90 Minutes Is Not Enough

by Robert Mann

  The following Saturday saw major changes to the starting eleven for the home match to Notts County. Out went Angelo Mizuel replaced by Ian Hargreaves. Matt Sutts came in replacing Jock Mcleish in midfield and Wayne Ferraday was also dropped giving a first start of the season to Kelvin Davies a reserve team midfielder who had been impressing over the last few weeks. The captaincy went to Terry Pauls. Terrance Fletcher was sending out a clear message that no one player was guaranteed a place in the squad on April 1st at Wembley. They had to earn it! A rejuvenated Redbourne brushed aside the oldest club in the football league 3-0 Terry Pauls revelling in the captain’s armband! Redbourne stayed comfortably in a playoff spot!

  The momentum kept going for the visit to Edgeley Park for Redbourne’s first ever game there against Stockport County. As did the ticket sales unofficial estimates put the sales for the Redbourne end at Wembley at approaching 20000.Club officials felt like they were living in a dreamland as their team went out and dispatched The Hatters 3-0 without even coming out of second gear! Again the chance of an automatic promotion spot was tantalizingly within their grip with the gap to third placed Lincoln down to 2 points!

  Suddenly it was down to the biggest week of the club’s season the double header against Hartlepool first in the league and then at Wembley. Both Deborah and Terry felt like they had been on the most incredible roller coaster ride over the last six weeks with the culmination still to come. They knew though that taking it together would be an experience that they would remember for the rest of their lives!

  Come the Saturday lunchtime game against Hartlepool which went out live on Sky, Miles Grimley knew that there was a real chance that they would sell out their allocation for Wembley. Never had a final between two lower division teams so grabbed the public’s imagination. The dress rehearsal was a cracking game watched by a sell-out crowd and many neutrals. Even Oliver serving two years for GBH and conspiring to organize violence in Winson Green Prison Birmingham watched the game cheering on The Countrymen! There was no trouble despite a huge police presence in a match won 2-1 by Redbourne, a goal in the 92nd minute by Ian Hargreaves again on as substitute winning it! At last as the other results came in later that afternoon Redbourne were back in an automatic promotion spot! Now all roads led to Wembley!

  25

  It's A Crying Game

  "The Beast" left Redbourne for London on the Friday afternoon bound for The Hilton Park Lane, which would be the team's base until Monday morning come win or lose. The non-playing staff of the club would all follow on the Saturday .On the Saturday afternoon after their final training session at Chelsea's luxurious Cobham Training Centre, resplendent in their new designer Armani suits, Terrance Fletcher's Redbourne headed across London to get a feel of the new Wembley! Still stunned by the premiership champions training facilities after the kind invite by Jose Mourinho, the new 133 metre arch sitting above the northern section of the stadium came into view as they approached the new Wembley.

  Even Terrance Fletcher could not help but be thrilled by the tantalizing views of the stadium as "The Beast" drew nearer. Occasionally a driver would recognise the team coach and hoot their good wishes. Even Billy their driver was overawed as he backed the coach up to the player's entrance, the players having fallen silent at the magnitude and grandeur of the whole complex. Walking out onto the pitch the whole squad was wide eyed with awe gazing up at the 90000 seats of which the majority would be occupied in twenty-four hours time. A few workmen still bustled about doing last minute jobs one of them stopping as he recognised Terry Paul's mop of red hair and shouting

  "Good luck tomorrow Redbourne"

  The Wembley official that had been with the party left them with a friendly

  "Any more queries don't hesitate to ask, I won't be far away!"

  After thirty minutes of strolling on the pitch and checking out the brand new changing rooms Terrance could see the change come over his players as they started to relax and unwind enjoying the experience. He knew then that the exercise had been worthwhile.

  The exodus from the Redbourne area started on the Saturday morning with many fans deciding to make a weekend of it in London. Ticket sales had closed at midday on Friday and Redbourne were expected to have over 30,000 fans there supporting them. Organising official transport for them had truly been a logistical nightmare but somehow the club had laid on and filled 200 coaches and 10 supporters trains. It had been an achievement that had left everyone connected with the exercise drained but very very proud!

