2007 FA Trophy final

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2007 FA Trophy Final
Event2006–07 FA Trophy
Kidderminster Harriers Stevenage Borough
2 3
Date12 May 2007
Venue
2008
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The 2007 FA Trophy Final was the 38th final of

Conference National — the highest tier of the non-league football pyramid.[1]

The game was the first competitive match, and final, to be played at the new Wembley Stadium.[1] It was played in front of a record competition crowd of 53,262 on 12 May 2007.[2] Stevenage won the match 3–2, despite having trailed by two goals at half-time.[1] The victory meant it was the first time Stevenage had won the competition, as well as the club becoming the first team to win a competitive match at the new stadium.[3] Stevenage captain Ronnie Henry subsequently became the first ever player to lift a competitive trophy at the new stadium as a result of the victory.[3] It also meant Stevenage manager Mark Stimson had won the competition for three consecutive years, having won the FA Trophy with Grays Athletic in 2005 and 2006 respectively.[4]

Route to the final

Kidderminster Harriers

Kidderminster Harriers entered the

Halifax Town on 24 February. Similarly to the victory at Braintree, Kidderminster had trailed at half-time courtesy of a late first-half goal – this time Halifax's Neal Trotman heading past the outstretched Scott Bevan. Kidderminster bounced back immediately in the second-half, with James Constable scoring his sixth goal of the tournament when he tapped in from close range after Michael Blackwood's initial shot had been saved. Goals from Gavin Hurren, and an injury-time strike from Russell Penn ensured a two-goal victory.[10]

Kidderminster then faced Conference National side Northwich Victoria in the semi-finals, to be played over two legs. The first leg was played at Aggborough on 10 March 2007, with the home side securing a 2–0 lead to take into the second leg. Gavin Hurren scored the opening goal of the match after Mark Creighton's powerful effort was palmed into Hurren's path. Shortly before the interval, Kidderminster doubled their advantage when James Constable prodded home Alex Russell's through pass, ensuring Kidderminster took a two-goal advantage ahead of their trip to Northwich's Victoria Stadium.[11] In the second leg, played a week later, on 17 March, Northwich made light work of their two-goal deficit by scoring two goals in the opening fifteen minutes to tie the game at 2–2. However, goals from Mark Creighton and Russell Penn ensured Kidderminster regained their two-goal aggregate advantage. A late Michael Carr penalty ensured Northwich won the game 3–2, but lost the tie 4–3 on aggregate, meaning Kidderminster had earned a place in the final.[12]

Date Home team Score Away team Venue
16 December 2006
Aggborough, Kidderminster
15:00
Russell 23'
Christie
30'
Reynolds 74'		 [5][13] Furlong 42', 90'
Field 54'
McMahon 56'		 Attendance: 984
6 January 2007 First Round replay Vauxhall Motors 0–4 Kidderminster Harriers Rivacre Park, Ellesmere Port
19:45 [6] Constable 39', 82', 89'
White 90'		 Attendance: 257
13 January 2007
St James Park, Exeter
15:00 [7] Christie 31' Attendance: 2,418
3 February 2007
Aggborough, Kidderminster
15:00 [8] Attendance: 1,543
6 February 2007 Third Round replay Braintree Town 1–3 Kidderminster Harriers Cressing Road, Braintree
19:45 Edwards 43' [9] Blackwood 71'
Russell
75'		 Attendance: 508
24 February 2007
Aggborough, Kidderminster
15:00 Constable 51'
Hurren 57'
Penn 90'		 [10] Trotman 45' Attendance: 1,580
10 March 2007
Aggborough, Kidderminster
15:00 Hurren 37'
Constable 45'		 [11] Attendance: 2,383
17 March 2007 Semi-final, Second leg Northwich Victoria 3–2
Agg. 3–4		 Kidderminster Harriers Victoria Stadium, Northwich
15:00 Shaw 11'
Roca 14'
Carr 90' (p)		 [12] Creighton 25'
Penn 71'		 Attendance: 2,129

Stevenage Borough

Stevenage Borough entered the

Conference South leaders Salisbury City. Daryl McMahon's deflected effort gave the hosts the lead, before Morison and Nurse rounded off the scoring.[18][19]

The victory meant that Stevenage would play

Mark Hughes free-kick that evaded everyone – meaning Stevenage led 2–1 on aggregate. Steve Morison netted his seventh of the competition in the 120th minute to seal Stevenage's victory and ensure the club would be participating in the first competitive final at the new Wembley Stadium.[21]

