It’s finally here. Weeks of waiting are over as Bracknell Town, Thatcham Town and Windsor go on the hunt for a place in the Quarter Finals of the 2017/18 FA Vase with a trip to Wembley Stadium a tantalising three victories away.
It has been well documented that there are no easy games at this stage in the Vase, and blimey are they not wrong. Bracknell and Thatcham both have the toughest of tests while Windsor – having been the underdogs in their last two matches in the competition probably just about go in to this one as favourites.
The Vase is one of the few non league competitions you can bet on (please gamble responsibly) and Bet Victor have Bracknell as 6/1 joint second favourites with 1874 Northwich and Bromsgrove Sporting, Thatcham Town are 20/1 and Windsor 33/1. If you do fancy a flutter you can do so here.
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So here goes, here’s our low down on the three Fifth Round ties involving Berkshire sides. You can see the full draw here.
Coleshill Town vs Bracknell Town
Firstly, if you are heading up to Birmingham you’ll want to check out our guide to Pack Meadow here. Dubbed El Plastico on account of both sides playing on artificial surfaces this promises to be a fast paced encounter with the Midland Football League Premier side on 63 league goals for the season and the Robins on 79.
Coleshill’s top scorer in all competitions is Jordan Nadat with 16 (but he left the club for Alvechurch before Christmas) and several players not far behind – Bracknell appear to have the upper hand in terms of goalscorers with Adam Cornell (27) and TJ Bohane (20) all free scoring while Seb Bowerman and Joe Grant have 19 and 17 respectively.
Related: Jamie McClurg keeping up the family tradition in the FA Vase
Where the home side have the upper hand is perhaps on experience having made the semi finals of last seasons competition – being knocked out by eventual winners South Shields.
Expert verdict: Another tie that could easily swing either way but I just fancy Bracknell to eventually progress after a very tight contest. BOTP Pick: Bracknell Town
STATS:
League: Coleshill Town (Midland Combination Premier – Step 5), Bracknell (Hellenic Premier – Step 5)
Last five games: Coleshill: DWWWD Bracknell: WWWWL
Odds: Coleshill (11/8), Draw (7/2), Bracknell (11/10) – odds by Bet Victor
Your prediction?
📈 #FAVASE prediction time! @coleshilltownfc entertain @BracknellTownFC on Saturday in the Fifth Round, but who will win it?
Comment with score and please RT! See our full match preview including odds here 👉 https://t.co/yCDPTBENfj
— Football in Berkshire (@fiberkshire) February 2, 2018
Thatcham Town vs Bromsgrove Sporting
Bromsgrove Sporting are the reborn version of the famous old Bromsgrove Rovers side who spent five years in the Conference in the 1990s and twice reached the Quarter Finals of the FA Trophy.
The visitors to Thatcham Town have a superb following – their last two home league fixtures attracted 500 and 700 spectators respectively and they sit a healthy second in the Midland Football League behind Coleshill and looking a good bet for promotion.
Thatcham of course will be without Liam Ferdinand who is cup tied but still have 41 goal Shane Cooper-Clark to lead the line.
Expert verdict: This really could go either way. Both sides are in good form and both will probably have their sights set on a promotion push. The bookies see Sporting as favourites but I am sticking with my instinct and going for home advantage winning the day. BOTP Pick: Thatcham Town
STATS:
League: Thatcham Town (Hellenic League Premier – Step 5), Bromsgrove Sporting (Midland Combination Premier – Step 5)
Last five games: Thatcham: WWWWW Bromsgrove: WDLWW
Odds: Thatcham (13/8), Draw (7/2), Bromsgrove (1/1) – odds by Bet Victor
Your prediction?
📈 #FAVASE prediction time! @Thatcham_TownFC entertain @SportingFC on Saturday in the Fifth Round, but who will win it?
Comment with score and please RT! See our full match preview including odds here 👉 https://t.co/yCDPTBENfj
— Football in Berkshire (@fiberkshire) February 2, 2018
Windsor vs Hamble Club
The big news for Windsor as sports reporter Rob Stevens revealed this week is that veteran centre forward Barry Hayles will miss the tie with a broken hand while Matt Stockill will also miss out after his suspension carried over following last Saturday’s postponed fixture.
Haydon Clack is likely to return though but manager Mick Woodham admitted preparation hadn’t been ideal. He said: “The game getting called off hasn’t helped us. It means we’ve not played since Brimscombe & Thrupp so our preparations haven’t been ideal. It wasn’t to be so preparations are as good as they can be.”
Hamble will provide a tough test but Windsor will be – in our opinion anyway the favourites going in to this having been firm underdogs in their last two Vase ties. The Romsey Advertiser described the Hampshire club as ‘one of those sides who never know when they’re beaten’.
Expert verdict: Despite Hamble being shorter odds than their opponents, home advantage will prove to be a decider in my opinion. BOTP Pick: Windsor
STATS:
League: Windsor (Hellenic Premier – Step 5), Hamble Club (Wessex League Premier – Step 5)
Last five games: Windsor: LLWWW Hamble: WDWWL
Odds: Windsor (5/4), Draw (7/2), Hamble (5/4) – odds by Bet Victor
Your prediction?
📈 #FAVASE prediction time! @windsorfc entertain @HambleClubFC on Saturday in the Fifth Round, but who will win it?
Comment with score and please RT! See our full match preview including odds here 👉 https://t.co/yCDPTBENfj
— Football in Berkshire (@fiberkshire) February 2, 2018
Want to keep up with all the FA Vase action? Join our facebook event and make sure you follow FiB on twitter for match updates.
