuals.

Greenwich were placed in Division One South East for the 2018-19 season following league re-organisation. However, things had begun to unravel at the club by this time. They were evicted from Badgers Sports Ground for alleged nonpayment of rent.

Chairman Skinner had stepped down a few months previously, with the club being involved in alleged fraud against them. They decamped to play at Phoenix Sports Ground in Barnehurst, finishing bottom of the table and being relegated to the Southern Counties East League.

The complicated wrangling continued before the club resigned from the league in January 2020. They issued a statement upon being dissolved, which blamed what they termed a severe business interruption, which could later end in court action, with the statement taking aim at former landlords Cray Valley PM.

My visits

Wednesday 4th October 2006

On a day off from work, I ventured to southeast London and Kent to visit some grounds and update my photo collection. Having been to Welling United, I took a bus to Sutcliffe Park, where the Harrow Mead ground was located.

A gent let me go in through the unkempt clubhouse, which led me behind the goal, where there were a couple of small covers. There was a small, seated stand-up on the left-hand touchline, but the rest of the arena was all flat, open standing.

To be honest, it wasn’t difficult to see why the Southern League had turned down the venue. It was showing signs of neglect. I continued by public transport to head over the river towards Mile End to look at the home of Bethnal Green United.

Greenwich Borough 3 Corinthian Casuals 4 (Tuesday 25th April 2017) Isthmian League Division One South Play-Off Semi-Final (att: 427)

My pal Tony Foster texted me on the morning of the match with the news that he’d wavered after not being too interested a few days before, and fancied heading over the river. I was pleased with his decision as I enjoyed the play-offs and heading to new grounds.

We met up at Wembley Park before heading to London Bridge to catch the packed service to Eltham. As we were getting off the train, we got chatting to John, a Casuals fan who ran the club shop and was in the process of trying to give the club’s profile a boost.

John seemed like a good bloke. He was a Huddersfield Town fan on the side, and he told us all about his club while we walked down to the ground, which is always interesting to learn about from others.

Casuals' players were still strictly amateur, which Tony and I found remarkable. The walk took us around twenty minutes after we took a wrong turning. It was still only 7.15pm when we arrived outside the venue.

The very smart social club outside the ground was doing a roaring trade. We got a pint each, with hand pumps dispensing a decent pint of ale before paying our £10 admission. We’d already bought the £2 programmes in case they ran out.

The Badgers Sports Ground had a slope across the pitch. There was a seated stand opposite a small, covered enclosure. The remainder of the ground consisted of flat open standing. The pitch looked in poor condition, considering Borough had spent a lot on it the previous summer.

I was pretty sure that I’d played on the ground before. If I was correct, it belonged to Eltham Town FC when I played in a veteran's team for a season and a bit with Dave Cammish. It had certainly received some work on it since then.

Casuals had a very vocal following with a fantastic array of flags and banners. They were not unlike the support of Dulwich Hamlet, only lesser in number. It wasn’t easy to get a good vantage point. We went over to the far side.

Within a few minutes, Greenwich were ahead when Mohamed Eisa benefitted from the atrocious playing surface as his shot from the edge of the box hit a divot and bounced wickedly over keeper Danny Bracken and into the net.

Casuals were level on eighteen minutes when a late challenge sent Mu Maan sprawling in the box. Shaun Okojie sent the keeper the wrong way from the spot to make it 1-1. We moved to the other side of the pitch at that point, as the wind was becoming bitter as it blew from the Thames.

We’d only just taken up our position when Casuals’ midfielder Coskun Ekim was shown a straight red card for a high challenge. The general consensus seemed to be that the referee had maybe acted a bit hastily, and the player was unlucky.

The visitors' front two continued to cause problems with their pace and skill. They went ahead when Reyon Dillon had a shot deflected into his own net by a Borough defender. Ten minutes before the interval, it was 2-2 when Peter Sweeney scored with an exquisite free kick.

