It’s the North Promotion Final!

The sold out signs were raised over Ram Meadow- aka the Getaway Cars Stadium- on Friday, so we know that this afternoon’s fixture will be watched by two thousand, one hundred people-each hoping that their side could tread the thin line between triumph and disaster and end up on the right side of it. The margins are so slim; last night, Sittingbourne, who reached one hundred and one points to take second place in Pitching In Isthmian South East, lost a Play Off match in front of their own fans for the second season in a row, Burgess Hill Town earning their promotion after a penalty shootout. 

Over one hundred and twenty minutes, Hill deserved their win. They handled the nerves of the occasion better than their hosts, particularly in the second half and afterwards- perhaps exemplified by the fact that out of ten penalties taken, five were missed, three by the Brickies- held themselves together just fractionally better. We suspect they’ll still be celebrating now, but it’s tough for the losing side, particularly if they finished in second place and were in front of their own supporters. So often the hosting side in our Final comes up short- home advantage only seems to help, in recent history certainly, only around fifty percent of the time. The 21-22 season, for example, saw three of the four home teams lose, whilst it was two of four last season. 

Bury Town, our hosts today, of course grasped second place on the last day of the season, and then demolished Waltham Abbey in the Semi-Finals in midweek. The Abbotts had defeated their hosts home and away during the regular season, so revenge must have been rather sweet, and set them up superbly for the Final. Visitors Brightlingsea Regent also won handsomely, defeating home performance kings- and Bury’s local rivals- Felixstowe and Walton United with aplomb, starting like a speedboat (there’s more chance of seeing one of those in Brightlingsea than an express train), two up within seven minutes, and finally winning three-one. 

Regent will travel with increased confidence, as they defeated their hosts both home and away this season- although, as the home fans will undoubtedly point out, that didn’t do Waltham Abbey much good! The last nine meetings between the sides sees Regent emerge ahead, five-three, with only one draw- nearly ten years ago. 

We’ll have a report soon after the final whistle- whenever that might be! The last four North Finals have gone to extra time and/or penalties; the last time a Final was won within ninety minutes was 2017-18, when Haringey Borough defeated Canvey Island.