Lowestoft Town FC
www.lowestoft-town-fc.co.uk

The FA Carlsberg Vase
Semi-Final, Second Leg
3pm, Saturday 29 March 2008
Hillheads Park, Whitley Bay FC

Whitley Bay 3-0 Lowestoft Town (3-4 on Agg.)
Smith 4, Robinson 8, Chow 19

Lowestoft Town are through to the Final of The FA Vase despite suffering a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Whitley Bay, as they edged a thrilling Semi-Final contest 4-3 on aggregate.

Lowestoft Town v Kirkham & Wesham

The Trawlerboys held a comfortable 4-0 lead after the first leg but were left dumbstruck as Whitley raced to a 3-0 lead within 19 minutes.

Despite laying siege to the visitors’ goal, Whitley were unable to find the crucial fourth to send the tie into extra time as Lowestoft limped across the finishing line to secure their place at Wembley.

Whitley knew they had a mammoth task ahead in overturning the four-goal deficit, but got off to a dream start as Brian Smith found the back of the net with just four minutes gone.

Joint manager Ady Gallagher had warned against complacency going into Saturday’s second-leg and could only watch as his side crumbled under constant pressure.

The home side’s advantage was doubled on eight minutes through Paul Robinson and, when Paul Chow scored another on 19 minutes, Lowestoft had all but surrendered their first-leg advantage.

Robinson in particular was the scourge of the Lowestoft defence as he dropped deep to cause chaos in the visitors’ rearguard.

Shell-shocked Lowestoft enjoyed more possession in the second half, but it was Whitley who were full of running, sensing what had at first seemed an unlikely victory.

But the visitors dug in and clung to their slender advantage to book a famous date at Wembley.

Joint manager Ady Gallagher admits he cannot wait to lead his side out at Wembley.

“I am very excited,” he said.

“We can now start to think about Wembley as I haven’t allowed my players to do so up until now. It hasn’t really sunk in yet but I am so proud of them all.”

Gallagher was full of praise for his side despite a nervous start to the match, explaining: “We stuck together. We were resilient, and after half time the players started believing in themselves again.

“It was like the Alamo really. But what I am proud of is that our team didn’t buckle under that pressure.”
www.TheFA.com

SEMI-FINAL RESULTS:

March 22

Lowestoft Town 4-0 Whitley Bay (1st leg);

Kirkham & Wesham 3-2 Needham Market (1st leg).

March 29

Whitley Bay 3-0 Lowestoft Town (second leg); 3-4 on Agg.

Needham Market 0-1 Kirkham & Wesham (second leg). 2-4 on Agg.

All results