MELKSHAM Town’s chair, Darren Perrin, has said that the club can ‘smell Wembley’ with only three games between the club and the FA Vase final, after storming to victory in the fourth round earlier this month.
After beating Crowborough Athletic 2-1, Town are now through to the last 16 of the FA Vase for the very first time in its history.
With a home crowd of 686, which was the largest attendance of any FA Vase match on the day, both Darren Perrin and manager, Kieran Baggs, have praised the ‘black and yellow’ supporters for playing their part in driving the team to the win.
The next round will see the team face Tring Athletic, and with another home draw, chair Darren Perrin is hoping the Melksham community can help drive the boys to make history yet again. Everybody associated with the club is absolutely over the moon, the whole town is buzzing and to get a home draw for the next round is the icing on the cake,” he said. “It’s natural to start to dream now and you can start to smell Wembley being only three games away from the final.
“All credit must go to Kieran, the players and the staff at the football club for what the club has achieved. Regarding the supporters, what more can I say? They are unique, truly something special. Everyone rallied round the club and on the day they were magnificent, they were the twelfth man. At times it was hard work, but the encouragement and support was phenomenal.
“At the next match against Tring Athletic, can we get a crowd of 1,000? Maybe 1,500? All wearing black and yellow – it could make all the difference. I would love to see the stadium full, packed to the rafters. Let’s make it a special day, not just for the club, but for the whole town. Melksham Town is all about the community, I want people to come out in force and be proud of the club that they have, and be proud of Melksham.”
In agreement, manager Kieran Baggs said, “It was a great occasion for the club and for the town. That’s something the town has always done, they get behind the club for these big games. The attendance was superb and the atmosphere was second to none.
“Next up is Tring, and we don’t know much about them, but it will be another tough test. It’s another home draw and we’ve shown that we don’t fear anyone when we are at home, so long as the boys are prepared for a fight and the Melksham faithful come through the gate to cheer us on. Maybe we’ll sneak through to the quarter-finals and create another piece of history for the club.”
Town take on Tring Athletic in the fifth round of the FA Vase on Saturday 3rd February. There is limited parking at Oakfields, so supporters are advised to walk to Oakfields or get dropped off.