At the break, we headed to the snack bar in the top corner, where hot drinks were the order of the day. It was good to see a club prepared for a large crowd and having enough staff to manage. Too often, opportunities are lost, as disgruntled punters head off at the site of queues.

The visitors went ahead once again around ten minutes after the break. Maan saw his free kick deflected off the wall to leave Borough keeper Craig Holloway stranded. The visitors took charge of the game despite being a man light, keeping the home attack at bay expertly.

Casuals made it 4-2 with fifteen minutes remaining when Okojie turned in a cross with style. He looked like the best player on show. Borough continued to press, and they got back into the game with seven minutes remaining through Glenn Wilson.

Despite plenty of pressure in the closing stages, Casuals held out with relative ease to win through to the final for a trip to Westhumble to take on Dorking Wanderers the following Saturday.

The visiting supporters celebrated wildly with their players. As we were making our exit, we bumped into some of Tony’s West Ham mates who also fancied the game. They were heading to Lee station, but Tony convinced them that Mottingham was a better bet.

What followed was the sight of several men over fifty years old walking, joggng and doing their best to run as the station was far further than we thought. We managed to make the 10.05pm service, but only just.

There was plenty of sarcasm and humour as we pulled into Lee, the next stop, where the others had intended to go to. They had a point! We took the Jubilee line train home from London Bridge to arrive home at 11.30pm after a cracking evening out.

Barton Rovers

Barton Rovers FC is a semi-professional football club from the large village of Barton-le-Clay, located a few miles north east of Luton. The club was formed in 1898, playing village football until World War II.

Rovers joined the Luton & District League for the 1946–47 season, where they remained until becoming members of the Spartan South Midlands League in 1954. Rovers were placed in Division Two, going on to win the league title and promotion at the first attempt.

The fine run continued in 1955-56 as the Division One title was sealed as Barton progressed to the Premier Division. In 1962-63, the club suffered a relegation, but they regained their status in 1964-65 with another championship.

Rovers finished as league runners-up in 1967-68 before sealing the Premier League title in 1970-71. The club went on to become Spartan South Midlands League champions for three consecutive seasons as they celebrated again in 1971-72 and 1972-73.

Further Premier League titles followed in 1974-75 and 1975-76, before Barton had a couple of fantastic seasons competing in the FA Vase.

In 1976-77, a run which saw victories against Watlington Town, Hazells of Aylesbury, Ampthill Town, Tividale, Buckingham Town, and Gosport Borough took the team to the semi-finals, where they were defeated by Sheffield. Consolation came by way of a sixth South Midlands League title win.

The league championship was retained the following season as Rovers went on a run all the way to the final of the FA Vase by courtesy of wins against Leyton Wingate, Rushden Town, Kempston Rovers, Billericay Town, Haringey Borough, and Hungerford Town.

In the 1978 final at Wembley, Rovers went down 2-1 with a young Kevin Blackwell in goal. The club built on their status by winning a fifth successive league title before becoming members of Division Two of the Isthmian League in 1979-80.

The 1981-82 season saw yet another excellent FA Vase run. Wins against Stansted, Woodford Town, Ford United, Leyton Wingate, Knowle, and Irthlingborough Diamonds set up a semi-final tie with Rainworth Miners Welfare, who went through on aggregate.

In 1984-85, the club was placed in Division Two North after the league organisation before they returned to a revamped Division Two in 1991-92. Rovers finished as runners-up in 1994-95; winning promotion to Division One.

The 2000-01 campaign saw Rovers relegated to Division Two. When the league was reorganised for the 2002-03 season, the club was placed in Division One North. Non-league football was restructured in the summer of 2004, with Barton becoming members of Division One East of the Southern League.

Following a further league re-organisation, Rovers were placed in Division One Midlands, which was renamed Division One Central for the 2010-11 campaign. Barton reached the play-offs in 2014-15, where they defeated Royston Town before missing out on promotion after defeat to Bedworth United.

