DOUBLE TROUBLE FOR GAV Golcar’s brothers in arms
By Hugo Varley
AFTER three long years of frustration and graft, brothers and managerial partners Gav and Ash Connor finally guided Golcar United to promotion out of Step 6 this season. However, a logistical own goal left one half of the duo miles away from the ground, frantically tuning into his radio for updates!
The West Yorkshire side held on to win their NorthWest Counties Division One Play-Off final at Holker Old Boys over the Easter Weekend, but they had to do things the hard way, with only one of their joint managers in the dugout.
“I wasn’t expecting the season to end in mid-April, so I had a holiday booked for that weekend!” laughed Gav. “It was my son’s birthday, and we all went away for it. I was scratching around trying to find news the whole afternoon.
“I was saved by BBC Radio Cumbria in the end. They were giving little updates throughout the match and then had commentary for extra-time, which was brilliant.
“I was a nervous wreck throughout the day and felt completely helpless, but I had full faith in Ash, and I was going mad celebrating as if I was there when the final whistle went.”
The brothers have been in charge at Golcar since 2014 and have overseen an impressive transformation on and off the field. Golcar had been fighting it out in the West Yorkshire Amateur League for much of their history, but Gav and Ash sensed an opportunity.
After winning the title in consecutive seasons, the club were allowed into the North -West Counties League in 2019 after embarking on a sig- nificant upgrading of their Longfield
Avenue home.
Another promotion was the aim but two campaigns of Covid confusion and curtailment stalled momentum.
Laugh
It’s therefore unsurprising that victory in the play-off final sparked such an outpouring of emotions from both managers, with Golcar going up in their first full season at Step 6 level.
“The final was probably the best day I’ve been involved with at the club, Gav double booking himself was definitely something we will look back on and laugh about in years to come!” said Ash.
“There were a few nerves going into the play-offs because we had been on a rough run of form in the lead-up to them.
“I think a lot of teams might have wanted to play us because we weren’t looking so sharp, but we got a great win at home to AFC Blackpool where the atmosphere was really buzzing and that seemed to inspire us and pick the lads up going into the final.
Records
“The last few years have been tough. We were in a really good position before the first season was called off and then last year was all about trying to keep morale up when we didn’t know when or if things would get started again.”
The brothers have stuck together for much of their careers in the game, previously managing at Marsden before taking over at Golcar and admit their shared passion often dominates conversation at family gatherings.
“At Christmas time Ash and I are usually talking away about formations and fixtures!” added Gav.
“We call each other at least twice a day during the season, we are always chatting. Then in the summer we probably only talk once a week and that’s usually about how we can’t wait for the new season to start.”
Golcar’s run to promotion this year has coincided with a continued increase in numbers coming through the turnstiles at Longfield Avenue, with word of the club’s ascent beginning to spread across the Yorkshire Dales.
Over 1,200 fans crammed into the terraces to see the top-of -the-table clash with Bury AFC in April, smashing the club’s record attendance, while crowds have averaged close to 500 all season. These statistics mark yet another milestone in Golcar’s emergence in Yorkshire’s Non-League scene and their managerial duo have hopes of one day making the club a recognised powerhouse within the pyramid.
“The progress in recent years has been absolutely mind-blowing and there’s no reason why we can’t continue to push forward,” added Ash.
“When we were in Step 7, we would do well to have 70 or 80 people come out and watch us. Now things are very different, for example we had 250 make the trip up to Holker for the play-off final.
“We want to go in and compete at every league we reach; that’s what we are all about. There is a big catchment area of supporters that we can tap into and the more success we get on the pitch, the further news will travel.
“Huddersfield are the big club near us. We want them to reach the Premier League because that will mean more Sunday games for them and a hell of a lot more potential fans on a Saturday for us!
“Next year will bring a new type of challenge but Golcar are most definitely on the up.”