London Colney 0
Holbeach United 1
Amazed John Chand lauded Lee Beeson’s winner as the “best non-league goal he’s ever seen” as Holbeach United booked their place in the last 32 of the FA Vase on Saturday.
Wing wizard Beeson belted home the only goal of an otherwise unremarkable third round tie at London Colney from fully 25 yards, setting up an all-UCL Premier Division affair with Thurnby Nirvana in the next stage in the process.
Joint Tigers boss Chand, who has seen his fair share of goals over the years, waxed lyrical about the quality of the winner as his side moved to within four wins of a historic place in the Wembley final.
He said: “Oh wow, what can I say about that goal?
“I didn’t think I’d ever see a strike that would top Rob Hughes’ against Eynesbury Rovers a few years back, but Lee’s strike was even better.
“He was about 25 yards out and absolutely let rip. It wasn’t just power, though. The strike had swerve and dip – it was just unbelievable.
“If Wayne Rooney or Cristiano Ronaldo had scored it, we’d be talking about one of the great goals.
“It was fit to win any game, let alone one that was otherwise pretty scrappy and low on quality.”
Indeed, Beeson’s 17th-minute effort was the only major highlight of an otherwise low-key affair.
That’s not likely to be the case in the next round, however, with free-scoring UCL rivals Thurnby one of the league’s most entertaining sides.
They’ve scored 28 goals in eight home league games this season, which makes them the second-highest scoring side on their own patch.
Throw in the fact that Holbeach’s haul of 31 goals in ten away games makes them the top scoring away side in the division and you have a recipe for a cup cracker.
Chand added: “Saturday probably wasn’t the best game of football, but we got the job done.
“We’ve now got Thurnby, which promises to be a good game. Ideally, we usually like to play teams from another league in the Vase – it’s something a bit different.
“But we’ll both know a lot about each other, so I suppose that’s an advantage.
“Their game is all about attacking football, so I’m expecting a good game.”
Chand, meanwhile, is still confident that his side can go all the way in the national competition.
Holbeach’s best recent run in the Vase came under Alan Day in 1988/89 when they reached the last 16.
The class of 2014/15 under Graham Drury and Chand’s leadership are now just one win away from emulating that – and confidence in the camp is high ahead of the January 17 trip to Leicestershire.
“You enter any competition looking to win it,” added Chand. “Graham took some stick for coming out at the start of the season and saying we can win the Vase – but I don’t see why.
“Belief in the squad is high and we’re in the competition after Christmas. Anything can happen now.
“The draw is great for the UCL too – we’ll have at least one side in the last 16.”
Holbeach’s victory in St Albans earned them a cool £1,500 in prize money. It’s £2,000 if they beat Thurnby.
Tigers: Conroy, Allen, Parker, Steadman, Miller, Spencer, Beeson, Duffy (Gibson), Dube (King), Warfield. Not used: Brown, Lovelace.
MOTM: Matt Warfield.
Attendance: 103