Date Home team Score Away team Venue
Stevenage Borough v Merthyr Tydfil
16 December 2006 First Round Stevenage Borough 7–0 Merthyr Tydfil Broadhall Way, Stevenage
15:00 Boyd 30', 50', 51', 54'
Morison 56'
Guppy 73'
Dobson 85'		 [13] Attendance: 881
13 January 2007
Leigh RMI
Broadhall Way, Stevenage
15:00 Slabber 25'
Morison 68', 85'		 [15] McCauley 32' Attendance: 1,184
2 February 2007
Christie Park, Morecambe
15:00
Thompson
90'		 [16] Morison 25' Attendance: 1,131
6 February 2007 Third Round replay Stevenage Borough 3–0
(After extra-time)		 Morecambe Broadhall Way, Stevenage
19:45 Morison 95'
Nurse 103'
Miller 114'		 [17] Attendance: 1,056
24 February 2007 Fourth Round Stevenage Borough 3–0 Salisbury City Broadhall Way, Stevenage
15:00 McMahon 24'
Morison 63'
Slabber 88'		 [18] Attendance: 2,184
10 March 2007 Semi-final, First leg Grays Athletic 0–1 Stevenage Borough New Recreation Ground, Grays
15:00 [20] Gaia 72' Attendance: 1,918
17 March 2007 Semi-final, Second leg Stevenage Borough 2–1
(After extra-time)
Agg. 3–1		 Grays Athletic Broadhall Way, Stevenage
15:00
Hughes 97'
Morison
120'		 [21] Rhodes 49' Attendance: 3,008

Match summary

The two teams were competing for the FA Trophy, a cup competition open to clubs playing in steps 1–4 of the National League System. The match had garnered a lot of media attention due to the fact that it was the first competitive game to be played at the new Wembley Stadium, which opened in May 2007.[3][22][23][24] The attendance of 53,262 means that the final holds the record for the highest attendance for any FA Trophy final, beating the previous record of 34,842, when Wycombe Wanderers beat Kidderminster in 1991.[23] The winning club received the FA Trophy itself, and prize money of £50,000, in addition to that accumulated for winning earlier rounds, whilst the runners-up received prize money of £25,000.[25] Stevenage manager Mark Stimson was hoping to win the competition for a third consecutive year, having won the trophy for Grays Athletic in 2006 and 2007 respectively.[24]

Both teams were at full strength for the match. The line-ups included Stevenage's Steve Guppy and Kidderminster's Jeff Kenna, meaning the two players were the first to play at both old and new Wembley stadia.[22][26] Stevenage striker Steve Morison had scored a total of seven goals in seven games en route to the final, and he was joint leading goalscorer of the tournament prior to the final, alongside Kidderminster's James Constable, who had netted seven goals in eight games. Kidderminster's Stuart Whitehead captained the side, whilst long-serving Ronnie Henry wore the captain's armband for Stevenage.[3][25]

First-half

The first-half started "tentatively", with Kidderminster looking the more likely side as the half progressed — "controlling the midfield, and taking advantage of a deep-sitting Stevenage backline, Kidderminster started to find some penetration".[1] On the half-hour mark, Kidderminster took the lead, and it was Constable who supplied the end product, when he was on hand to stab home after Iyseden Christie's shot was blocked.[25] Five minutes later, Kidderminster doubled their advantage – after a surging run, Constable fizzed in a low shot from the edge of the box, which nestled into the corner and beat the outstretched Alan Julian in the Stevenage goal.[1] Kidderminster leading 2–0, referee Chris Foy blew his whistle for the half-time interval.[1]

Second-half

Despite trailing 2–0, Stevenage manager Mark Stimson opted against making any changes at the interval, whilst Kidderminster also remained unchanged.[25] Stevenage started the second period with "much more purpose, showing greater thrust and belief", with Mitchell Cole shooting wide after a mazy run.[1] Six minutes into the second-half, Stevenage halved the deficit, Morison headed the ball down to Mitchell Cole, who produced a neat right-footed finish to beat Scott Bevan in the Kidderminster goal.[1] Centre-back Santos Gaia spurned the opportunity to restore parity when his header narrowly missed the target on the hour mark.[1] Stimson brought on Craig Dobson in place of Steve Guppy after 63 minutes, and ten minutes later, Dobson levelled the scores at two-apiece. Dobson latched on to a "hopeful long punt" from John Nutter and toe poked the ball past onrushing Bevan.[1] Kidderminster responded by making an instant change, bringing on Andrew White for Iyseden Christie. However, it was Stevenage who would go on to complete a remarkable comeback with just two minutes of the game remaining.[1] Stevenage right-back Barry Fuller produced a swinging cross that Morison hooked towards goal on the volley, Bevan saved the shot, but Morison reacted fastest to "smash home the rebound and snatch the glory".[1]

Post-match

After the match, the Kidderminster players and management team were the first to make the 107–step climb up the Wembley stairs to collect their runners-up medals.[27] Stevenage, led by captain Ronnie Henry, then made the journey up the steps "cheered on by the Stevenage support", with Henry being awarded the winners' trophy from the presentation party.[27] Substitute Craig Dobson was awarded the Man of the Match trophy, having "turned the game and caused no end of problems for the Kidderminster defence".[25][28] In the post-match interviews, Kidderminster manager Mark Yates stated he was "devastated, but proud" of his players, and believed his side did not deserve to lose the match.[1] Stevenage's manager Mark Stimson, celebrating his third consecutive FA Trophy success, told the players to "believe in themselves" at half-time, and felt that his side were always going to go on and win the match once Mitchell Cole had halved the two-goal deficit just after half-time.[1] Steve Morison stated he was "lost for words" after scoring the winning goal in the 88th minute — "I can't explain how it feels, I can't describe scoring a goal anytime let alone at Wembley in front of 50,000 people. The boys out there were all part of it, it was a tremendous effort. I just did what I'm paid to do and that's score goals".[29]