  The trains left from Redbourne and Cheltenham stations at staggered intervals to avoid too much congestion at the stations early on the Sunday morning. The coaches left from three points of departure, Whaddon Road, the new Pines Road and Cheltenham Racecourse. They left behind an eerily deserted Redbourne! As the huge convoy of supporter's coaches approached the intersection with the M4 a huge Redbourne flag had been hung from one of the bridges with the message scrawled above it

  "Terrance Fletcher's red and black army-left turn for Wembley!"

  As the coaches and trains neared London the atmosphere aboard was supercharged, the Redbourne fans living the dream and loving every moment of the day. Come one o clock with two hours to kick off the coach parks around the stadium were beginning to fill up and the two sets of fans were mixing freely. This game had been labelled as “The fan's final" in the build up and it was certainly living up to its name!

  The trip from The Hilton Park Lane early on the Sunday lunchtime was one that none of the Redbourne players would ever forget. For about the last two miles to the stadium the streets that they went through were a solid mass of excited Redbourne fans decked out in red and black. A small part of Gloucestershire had emigrated to north London for the day! By the time Billy backed the coach into the tunnel at the player's entrance both wing mirrors of the coach had red and black scarves hanging from it!

  Redbourne fans had been allocated the northern end of the stadium and a huge Wembley roar from the twenty or so thousand Redbourne fans that must have been already in the stadium greeted the players as they walked out into the bright April sunshine to reacquaint themselves with the lush new playing surface. The only surprise in the Redbourne line up when the team's were announced shortly after that was the exclusion of the young Spanish forward Angelo Mizuel with Ian Hargreaves starting in front of him. The young Redbourne number 10 was inconsolable despite being on the substitute's bench!

  The roar from the fans and the constant patter from the two comperes for the afternoon could both be heard in the Redbourne dressing room as kick off time neared. Chopper was being noisily sick in the toilet the occasion having really got to him and was being ribbed in great glee by the rest of the team. Terrance looked on with pride; most of his work for today was now done. The team was primed and ready to play for their lives; there could be no bigger incentive for lower division teams than victory today!

  As the two teams gathered in the tunnel the roar from the crowd intensified the huge screens in the stadium were switched to the tunnel to show the players of Redbourne and Hartlepool waiting patiently. Entering onto the playing surface they were greeted by a crowd of over 75000 a record for the competition as fireworks went off in the four corners of the playing surface shooting high into the blue sky!

  At last the preliminaries were over; as the echoes of the National Anthem sung by the special guest for the day Elton John died away, the two teams broke away to their respective ends. Miles Grimley had paid out of his own pocket for two executive boxes for the club staff. Everyone was there enjoying the superb hospitality and the match day experience except for Deborah who had chosen to join her sister at the northern end of the stadium, with the main body of Redbourne fans.

  The two ends of the stadium were vibrant displays of colour and noise as Redbourne kicked off attacking towards their fans. Straight from the kick off Redbourne were on the attack in a game that was going out live on Sky and 5 live. With just minutes on the clock Hargreaves showing no nerves for
his young age was put through. He shot hard and low but Konstantopoulos was equal to it pushing it round the post for a corner. The stadium buzzed as a replay was shown on the two giant screens both the size of 600 domestic televisions!

