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| Onward to Wembley... |
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| Floodlit drama as Dave Redfern scores in the Quarter Final against Maidstone United - 3,316 watch on at Eton Park |
| For Neil Warnock,
the headline-grabbing events of January 1985 would represent the zenith of
his Eton Park career. His team, still regarded today as one of the best ever
seen at the club, could not repeat their Cup heroics on a regular basis in
the league, and in March 1986 after five years in the job (still a record
for a Brewers boss), he resigned. Warnock would go on to prove himself as a Football League manager, guiding Scarborough to promotion from the Conference, and later managing Plymouth, Notts County and Oldham, before returning to his home town to take a dream job with boyhood heroes Sheffield United, in December 1999. But Albion too were destined for greater things. Warnock's assistant Brian Fidler, originally given only a caretakers role, had been appointed Manager . The man who had put an end to the Brewers' FA Trophy hopes as a Macclesfield player seventeen years before, was in place to preside over Albion's own Wembley dream. And yet, but for a few favourable results around October 1986, he might have been relegated to a mere footnote in Burton Albion history. Albion's 1986/87 season had got off to a disastorous start - they had won only three games out of fourteen in the Northern Premier League, and Fidler had only just clung on to his job by the skin of his teeth. Money, as ever, was tight, and the club had turned to local estate agent Sam Brassington to try and restore some stability after another of the periodic financial crises which have dogged the club throughout it's history. Meanwhile, on the pitch, Fidler had to rebuild his squad with young players brought out of local football alongside the more experienced heads in his team. Albion had already been knocked out of the FA Cup, and languished in the wrong half of the table when they travelled to Cheshire on a foul afternoon in December, and few Albion fans could have dreamed that a 2-0 victory over Conference side Northwich Victoria at the Drill Field that day would take them all the way to a sun-bathed Wembley stadium six months hence. |
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| Paul Groves levels the scores in the Semi-Final first leg against Dartford |
| Victory over
Northwich was followed by a comprehensive 3-0 win over another respected
Conference side, Weymouth, at Eton Park in January, and as the Wembley campaign
gathered momentum, Northern League side Whitley Bay were the next team to
be accounted for, a solitary goal from Paul Bancroft sending Albion into
the Quarter Finals. The draw continued to throw up tough opposition for the Brewers - Maidstone United, one of the top Conference sides at the time, who were promoted to the Football League shortly afterwards (though they later went bankrupt). A Paul Groves goal in Kent earned a draw for the Brewers, and more than three thousand turned up at Eton Park for the Quarter Final Replay, to witness Albion overcome probably the biggest hurdle along their road to Wembley. On a night of drama, and ultimately, excitement, Dave Redfern scored the vital goal which nudged Albion to within touching distance of the Twin Towers. For the semi-final, Albion were pitted against another Kentish team, and a club who's destiny was entwined with that of Maidstone - Dartford, with whom the Stones ended up groundsharing, and who also later went bust. At this time, Dartford were a top Southern League Club managed by ex-Tottenham star (and future Leicester City, Gillingham and Brighton manager) Peter Taylor. Albion came out of the hat first, and so the opening leg would take place at Eton Park. Some terrible April weather, and the Grand National on the TV put paid to Sam Brassington's hope of a record-breaking Eton Park crowd, but three and a half thousand did turn up to see the Brewers recover from a first-half strike for Dartford, scored by Andy Hessenthaler, to win 2-1 thanks to goals from Paul Groves (later to sign for Leicester City, before enjoying spells with Blackpool and latterly Grimsby Town), and big centre forward Bob Gauden. |
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| Wembley here we come! Watling Street, Dartford - April '87 |
| Peter Taylor
was hardly gracious in defeat and predicted a hard time for Albion in the
second leg, but if Brewers fans with long memories had any worries about
a Matlock-style collapse in the second leg, they were soon forgotten. Paul
Bancroft made the Darts boss eat his words with a goal after just two minutes
from a Nigel Simms free-kick, and another before half-time to kill the game
off. Joyous scenes greeted the final whistle as the thousand-plus travelling Brewers' fans who'd made the long trek to Kent celebrated reaching Wembley for the first time in their history. The impossible dream had been acheived. And success in this incredible season was not just confined to the FA Trophy. The Brewers also reached the Finals of the Northern Premier League Cup and Birmingham Senior Cup, and the Semi-Finals of the (now long-forgotten) GMAC Cup. Massive fixture log-jam meant that Albion had to cram in fourteen games in all competitions into a three week spell at the end of April, including twice having to play three days running. This was probably a case of Albion having 'too many eggs in one basket', as they ended up winning nothing, but all other competitions paled into significance as all Burton eyes turned to May 9th, and a trip to the Mecca of English Football - Wembley Stadium... |
| The Road to Wembley '87 | ||||||
| Date | Rnd | Opponents | V | Att | Score | Scorers |
| 20 Dec | 1 | Northwich Victoria | A | 670 | 2-0 | Gauden, Redfern |
| 24 Jan | 2 | Weymouth | H | 1,502 | 3-0 | Land, Gauden, Kamara |
| 14 Feb | 3 | Whitley Bay | H | 1,701 | 1-0 | Bancroft |
| 7 Mar | 4 | Maidstone United | A | 1,659 | 1-1 | Groves |
| 11 Mar | 4 (R) | Maidstone United | H | 3,316 | 1-0 | Redfern |
| 4 Apr | SF(1) | Dartford | H | 3,690 | 2-1 | Groves, Gauden |
| 11 Apr | SF(2) | Dartford | A | 3,319 | 2-0 | Bancroft (2) |
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