AFC Whyteleafe v Saltdean United
FA Vase First Round Proper
A third FA Vase game this season and for this round I’d chosen a trip to a new ground for me, carrying on my run in this competition which may or may not culminate in visit to Wembley at the end of the season. We’ll see! I had seen Whyteleafe once before probably twenty years ago now on a memorable night at Bracknell Town back in the days before the AFC, so thought this would be a great time to visit Church Road for the first time.
The journey went surprisingly well considering the engineering work happening on the route to London and, with both trains on time; I made it to the ground around 1.45pm following a short walk from Upper Warlingham station. A friendly welcome awaited and the clubhouse had the added bonus of serving Thatcher Gold. After a swift couple of pints and a chat with a couple of Saltdean supporters, it was time to head into the ground.
The entrance is the usual £8 for adults and £2 for a decent printed programme. I’d been told by Kev, serial groundhopper @Londonkro on Twitter, that they have a club shop with more than a few old programmes from clubs all over so obviously I had to check that out. He wasn’t kidding! There must be thousands in there and well worth checking out if you’re ever in the vicinity. The people running the shop are lovely people as well so you’ll be well looked after!
Next up was a jumbo sausage in a roll with fried onions for £4.50 and a chat with a local supporter who’d given up spending a fortune following West Ham in the Premiership to make the move into non-league football and follow a team just ten minutes from his home. It seems more and more people are making that decision now and that can only help non-league football in the long run.
So taking my place on the terracing amongst a decent sized crowd, the game kicked off. The first chance went to the visitors; an early corner was played short and drilled into the far post area where Alfie Edmeads managed to get a touch but could only send it wide of the post.
Whyteleafe’s first chance also came from a corner. Mike Hill floated a corner to the far post; Aaron Goode headed it back into a dangerous area with Craig Braham-Barrett meeting it but heading over. The hosts were now starting to take control of the game and a good run and cut back into the area by Gaspar Mico found Braham-Barrett only for him to blaze it over the bar.
A delicious Hill pass through the Saltdean defence picked out the run of Eric de Melo but keeper Archie Whatman closed him down quickly, blocked with his legs and smothered the loose ball. In the 22nd minute the pressure finally told, a great run down the left by Hill to the byline where he pulled the ball back to Aaron Watson. He saw his initial shot blocked but picked up the rebound and fired home. 1-0
Another good run down the left flank by Hill released Braham-Barrett who sent a diagonal ball to Mico whose shot was too high. Hill had a chance of his own soon after, shifting the ball nicely to create space before trying to find the corner with a curling effort only for it to end up the wrong side of the post.
A clearance from defence to halfway led to the next chance for the home side. Watson chesting the ball forward cleverly before running towards the area, under a challenge he managed to cut back and get a shot away which Whatman saved well low to his left.
A rare Saltdean foray into the Whyteleafe box saw Alex Patching with a half chance in the six yard box, his shot was well saved low down by James Shaw in the home goal.
To end a dominant half for the hosts, Mico made a good run down the right, crossed into the area where Lewis White couldn’t get a touch. The ball was cleared to the edge of the area where Braham-Barrett tried a curler but again it finished just wide of the far post.
H-T: AFC Whyteleafe 1 Saltdean United 0
The second half started much as the first finished, with the home side on the attack. White having an early chance picking up a long diagonal ball and getting a shot away but it was blocked superbly by captain Archie Jutton sliding in. The resulting corner was again hit towards the far post, cleared but falling to Watson just inside the area where he flashed a shot just wide.
A lovely move across the pitch involving de Melo and Mico finished with another shooting chance for White but again his shot was well blocked by Jutton. At the other end Aaron Winser won the ball on halfway and travelled to the edge of the box before finding a team mate whose effort sailed over the bar.
A chorus of happy birthday then broke out in the stand behind the goal before Whyteleafe again fashioned a good chance with more excellent interplay from Mico and de Melo giving Braham-Barrett a chance but he could only find the side netting.
In the 68th minute the home side finally doubled their lead. Gaspar Mico finding himself in space following good combination play again with de Melo, and he fired past Whatman from inside the box. 2-0
The game went through the motions for the next fifteen minutes with Saltdean unable to fashion any shooting chances and the home side happy to play out the remaining time. With five minutes to go two Whyteleafe substitutes combined to increase the home side’s lead. Sirak Negassi won the ball on the left and advanced to the edge of the box where he laid the ball on a plate for Delgado to beat Whatman. 3-0
In added time the hosts put some gloss on the scoreline with Negassi picking up a loose pass and sliding the ball past the keeper and into the bottom corner. 4-0
F-T: AFC Whyteleafe 4 Saltdean United 0
This was a very good performance from the hosts, who could easily have won by a much wider margin on the day. Mike Hill in the first half, Eric de Melo and Gaspar Mico the standout players for me. Good luck to them in the next round.
Saltdean for their part played some nice football at times and battled hard but never really looked like breaking down the Whyteleafe defence.
This was one of the best days out I’ve had this season, AFC Whyteleafe are a very friendly club with some wonderful volunteers keeping the club ticking over and I will definitely be back at some point to catch up with them and see how they’re getting on. Thanks to everyone who took the time to have a chat at the game and to the club for their hospitality. It was also good to meet and chat to Andy Crayford of Crayford Media who was there to take photos of the game, I’ll add a link below when his photo gallery is available to view.
Good luck to both sides for the rest of the season!