Are we there yet? (Part Five)

Carshalton, Lewes, Fleetwood and now Hungerford. It’s been a busy old time following Leiston this season. At least the club card points have benefited! Amidst the rain we set off on Saturday and made pretty good time down through the Essex sunshine. The first pit stop took us to South Mimms and it was interesting seeing all the football shirts on show especially as they were all from the lower leagues. Bristol Rovers, Cheltenham and Burton Albion to name a few bustling around the busy complex along with the second of the Leiston supporters coaches. Upon arrival at Hungerford and without the aid of a navigation system, it seemed we had stumbled into Norfolk with the pitch more akin to Swaffham than deepest Berkshire. It certainly contained plenty of grass but we would need oxygen to reach the summit of the top stand! Cheered on by nearly 100 fans Leiston started dreadfully, got better, then had a player sent off before raising hopes with a great equaliser. In the first minute of extra time Hungerford hit what proved to be the winner and we limped out of the Vase for another year. At least the walk to the mini bus was down hill. Some of the locals reminded us we had a long journey to get home (the irony for them is a trip to Lowestoft in the next round) while the home players celebrated like they had won the trophy. I guess they were excited after knocking out the ‘unofficial’ favourites. It was a sombre trip home with no toilet breaks, which surprised me. After all the long hauls this season, we just have Cambridge (twice), Kings Lynn and Wisbech to contend with on our journeys now.