Now then, are we all recovered from last night? A night that won’t be forgotten in a hurry. A night in which Yarm and Eaglescliffe Football Club literally etched their names in history. Victory in the North Riding FA Cup final over Boro Rangers after 0-0 at 90 minutes and a triumphant 4-1 win on penalties saw us lift this prestigious Cup for the very first time. Sam Robson with the match report.

We began in the competition against York City, a grand old Football Club.  Whilst thir team was predominatry from their academy, it was still a big scalp for our club.  We won on penalties into the next round. Again we were given opponents who were many levels above ourselves, the National League North team Scarborough Athletic. Despite the challenge, the lads again fought hard and well to take the game to penalties  and again we progressed.

Ironically, for the semi-finals, we arguably had our easiest opponents yet (based on their position relative to us), despite this it took two excellent goals to sink Northallerton Town from Tom, and Titch in the last seconds of the game. Goals which ultimately sent us all the way to the Riverside Stadium.

On the day of the final, all will have woken from dreams of Y&E glory not knowing they would come to fruition. The lads all-round were confident and looking forward to the game as they walked out onto the pristine surface of the Riverside. There was a continuous aura of quiet disbelief that we had actually made it here and this was actually happening, all the time the feeling becoming better. As the west stand started to fill there was blue and white dotted throughout and a group of supporters in the North West corner with unrivalled dedication were making all the noise before kickoff; letting our lads know they’d be right behind them all the way through the 90 minutes. And they were and then some.

As Pigbag cane through the speakers and both sets of players walked out, you could tell it was a special occasion like no other for both teams as they both looked to lift the trophy for the first time. From the get go the game was tight and a bit nervy, with not many glaring opportunities for either team as a combination of poor touches and good defending scarpered any chances. A special mention must be given to Marshy as his effort and skill in the middle of the Park and the left wing had Boro Rangers defenders tripping over themselves for the entirety of the first half. And in a culmination of frustration for the boys in red, a late challenge on Josh Marshall and a a bit of a a scuffle in front of the referee meant that the Boro Rangers number two was shown a straight red card after only 25 minutes.

Now the Y&E knew they’d have a man advantage for the remaining 65 minutes which completely changes the game. Throwing all initial tactics out the window and forcing management to think on their feet as the Rangers game plan undoubtedly changed after the sending off. For the rest of the first half Boro Rangers remained as a goal threat, showing their quality even with 10-men and a few shots from distance told the Y&E that they still needed to be careful and not take playing 10-men for granted. By far the best chance of the game came on the stroke of half time as Tom Atkinson ran through the middle beating the offside trap but not quite beating Ollie Swan in the Rangers goal as he saves well from close range and then denies Sam Conway on the rebound keeping the scores level before the whistle blew.

The first change of the game came at half time as Boro Rangers have a little switch around tactically. The game in the second half was completely different from the first, Y&E applying most of the pressure and Boro Rangers trying to catch us on the counter. Both teams went close a handful of times but very little to trouble either keeper apart from a header from Cam Wild deep into added time at the end of the half which was held by Swan in the Rangers goal.

And with another goalless half, the whistle blew and a chorus of nail-biting began as we went to penalties for the third time in this cup campaign.

First up was captain Cam who dispatched his penalty excellently but all eyes were on Callum Roberts in goal, who it must be said is an expert at the mental aspect of penalties, demonstrated when the first Boro Rangers player rattled the bar with his teams first spot kick, instantly handing Y&E the advantage. Next up was Harry Williams who also but his penalty in the back of the net with no drama. So eyes went back onto Callum who was adamant that Boro Rangers Cal Hickman had not placed the ball on the spot correctly, but whether it was right or not didn’t matter as Callum got down well to his right denying Rangers from a first successful penalty. Ste Roberts scored an ice cold penalty for Y&E meaning Boro Rangers had to score to stay in it.  Spencer Walker was the first to dispatch a penalty in red, although Callum did get a hand to it.

So up steps Josh Larkin, knowing a converted penalty means his side lifts the cup, weight of the world on his shoulders and it might as well have been a feather as coolly as anything he slots home sending Y&E into elation as he slid on his knees towards the fans.

Commiserations to Boro Rangers. They played well, especially with ten men. We wish them luck for next season.

So Yarm and Eaglescliffe lift the cup for the first time, and they are rewarded with two more finals in less than a week. First up is the Playoffs at home to Jarrow on Saturday, then the Ernest Armstrong Cup final against Darlington Town on Bank Holiday Monday. The latter of which will be held at Grayfields, home of FC Hartlepool. We hope to see you all there for these two huge matches we are still to play.

UP THE Y&E!