Buildbase FA Vase - 1st Round Preview

With four of our clubs exempt until the 2nd Round of the competition, we have a total of 12 clubs still directly interested in the FA Vase for this season, with 8 of them in 1st Round Proper action this weekend. We also had 12 left at this stage last year.

Looking at this weekend’s ties in alphabetical order of home team the first one up is Abbey Rangers v Tunbridge Wells. Four years ago Tunbridge Wells reached the Final of the competition, losing to Spennymoor Town and they have since reached the 4th Round. Last season though they were knocked out by Knaphill at the first time of asking and are currently in 17th place in the Southern Counties East League. Abbey themselves are only in their second year in the competition but have shown a clear liking for it despite some long journeys both this and last season, when they reached the 2nd Round Proper.

Next is AC London who will play at home to Highworth Town from the Hellenic League on Sunday, due to Banstead being at home on Saturday in the same competition. AC have enjoyed some eye-opening wins since joining the CCL Division One this season, including an 11-0 victory last Saturday. Highworth though are another club with considerable Vase pedigree behind them, having reached the semi-final in season 2014-2015, and are currently 4th in their table.

Ash United are one of three clubs from CCL Division One to have reached this stage and find themselves playing at home to Chichester City from the Southern Combination. They play at Step 5 and currently hold 6th place in the table, so Ash have a tough job on their hands but will be buoyed by an impressive run of league form in recent weeks. The two clubs actually met once before in the competition, in 1981-82, when Chichester won after a replay but that it a little too long ago to be regarded as an omen!

Banstead Athletic, our third Division One club, also play at home and will be entertaining Crowborough Athletic from the Southern Counties East, even though they are a Sussex based club. They are also doing well in their League, playing a step higher than Banstead but the latter are doing well and striving hard for promotion this season.

Bedfont Sports play at home to Buckingham Town from Division One of the United Counties League, who have already knocked both Eversley & California and Cove out of this year’s competition but should find Bedfont a tougher proposition. Buckingham are currently in 8th place in their table.

Eastbourne United provide the opposition for Horley in the only tie in which a CCL club has to travel. It looks a tough tie for Horley with Eastbourne having won ten out of eleven league matches so far this season.

Epsom & Ewell face a side that many will have been unaware of previously, in the shape of Bridon Ropes FC, who are in their first season in the Southern Counties East League after spending their recent seasons in the Kent Invicta League. They have already seen off the challenge of Colliers Wood United this season, whilst Epsom have lost at the opening stage in the last four seasons. They are though the only club from the CCL, albeit then called the Surrey Senior League, to reach the Final of the competition in the very first year in 1975 and will be very keen to do well this season.

Finally, Walton & Hersham will be staging an FA Vase match for the very time ever on Saturday, having spent may seasons playing in the FA Trophy, although their previous exploits in the FA Amateur Cup are well documented. On Saturday, they will be entertaining Thame United from the Hellenic League and it will be an intriguing tie, with Thame yet to suffer a league defeat this season whilst Walton have lost only one.

The League wishes all its clubs the best of fortune this weekend, with the 2nd Round Proper draw, which will see the entry of Camberley Town, Hartley Wintney, Knaphill and Sutton Common Rovers into the competition coming up on Monday.

This article owes much to the excellent Football Club History Database and to the Non-League Matters websites.