1996-7 FA Trophy Semi-Finals

Updated:

By Pete H

Now then, who wants to catch up with a bone fide clash of the titans – when the 1996-7 FA Trophy semi-finals saw us take on Woking over two legs. We had a rummage round the archives and found this. It’s something to get you through the day, if nothing else.

To be honest, we still can’t work out why the FA Trophy semi-finals had to go to a replay after two legs. It should’ve been settled on the night at Broadhall Way. But, no. Off we’d trek down to Watford‘s Vicarage Road; managing to pass up the chance of a first trip to Wembley due to the unhelpful combination of bad defending and Clive Walker’s bloody annoying habit of scoring against us.

And, while we remember, there’s the issue of Gary Crawshaw’s 45-yard lob as described on our Why We Bother page. The issue being that it wasn’t 45 yards. Nor was it ‘arf…

Watch: 1996-7 FA Trophy Semi-Finals

First leg: Woking 1-0 Stevenage Borough

Second leg: Stevenage Borough 2-1 Woking (after extra time, aggregate 2-2)

Replay: Stevenage Borough 1-2 Woking 

Epitaph: 

In a weird coincidence, the other FA Trophy semi-final between Dagenham & Redbridge and Gloucester City also finished 2-2 on aggregate. It also finished 2-1 in the replay; the Daggers going through to face Woking in the final. It’d be the Cards who triumphed.

For us, the sheer amount of games we played that term was already catching up with us. It’d ultimately cost us a second successive Conference title too; Boro’ ending the season eight points adrift of champions Macclesfield Town in third.