MATCH STATS
SUPERSUB Kai Walters was the hero as Ascot United finally broke Newport Pagnell Town’s stranglehold on the FA Vase with a 79th-minute winner.
Walters stooped to glance home a header from Sean McCormack’s near-post cross to hand the Yellamen a first ever Vase success and deny the holders a famous double at a sundrenched Wembley.
Both sides hit the woodwork twice in an even affair which saw defences very much on top until Walters’ late intervention.
Unusually for a Vase final, these two sides weren’t complete strangers to one another.
They months last met just 18 ago in a Berks & Bucks Senior Cup tie where Ascot raced away to a storming 8-2 victory!
Since that day, both have tasted success; Ascot having won the Combined Counties North with an impressive 102-point haul and Newport Pagnell Town lifting the Vase at Wembley last May.
Ascot boss Jamie Tompkins believed Newport’s experience under the arch 364 days previous made them firm favourites for the final but, if anything, it was the Berkshire side who adapted to the surroundings the quicker.
They went close to making a dream start inside five minutes when McCormack’s corner from the right found the glancing head of Jordan Ajanlekoko but Christian Smail cleared off the line at the far post from underneath his own crossbar.
Newport, however, soon found their feet with 38-goal top scorer Albie Hall screwing a shot from 15 yards just wide from the edge of the box and the dangerous Mo Ahmed firing against the outside of the post from a tight angle.
Sadly for Newport captain Russell Short and Ascot fullback Rob Gerrard, their Wembley experience was to last just 23 minutes before they were both forced off the field with head injuries following a nasty aerial collision.
Even without their skipper, however, Newport continued to look the more likely and they struck the woodwork for a second time on 26 minutes when Ben Ford’s teasing cross to the far post found Hall, who just couldn’t direct his angled volley on target. Moments later, the United Counties League side went close again, Hall again involved with a cut-back into the six-yard box but keeper
P ASCOT UTD V NEWPORT Rhys Forster crucially palmed the ball away from the feet of Jake Watkinson.
By this time, Ascot were just happy to go in goalless at the break, but they had another scare in first-half stoppage time when Ahmed broke from midfield and slid in Hall but his effort sliced wide of the near upright when handily placed.
And if Ascot were deemed lucky not to be behind at the break, the gods were well and truly smiling on them six minutes into the restart when Newport Pagnell squandered their best chance of the match, Watkinson somehow missing the target when sliding in to meet Hall’s inviting near-post centre.
The Yellamen were holding on but they certainly weren’t out of it. Cen