Wealdstone 2-1 Concord Rangers

In the many years that I have been a Wealdstone supporter, this was one of the most remarkable games I have ever been too. Wealdstone, 3rd in the table with 1 home defeat since November 2011, against Concord Rangers, 2nd in the table, who had been in blistering form since an erratic start to the season. With only 2 points separating the sides, and Wealdstone with a game in hand, there was always going to be a lively atmosphere at the Vale.

The first half was largely uneventful, apart from Concord Rangers front man Leon McKenzie being sent off for an apparent attempted head-butt, both sides created little, restricting each other to one or two clear cut chances. But the second half was something quite special! Full credit to Concord, completely out-played 11 man Wealdstone for most of the game, and deservedly took the lead on 71 minutes through Eastwood's header from a free kick, however Wealdstone keeper Jonathan North maybe should have done better, being caught flapping in no mans land. Wealdstone were slow to respond, creating very little when going forwards until the 88th minute. Stones left back Lee Chappell chased a seemingly lost cause but somehow managed to win a corner, which he delivered himself to the back post where Esmond James was on hand to smash home, sending the Wealdstone contingent absolutely mad. At this point every Wealdstone fan in the ground would have taken the 1-1, but the players saw differently, and straight from the kick off Wealdstone were straight back at the Concord defence. It looked like the heated match would end all square until the 94th minute, when a lofted cross-field ball found Tom Pett just inside the area, who coolly took the ball down on his chest under pressure from a Concord defender, before calmly lofting the ball past the keeper into the far corner. As you can imagine, the home fans went absolutely berserk, sparking a small pitch invasion which was quickly cleared to the credit of the Wealdstone stewards.

Upon the full-time whistle, emotions boiled over. The Concord team and management, understandably distraught at the final result after they had performed so magnificently, reacted badly to some taunting and abuse from the passionate Wealdstone contingent. In the ensuing melee, another Concord player was sent off, before appearing to try and aggressively force his way to the match referee. The details are still unclear however there were accusations that some of the Wealdstone fans were spitting at Concord players as they left the pitch. From what I saw, it was a case of a team who had performed so admirably away at a team who have a remarkable home record, and who had come so close to winning with 10 men to be shot down in the dying minutes, then being subjected to taunting and abuse while walking off. In that case, their reactions, although unacceptable, is understandable. However the allegations of spitting and even one report of racism are definitely something to cause concern. From my experience as a Wealdstone supporter, the club is one of the most passionate in the whole of the non-league pyramid, and emotions do boil over and people say things in the heat of the moment. However racism and spitting is something that is completely unacceptable, and achieves nothing but a bad reputation and landing the club in trouble, whether that be through fines or anything like that. I have personally not once come across any spitting or racism in my time as a Wealdstone fan, so if these allegations from Concord are true, then it can only be a minority section of the Wealdstone contingent, who cannot be described as fans or supporters.

After such a thrilling encounter between two very good footballing sides, the unsavoury scenes in the end did put a very slight dampener on my evening. But the football itself is exactly why I support Wealdstone and why I feel non-league football is so under-rated. Both teams showed so much passion and so much heart, and at the end of the day I feel the best team lost. I cannot credit Concord enough, they were brilliant, but it just goes to show that Wealdstone will never give in, having earned 19 points this season from being in a losing position. It is very possible that this will not be the last time these sides meet this season, as they may meet in the play offs in the coming weeks, which I am sure will be a mouth watering contest. To the Concord players, staff and supporters, congratulations on a brilliant performance and good luck for the rest of the season. No hard feelings from me, and I would prefer to avoid you in the play offs! As for Wealdstone, an absolutely monumental victory, seeing them move to second in the table. Its off to Wingate and Finchley this weekend, where 3 points is a must.