Match details

Kidderminster Harriers2–3Stevenage Borough
Constable 31', 37' Report Cole 51'
Dobson 74'
Morison 88'
Chris Foy
GK 1 England Scott Bevan
RB 2 Republic of Ireland Jeff Kenna
CB 5 England Mark Creighton
CB 6 England Stuart Whitehead (c)
LB 4 England Gavin Hurren Yellow card
RM 18 England Brian Smikle downward-facing red arrow 90'
CM 12 England Simon Russell
CM 14 England Russell Penn Yellow card
LM 11 England Michael Blackwood
FW 22 England Iyseden Christie downward-facing red arrow 76'
FW 26 England James Constable
Substitutes:
GK 13 England Stephen Taylor
MF 7 England Jacob Sedgemore
MF 17 England Michael McGrath
FW 9 England Andrew White upward-facing green arrow 76'
FW 14 England Luke Reynolds upward-facing green arrow 90'
Manager:
England Mark Yates
GK 1 Northern Ireland Alan Julian
RB 2 England Barry Fuller Yellow card
CB 6 Brazil Santos Gaia
CB 25 England Ronnie Henry (c)
LB 3 England John Nutter
RM 21 England Steve Guppy downward-facing red arrow 63'
CM 26 England Mark Beard
CM 10 England Adam Miller
LM 11 England Mitchell Cole
FW 4 England Luke Oliver Yellow card
FW 20 Wales Steve Morison
Substitutes:
GK 16 England Danny Potter
MF 22 Jamaica Craig Dobson upward-facing green arrow 63'
MF 24 Republic of Ireland Daryl McMahon
FW 7 England Jamie Slabber
FW 9 Barbados Jon Nurse
Manager:
England Mark Stimson

Match rules

  • 90 minutes.
  • 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary.
  • Penalty shootout if scores still level.
  • Five named substitutes.
  • Maximum of three substitutions.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Hughes, Ian (12 May 2007). "Kidderminster 2–3 Stevenage". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  2. ^ "The History of The FA Trophy". The Football Association. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  3. ^ a b c d "Henry the first". The Football Association. 13 May 2007. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  4. ^ "Mark Stimson applies for Grimsby Town manager job". BBC Sport. 11 March 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  5. ^ a b c "Astra-ocious defending hands Vauxhall a replay". Kidderminster Harriers F.C. 16 December 2006. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  6. ^ a b "Harriers set Corsa for Exeter". Kidderminster Harriers F.C. 6 January 2007. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
  7. ^ a b "Christie strike makes Devon rock". Kidderminster Harriers F.C. 13 January 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  8. ^ a b "Harriers stay in neutral for 90 minutes". Kidderminster Harriers F.C. 3 February 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  9. ^ a b "Harriers triple whirlwind sinks Braintree". Kidderminster Harriers F.C. 6 February 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  10. ^ a b "Russell inspires Harriers Trophy win". Kidderminster Harriers F.C. 24 February 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  11. ^ a b "Harriers start with a 2–0 win". Kidderminster Harriers F.C. 10 March 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  12. ^ a b "Que sera, sera, we're going to Wemberly". Kidderminster Harriers F.C. 17 March 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  13. ^ a b c "FA Trophy first round details". BBC Sport. 16 December 2006. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  14. ^ "Stevenage Borough 7–0 Merthyr Tydfil, 2006-7". BoroGuide. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  15. ^ a b "Stevenage Borough 3–1 Leigh RMI, 2006-7". BoroGuide. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  16. ^ a b "Morecambe 1–1 Stevenage Borough, 2006-7". BoroGuide. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  17. ^ a b "Stevenage Borough 3–0 Morecambe, 2006-7". BoroGuide. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  18. ^ a b "Stevenage Borough 3–0 Salisbury City, 2006-7". BoroGuide. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  19. ^ "FA Trophy quarter-final details". BBC Sport. 25 February 2007. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  20. ^ a b "Grays Athletic 0–1 Stevenage Borough, 2006-7". BoroGuide. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  21. ^ a b "Stevenage Borough 2–1 Grays Athletic, 2006-7". BoroGuide. Retrieved 13 July 2016.
  22. ^ a b "Familiar surroundings". TheFA.com. 9 May 2007. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  23. ^ a b "Best for 40 years". TheFA.com. 14 May 2007. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  24. ^ a b "Three's a crowd". TheFA.com. 9 May 2007. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  25. ^ a b c d e "Borough bite back". TheFA.com. 12 May 2007. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  26. ^ "Jeff Kenna believe it". TheFA.com. 12 May 2007. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
  27. ^ a b Stevenage v Kidderminster Harriers matchday programme. Stevenage F.C. 2010. p. 15.
  28. ^ "Craig Dobson signs for Bees". Barnet F.C. 12 May 2007. Archived from the original on 6 August 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  29. ^ "Morison lost for words". TheFA.com. 12 May 2007. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
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