  "Come on Redbourne Come On Redbourne”

  reverberated around the stadium as the Countrymen fans really started to get behind their team. From the southern end of the stadium almost instantly came the retort

  "Danny Wilson's blue and white army"

  as the two sets of fans jousted for vocal supremacy. It was then Hartlepool's turn to put early pressure on the Redbourne goal as Joel Porter came bursting through the centre of the Countrymen's defence and flashed a fierce shot just wide. The game was flowing from end to end being played in a great spirit with none of the nastiness that marred their encounter earlier in the season at Victoria Park! Redbourne wearing their special edition shirts just for today; broke forward in attack again. This time it was Terry Pauls loving the wide-open spaces of Wembley's lush playing surface who broke forward towards the Poolie's penalty area the defence backing off him. Seeing a glimpse of goal in front of him he unleashed a venomous shot that rocketed into the top corner of the Hartlepool goal. With fifteen minutes gone Redbourne were in seventh heaven. There were Redbourne fans in pockets in other areas of the stadium but the northern end where the main body of support was went absolutely ballistic! Terry Pauls was mobbed by his delirious team-mates as the commentators eulogised over the quality of the goal.

  Hartlepool were not top of Division two for nothing and came right back at Redbourne. They won a well-deserved corner from which Darren Williams up from defence fired narrowly over the bar when a loose ball dropped to him six yards out. Still Hartlepool pressed but could find no way through a superbly organized Redbourne defence, a long shot by Antony Sweeney which whistled past the post of Dave Francis being the closest that they came.

  Half time approached and the noise levels increased yet again from the Redbourne end as they roared their heroes on to the break. Right on the interval The Countrymen came tantalisingly close to doubling their advantage. A delicate chip by Dwight Edwards until now having a quiet game beat Konstantopoulos all ends up and had goal written all over it. The crowd noise increased several decibels as somehow the ball refused to come down enough hitting the bar and dropping down gently for the sprawling keeper to gratefully clutch. Both Terrance and Steve were out of their dugout holding their heads in their hands not quite believing that it hadn't gone in. Neither could Dwight as the referee brought the first half to a close with Redbourne still leading by the odd goal. Both teams received a standing ovation from the crowd, which had been richly entertained so far.

  Outside on the pitch the crowd was being royally entertained by the Regimental Band Of Her Majesty's Coldstream Guards. Within the dressing rooms both managers were working overtime to reorganise and galvanise their teams for the fast approaching 2nd half. As the teams reappeared Redbourne were unchanged but Hartlepool had made one change taking off Darren Williams and switching to three at the back, with the forward Eifion Williams coming on.

  The start of the second half saw the change made by Hartlepool mean that the game was far more constrained than in the first half with a real conglomeration of bodies in midfield! It was twenty minutes in before the first chance of consequence for either side. The chance fell to Ian Hargreaves from a corner. It looked easier to score but somehow the ball squirmed inches past the post as just over 75,000 fans gasped in disbelief!

  The game was now reaching that crucial phase for Redbourne, should they stick with what they had or push on for what would be a second and almost certain winning goal? Terrance didn't make many errors as a manager but today was the time for one of them. Much to the disbelief of Terry Pauls and the more tactically astute of Redbourne fans he was motioned back into a holding role in front of the defence with twenty minutes to play.

  It didn't take long for Danny Wilson's team to seize the advantage and soon all the pressure was on Dave Francis's goal. A terrific goalmouth scramble saw the ball hit the Redbourne post from a misguided clearance by Chopper in a blind panic and the resulting shot by Gary Liddle scraped paint off the post before going behind to safety. All the time the clock ticked down and nerves grew more ragged in both sets of supporters. On the eighty minute mark Redbourne made the change that many observers had been expecting. Young Ian Hargreaves came off having run himself into the ground to a huge round of applause and was replaced by Angelo Mizuel. Still the pressure couldn't be relieved and then the inevitable happened with just three minutes left on the clock.

  Joel Porter was the hero for the Hartlepool fans who had almost despaired of the ball ever going in for them! He ghosted in round the back of the Redbourne defence and wasn't picked up. A delicate lofted header from a pinpoint cross beat Francis all ends up as he whirled away in delight, the southern end of the stadium an eruption of blue and white. Many Redbourne fans had their head in their hands seeing victory snatched away at the death, other had tears in their eyes including Deborah and her sister. Still Hartlepool pushed wanting the winner in normal time. Only a last ditch clearance from Jock Mcleish saved Terrance Fletcher's men from turning victory into defeat as the final whistle went meaning that ninety minutes was not enough to resolve this classic footballing encounter.