In 2016-17, the team, led by manager Jimmy Gray, once again reached the play-offs, where they defeated Marlow at Sharpenhoe Road before losing the final away to Farnborough. Forward Connor Calcutt departed for their final victors.

Coach Mark Boyce became team boss in the summer of 2017, lasting a few months prior to the appointment of former Rovers player Tony Fontanelle, as the club was then placed in Division One Central of the competition. He was replaced by the duo of Leon Cashman and Jermaine Hall soon into the 2022-23 campaign.

Barton were saved from relegation after a playoff win against Thetford Town before Cashman departed to leave Hall in sole charge of the side. The side reached the playoffs in 2025-26, losing their semifinal tie to Flackwell Heath before Chris Robson was given the manager's job.

Barton Rovers FC will play in the Southern League Division One Central in the 2026-27 season.

My visit

Barton Rovers 2 Marlow 0 (Wednesday 26th April 2017) Southern League Division One Central Playoff Semi-Final (att: 319)

It was a midweek of play-offs for my pal Tony Foster and me. We hadn’t really planned to go to Greenwich Borough v Corinthian Casuals until a late stage the evening before, and the same occurred with Barton. An average morning work and a text did the business!

Tony picked me up at Stanmore station just after 6pm in case of heavy traffic up the M1. As it worked out, we had a decent run before pulling off at junction 12 and heading through some lovely countryside to the pretty village of Barton-le-Clay.

To enter the ground, we went past some playing fields before pulling into the car park next to the ground. We were immediately impressed by the friendly welcome. The old chap directing cars saw my Scarborough Athletic jacket, and we were soon talking about Kevin Blackwell.

Admission into the ground was £10, with the programme an additional £2. Tony gave this the thumbs up after a very poor effort for the same price at Greenwich the night before. We were very early, so we headed to the bar where a pint of hand-pulled Greene King IPA cost me £3.50.

Despite us being in the cricket season, the weather was pretty bleak. There was a fair nip in the air, and dark clouds were abundant. We waited until the teams had gone past before we headed over to the far side.

The Sharpenhoe Road ground had a large sloping surface with plenty of turf between the touchline and side stands. A small main Stand had a glassed area at the rear for corporate clients, while opposite were several low covered terraces. That’s where we took up our position. Both ends were open standing.

Barton had the better of the early stages as a heavy shower landed on the hard, bobbly pitch, which wasn’t helping fluid football. Former Wealdstone forward Connor Calcutt looked very useful for the home side.

Simon Grant was forced into a fine save for Marlow from a Jimmy Hartley shot in the early exchanges. Kyle Forster in the home net responded in kind with a top stop from an effort by Marcus Mealing. A very tight first half ended at 0-0.

During the break, we queued up at the excellently priced snack bar, who were well organised and gave a cracking example of how to serve a large crowd in no time. I bought a Bovril and a pie for £4. It was that type of weather.

Marlow were the better side, kicking up the slope at the start of the second half. The pace of Kameron English was causing havoc. Six minutes in, he beat his man and put in a superb cross, which Chris Ovenden somehow managed to head wide when it looked easier to score.

Shortly after, Kelvin Bossman came close, but that was about it on an attacking front from Marlow. They would be made to pay for missing their chances.

On seventy one minutes, Rovers went ahead. Grant punched weakly at a cross. The ball eventually fell to substitute Danny Watson, who forced in from outside the box. We were watching from the other side of the pitch in the second period as the threat of rain had passed.

Grant had to pull off a superb save, while Bossman cleared off the line in the follow-up as Barton looked to get a decisive second goal. Ovenden had an effort on goal as Marlow tried to find a way back into the match, before victory was sealed with just a couple of minutes remaining.

Poor judgement from Grant saw him leave his area, only for a Rovers player to beat him to the ball before crossing for Calcutt to head into an empty net and send his team to the final the following Bank Holiday Monday away to Farnborough.

We headed back via Luton and the M1. We were both glad we’d made the effort. Barton seemed a friendly club, even if the match hadn’t been the best.