Hats off to Derby kids, but Chorley so deserved their day in the sun
THERE will be no asterisk, the magnificent scale of their achievement will remain undiminished.
No one will remember that Derby County fielded the kids, few will even remembe r the grim backdrop. Chorley are in the fourth round of the FA Cup. Heck, they are even in the draw for the last 16. Manager Jamie Vermiglio, a primary school headteacher whose mind and time is occupied with the most onerous of day-to-day tasks, has put this non- league town on football’s national stage. To a man, his team knew this was possibly a once-in-a-career opportunity, their Championship opponents’ seniors self-isolating and only juniors to overcome.
Talented juniors but juniors all the same.
And to a man, Chorley seized that opportunity. From goalscorers
Connor Hall and Mike Calveley to lift engineer skipper Scott Leather and man of the match Elliot Newby, they were outstanding.
Indeed, the biggest compliment you could pay them? They were professional.
Because bizarrely, the Championship team were underdogs against a side from
English football’s sixth tier. And a young life in a high-end academy probably does not fully prepare you for tussles on a difficult non-league surface.
But this was hardly an intimidating environment, even for a side with an average of 19.
The staff and volunteers had done wonders to get Victory Park in great shape.
It was a credit to them that Derby’s youngsters – all 11 of the starting line-up were making their debuts – might have been pleasantly surprised by the conditions.
One fascinating aspect to this contest was how so many of the Chorley players must have seen their young selves in the faces of
the opposition. To a man, they would have started with the hopes and dreams of their youthful opponents. Several might still have them. Hall, who opened the scoring with a close-ranger that will not go down as a thing of beauty, is still only 22.
But after starting at Sheffield United, having a spell at Bolton Wanderers and some time at Woking, he is now a permanent member of the Chorley staff.
It is a long way to the big time from here, but he has now scored against Wigan, Peterborough and Derby County in this marvellous FA Cup run.
He could yet bloom again. He can still dream. But realistically, the chances of these Chorley players carving out a lucrative living from the game are slim.
Which is why days like these, cup runs like these, times like these, are so important, so exhilarating.
They are all accomplished footballers.
Newby – all intelligence, incision and left-footed danger – was as cultured as anyone on the park, setting up the nerve-settling late second for Calveley.
Arlen Birch looked to have all the standard attributes of a good-class, modern full-back.
You could see why Ollie Shenton, who now helps out at the family butcher’s shop, spent so long at Stoke City and actually played a few Premier League minutes. But the truth is they are in the National League North for a reason.
That is why they will revel in this time in the sun.
They will look forward to the draw for the fourth and fifth rounds, they will have celebrated with bubbles in their bubbles.
But if anything, there was not the sort of full-on delirium you might have expected.
Chorley’s players had known there had been a strange kind of pressure on them. Pressure they responded to magnificently.
There will be no asterisk against this triumph – Chorley are making their own history.
And that is what this great competition is all about.