  The first thing that Terrance Fletcher did when he got his shattered players around him and Steve Hayter on the pitch in the break before extra time was to apologise to them for his mistake in dropping Terry Pauls back as a holding player and thus putting them through extra time!

  At the same time this was going on, back in Redbourne a confused elderly man was being interviewed by a sceptical local police after he walked into Redbourne Police Station and narrated his account of the fire at the old Pines Lane. None of the police were that interested, they wanted to get back to the commentary from Wembley! He claimed to be the night watchman that had supposedly never turned up for work that fateful night when the stadium burnt down!

  The crowd had quietened somewhat during the break needing it almost as much as the players but as they sensed that the action was about to get under way again the volume was quickly increased.

  "Terrance Fletcher's red and black army”

  thundered around Wembley as Redbourne kicked off attacking the northern end of the stadium again! Instantly the dynamics of the game changed again with Terry Pauls giving Redbourne the attacking advantage back again. Tired legs on both sides saw errors starting to slip into the game as play ebbed from end to end albeit with no clear-cut chances. That was the case until in the 105th minute of the match Jock Mcleish put Terry Pauls clear with Angelo Mizuel breaking with him. Terry reaching the dead ball line pulled back the perfect ball for Angelo to smash by Konstantopoulos without breaking his stride!

  Angelo did a double somersault before jumping the advertising hoarding and running to celebrate with the Redbourne fans that were nearest the front! Deborah and her sister by now emotional wrecks were crying tears of joy with Redbourne again in front! Terrance Fletcher as the whistle went to end the first period of extra time was out at the edge of his technical area shouting one word at any of his players that could hear and that was

  “focus”!

  The crowd wasn't quiet during the short turnaround for the second period of extra time. It was all Redbourne roaring their team home. It was the same in pubs and clubs back in Redbourne and Cheltenham with hardly a soul to be seen on the streets! This time Terrance didn't change things round, his message to his team was keep going forward. It took ten minutes for Hartlepool to mount a serious attack as the men in red and black showed how to pass the ball around and keep possession to great roars of

  "Ole"

  from The Countrymen fans! Only in the dying minutes did Redbourne have a serious worry when a miss hit back pass from Jock Mcleish set Joel Porter away unmarked. Deborah couldn't look as the cross shot flew across the face of goal inches wide! It was only the Johnstone
's Paint Trophy but the Redbourne travelling army clad in red and black didn't care. As the 4th officials board went up for one minute of added on time to play the chant started of

  “Champions, Champions"

  and grew so that 30,000 voices were in unison. The whole of the Redbourne end were on their feet a wall of noise emanating from them as the referee finally blew his whistle to signify full time! Danny Wilson sporting to the last was the first person to congratulate a highly emotional Terrance Fletcher. He swore blind later that he didn't have tears in his eyes but many Redbourne fans believed otherwise looking back on events later!

  It was a good fifteen minutes later before Redbourne were climbing the steps to the revamped Royal Box to be presented with the cup. Terry Pauls and Jock Mcleish playing colleagues and now good friends were the last two of the team up. At the last moment Jock ducked in front of Terry motioning that Terry should receive the Cup on behalf of Redbourne. With tears of pride in his eyes, nineteen year old Terry Pauls received the cup from a smiling Prince Philip turned and raised it aloft to The Redbourne end as the stadium announcer confirmed

  “The 2006-2007 Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Winners

  Redbourne Rovers”

  The End

  Author’s Note

  All stats player and ground wise about other league clubs mentioned within this book were factually correct at the time of going to the publishers. Obviously a couple of clubs have changed divisions to aid the storyline! The exception is the chapter about The Cherries. Having supported AFC Bournemouth for over 35 years when it has been one financial crisis after another I too chose to live the dream about what could happen! Hope you enjoyed reading “90 Minutes Is Not Enough” as much as I enjoyed writing it!