Today I'm going back six years to 2016 and the National League North Play-Off Final between North Ferriby United and AFC Fylde played at Grange Lane, North Ferriby in front of 1,829 spectators.
I do love the drama of Play-Off football and the fact that the weekend coincided with the visit of a friend from Iceland wasn't going to stop me from getting my Play-Off fix. We made a day of it with a visit to Hull, one of the former homes of the British fishing industry and a focal point for the infamous "cod wars" of the early and mid 1970's. I suspect that the younger generation will be bemused by the idea of a "cod war" but indeed there was such a thing. Icelandic and British fishermen and their respective governments literally fought over the rights to fish the waters of the North Atlantic, waters that Iceland regarded as their territorial waters. The result? In practice Iceland got their way in the end and the new restrictions hastened the decline of the UK fishing industry which was already struggling even without the loss of some of those fishing grounds. In 2006, in an act of reconciliation between the people of Hull and Vik in Iceland, an Icelandic artist was commissioned to make two identical statues commemorating those who go to sea and those who await their return. Unbelievably, Hull's Cod Wars Friendship Statue was soon stolen and was thought to have been melted down for scrap (should that be scraps fish and chips fans?)! Happily the Hull townspeople raised funds for a new version and the two statues now, once again, face out to each other across the sea. I'm sure that my Icelandic visitor was suitably impressed before we headed out of Hull to the nearby village of North Ferriby for the Play-Off Final!
Solihull Moors had finished the regular season as Champions and were automatically promoted as a result. The next fours sides, respectively North Ferriby United, AFC Fylde, Harrogate Town and Boston United, found themselves in the end of season Play-Offs with only one of the four to accompany Solihull into the higher division. In the Play-Off Semi-Finals North Ferriby beat Boston United 3-2 on aggregate whilst AFC Fylde disposed of Harrogate Town 2-1 on aggregate. Therefore the Final of the Play-Offs would be between North Ferriby and AFC Fylde with a one-off game to be held at the ground of the higher placed club. In this case North Ferriby got home advantage as they had finished second compared to Fylde's third during the regular season.
I really got the impression that Fylde and their supporters fancied themselves to win that day. Fylde brought a lot of supporters over from Lancashire who backed their team strongly. Fylde had been upwardly mobile for a few seasons previously and now found themselves on the verge of the National League, a mere stepping stone on the way to the Football League by 2022, an ambition that they had emblazoned on one sleeve of their fluorescent orange (car park attendant) coloured shirts. Talk about wearing your heart on your sleeve! The game was open, keenly contested and very watchable. First blood went to Fylde after 23 minutes with a scrappy goal by Sam Finley headed against the post and bouncing along the line before the ball crept in. If you watch the video attached to my blog you might think that the scorer was actually another player altogether who lashed it into the back of the net after it had already crossed the line. Certainly he claimed it and wasn't shy in taking the congratulations of his team mates. What a fraud!
After going behind, North Ferriby (The Villagers) took the game to Fylde and pressed and pressed for an equaliser before getting one on the stroke of halftime through Wayne Brooksby. Throughout the second half, nerves were jangling and we watched and waited for the crucial next goal. Nothing came and we had 30 minutes of extra time. In the 96th minute of the game, Ferriby centre-back Danny Hone bundled the ball home (a case of home from Hone?) from a set piece and the Villagers were in front. The goal proved to be the winner and it was no more than North Ferriby deserved. They were going to the National League in what would be the highest level of football that they had ever played in.
Sadly for North Ferriby, that afternoon proved to be the high point of the club's entire existence. Ten days later their manager, Billy Heath, left to become manager at Halifax Town. The following season ended in relegation for the Villagers, as did the one after as North Ferriby found themselves back in the Northern Premier League (NPL). Worse was to come as the club failed to complete that NPL season and was wound up in March 2019 with debts of just £7,645. Not much of a debt but it was apparently enough to kill off a football club with 85 years of history. A new phoenix club called simply "North Ferriby FC" was founded and began it's existence in the Northern Counties East League in season 2019/20, in effect starting again at the bottom of the pile.
Vanquished AFC Fylde, nicknamed "The Coasters" after the beer mats on the club's bar (yes I am joking) and managed by Dave Challinor would have to go again in National League North the following season. They would make no mistake the next time around, ending the season as Champions and bypassing North Ferriby who were on their way back down. The Coasters never did make it to the Football League by 2022 as they had suggested they would, but they gave it a right good go and I wouldn't be surprised to see them in the 92 at some point in the next ten years provided that their benefactor continues to pump in the money. We shall see.
CRB Match No. 2099
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