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An Extract from Tom James's autobiography 'Rise To The Top', published May 2040.
Chapter 15
I'd only been to Wembley once as a manager, for that painful League Two Play-off Final defeat to Grimsby. It was a surreal feeling, sat on the bus as we saw the famous arches come into view, knowing that in a few hours, we'd be competing there for a place in the FA Cup final. My stomach growled, I had barely managed to eat anything from the buffet beforehand, so nervous about the contest. Fact is, we had a lot to be hopeful for. Since the start of February, we'd only lost once in the league, and the match before, we'd beaten Derby at Pride Park pretty convincingly. Yes we were playing Premier League opposition and were definitely underdogs, but equally, it's not like we were playing Liverpool, Manchester City or Chelsea. It was Burnley, a side who were overperforming in the league just like us, and were 9th at the time. They had some good players - notably Jude Bellingham, a young English midfielder - but so did we.
All the pre match interviews were a blur, I just wanted the game to start. Our cause wasn't helped by suspensions to Adam Lewis, Randell Williams and Alfie McCalmont, who were all booked in the quarterfinal win at Newcastle. I stuck with Lewis Ward in goal, our penalty shootout hero in the previous round. Neco Williams, Tyler Magloire, Robbie Thompson and Niko Hämäläinen made up the back line, while Adam Phillips partnered Borracha in midfield. Dilan Markanday took Randell Williams's spot, while Harvey Elliott, Ryan Mellor and Jordan Chapman completed the line-up. As the teams walked out, I couldn't help but feel immensely proud. Last year, we'd lost in the second round to Plymouth. Now we were competing for a place in the final. I shook Michel Preud'homme's hand and made my way to the dug out.
We were definitely nervous early on and gave the ball away lots. Neco was guilty of this in the build up to Burnley's opener, as he was robbed on the left hand side. It was the 20 year old Darren Smith who made us pay, hammering home into the top right hand corner from just outside the box. A special goal and one which Lewis could do nothing about. We managed to make it to half time without conceding again, but that was through luck rather than anything else. It was difficult to know what to say at half time. It wasn't going awfully for us, but equally we weren't creating anything at all. I told them to go out there and give the fans their money's worth. They seemed to like that.
Burnley came back after half time flying, and it wasn't long before Jonathan Amon made it two. He ran down the left hand side virtually unopposed, then took a shot with clattered off Neco and Tyler, before slotting home the rebound. Sadly, Neco compounded an awful day by heading the ball straight to Colombian striker Luis Suarez moments later, who made it three. I was disappointed by our performance. Dilan wasted our best opportunity of the match minutes later, but truthfully, I didn't see a way back for us either way. There was a sense of relief when the final whistle went. Our team this season was very young, and this match showed me that perhaps I needed to get some more experienced heads in.
Chapter 15
I'd only been to Wembley once as a manager, for that painful League Two Play-off Final defeat to Grimsby. It was a surreal feeling, sat on the bus as we saw the famous arches come into view, knowing that in a few hours, we'd be competing there for a place in the FA Cup final. My stomach growled, I had barely managed to eat anything from the buffet beforehand, so nervous about the contest. Fact is, we had a lot to be hopeful for. Since the start of February, we'd only lost once in the league, and the match before, we'd beaten Derby at Pride Park pretty convincingly. Yes we were playing Premier League opposition and were definitely underdogs, but equally, it's not like we were playing Liverpool, Manchester City or Chelsea. It was Burnley, a side who were overperforming in the league just like us, and were 9th at the time. They had some good players - notably Jude Bellingham, a young English midfielder - but so did we.
All the pre match interviews were a blur, I just wanted the game to start. Our cause wasn't helped by suspensions to Adam Lewis, Randell Williams and Alfie McCalmont, who were all booked in the quarterfinal win at Newcastle. I stuck with Lewis Ward in goal, our penalty shootout hero in the previous round. Neco Williams, Tyler Magloire, Robbie Thompson and Niko Hämäläinen made up the back line, while Adam Phillips partnered Borracha in midfield. Dilan Markanday took Randell Williams's spot, while Harvey Elliott, Ryan Mellor and Jordan Chapman completed the line-up. As the teams walked out, I couldn't help but feel immensely proud. Last year, we'd lost in the second round to Plymouth. Now we were competing for a place in the final. I shook Michel Preud'homme's hand and made my way to the dug out.
We were definitely nervous early on and gave the ball away lots. Neco was guilty of this in the build up to Burnley's opener, as he was robbed on the left hand side. It was the 20 year old Darren Smith who made us pay, hammering home into the top right hand corner from just outside the box. A special goal and one which Lewis could do nothing about. We managed to make it to half time without conceding again, but that was through luck rather than anything else. It was difficult to know what to say at half time. It wasn't going awfully for us, but equally we weren't creating anything at all. I told them to go out there and give the fans their money's worth. They seemed to like that.
Burnley came back after half time flying, and it wasn't long before Jonathan Amon made it two. He ran down the left hand side virtually unopposed, then took a shot with clattered off Neco and Tyler, before slotting home the rebound. Sadly, Neco compounded an awful day by heading the ball straight to Colombian striker Luis Suarez moments later, who made it three. I was disappointed by our performance. Dilan wasted our best opportunity of the match minutes later, but truthfully, I didn't see a way back for us either way. There was a sense of relief when the final whistle went. Our team this season was very young, and this match showed me that perhaps I needed to get some more experienced heads in.