The Road to Wembley - Part 3

Challenge Cup Round 3

Kells 12 Hemel Stags 6 - Saturday, 27 February 2016

So the draw for the third round arrived and I was quietly pleased that there would be no last minute trip to France to arrange!  Kells had been handed another home draw – their third of the season.

Up next for the National Conference League Premiers was League 1 side Hemel Stags who would have to make the five hour, 300+ mile journey to West Cumbria.  Kells should be quietly confident of an upset today and it seems I’m not the only person who thinks so.  It would be Kells’ toughest challenge so far but ideal preparation for the new NCL season and they certainly stood up to that challenge!

There was one downfall to being drawn at home against higher league, semi-professional, opposition though as they weren’t allowed to play on their quirky Old Arrowthwaite pitch.  So it was down to Kells to find another pitch to play on.

In the past, Whitehaven have offered their Recreation Ground stadium to their amateur neighbours, but as their pitch was out of action due to the weather that option was a no go.

So the next best option for the home side was the Copeland Stadium, home to Cumbria Sports Academy, just a few miles down the road – a first for me as I would be able to watch a rugby game with an athletics track around the pitch.  I’ve watched football games at similar venues and wasn’t a big fan due to the distance between the pitch and the main stand but I kept an open mind.

As the game was set to kick off at 2:30pm I set off from home in plenty of time and arrived at Kells club house around 1 o’clock. This gave me ample time to drop in and have a quick pint of shandy before continuing on to the stadium.  There were a few locals in there having a pre-match drink so I settled down at a table and caught up with social media whilst watching the live football being shown on the TV screen.

Whilst in there it turned out that the Kells team had left a beat-box speaker there which was meant to go with them to the Copeland Stadium dressing room.  After being involved in football for a few years I have come to learn how important one of those things is to pre and post-match rituals and knew it would be sorely missed.  Panic over though as one of the locals agreed to transport it down to the ground for the lads (he made sure he finished his pint first though!)

After drinking up myself I made my way on to the Copeland Stadium and was quite impressed with the amount of fans already there.  After a brief look around, taking in the scenery, I was quite pleased with how close to the action I would actually sit.  As can be the norm with these types of grounds the pitch can seem miles away from the main stand.

As I walked along the only seated area I bumped into Russ who welcomed me again, took me up to the bar and treat me to a pre-match bitter.  We had a chat about the game, Kells’ prospects for the match and the season ahead.

Of the few Hemel fans I spotted in the bar it looked as though they were all officials of the club which I was disappointed to see, but then again, it is a long way to come.  I found out that the Hemel squad had travelled up the night before and stayed overnight a bit further down the M6 in order to get fully prepared for the game.

As I took my seat at the back of the stand (next to Russ who had been roped in to videoing the game and kept reminding everyone around him not to swear as the camera will pick it up) he pointed out the local priest taking his seat in the crowd.  That led to me making a quip about wondering if a miracle was about to take place!

The game got underway and, despite the visitors looking a lot bigger than their opponents, the amateurs held their nerve.  I ended up doing my usual trick of not using the facilities before I left the bar and, lo and behold, nature called so I had to rush off to the loo – and obviously whilst I was there I heard an almighty roar from above my head as Kells had taken the lead!

So I retook my seat with the home side 6-0 up, but Hemel immediately hit back to draw level (at this point I think Russ was secretly wishing I would go back inside).

But Kells continued to impress me and dominate proceedings and gained just rewards for their hard work with a second try a couple of minutes before the quarter mark of the game.  A comfortable conversion saw them double their lead to 12-6.

As the whistle went for the break I couldn’t help thinking that Hemel would come out and cruise through the second 40 and into Round 4.  But a mixture of dogged defending and sloppy mistakes saw the clock tick on with no further score and the decent home attendance were beginning to believe their side could actually win this game.

In the last few minutes Hemel were desperately trying to level the tie and broke through on the last tackle but the Kells defence stood firm and bundled the player into touch just yards from the try line.  Moments later the ref blew his whistle for full time and the crowd went wild!  They had beaten their professional opponents and were through to Round 4 for the first time.

The draw would be the following Tuesday and many of the supporters leaving the match were hoping for a tie with Whitehaven.  For me I was just happy for Kells.  They had amassed a total of 84 points in their three games and conceded only 12.  No matter how they fare in Round 4 they have certainly convinced me of their potential and I’ll be looking out for their results with keen interest throughout the season.