FOLLOWING THE SALTMEN

Isuzu FA Vase – First Round proper. Saturday, 19th October 2024

When I first heard we had been awarded an away draw at Holbeach United in the FA Vase I was really pleased. I can drive over with the present Mrs FTS and the dog, leave them on the beach while I watched the game, then pick them up and get some fish and chips on the promenade, thought I. But no, the beach reference in Holbeach is a misnomer. Holbeach is, in fact, seven miles from the sea. Not on the coast at all. And never has been! It used to be much nearer to the sea (or, more correctly the sea used to be nearer Holbeach) than it is now. As recently as the 17th Century it was only two miles from the sea and was probably named Holbeach in an attempt to attract tourism back in the Middle Ages. In those pre-internet days, there would have been no easy way to check its proximity to the old briny as Google Maps wouldn’t be invented for hundreds of years. There is no record of whether this ploy was successful. Now the sea has been beaten back by a series of marsh drainage programmes. No wonder the area is known as South Holland. Presumably, ambitious plans were made to drain the land all the way to Amsterdam.

Setting geographical ignorance aside, Holbeach has quite a lot in common with Droitwich. It is an ancient market town which is believed to have been inhabited since Roman times. It has a population of just over 10,000, slightly lower than Droitwich, and has a Step 6 football club. I expect it has pubs and charity shops too but I’m not sure whether it benefits from the world’s highest density of hair cutting establishments which we can proudly lay claim to.

Holbeach United Football Club ply their trade in the Eastern Counties League, Division One North. They were founded in 1929 and joined the Eastern Counties League in the 1950s. Apart from a brief spell in the old Midland League, Holbeach have remained in the ECL ever since. The club has an impressive cup pedigree. In 1982 they reached the first round of the FA Cup, drawing then third division Wrexham at home. The game was played at nearby Peterborough’s London Road stadium where, sadly, Wrexham won 4-0.

Holbeach United currently sit in ninth place in the league with 24 points from 15 games have won 8 games. Notably, 6 of these wins have come from away fixtures while winning 2 and losing 6 of their 8 home games. Last time out they recorded an impressive 3-0 win over higher placed Whitton United.

The club’s nickname is The Tigers. Coincidentally, United play in Yellow and Black stripes.

Home games are played at Carter’s Park which the club has occupied since its formation. The ground has a capacity of 4000, of which 200 are covered seats located in the main stand which was built in 2005. A further 450 covered standing spaces are also available. The Carter connection remains as the team manager is Chris Carter and their newly named skipper is Sam Carter.

The Saltmen are one of only two clubs still unbeaten in the league at Step 6. The only defeat in all competitions this season was a 1-3 reverse to Step 3 Bromsgrove Sporting in the County Cup. The stage is set for a great game and a good day out – beach or not!

A source close to the club reckons that at 99 miles from Kingys, this is the most distant game we have ever played and 94 miles further than the last round at Bewdley! Despite the distance it would be great to see as many Droitwich fans as possible at the game. It does make a difference.

(Hopefully) see you there.

Cheers

Steve