Alnwick Town buoyed by win ahead of big FA Vase tie

It’s 312 miles from the ducal town to the national stadium – but it’s more than just distance in terms of the journey for silverware.

The black and whites are back in the FA Vase this weekend and host Billingham Synthonia at St. James’s Park in the first qualifying round.

Alnwick’s best performances in the competition have seen them reach round two in 1975/76 and 2014/15, and boss Richie Latimer is hoping that his side can have an impact on their return this term.

“It's fantastic for the club to be back in the competition. There is a lot of excitement around the club and the town when these games come around,” he said ahead of the tie.

“We go into the game full of confidence after a brilliant win against Ryton, but at the same time we know this will not be an easy having already played Billingham in the league earlier this month when we were disappointed not to take anything from the game,” continued Latimer.

“But that is this league - you can get punished at any moment with the quality that teams have but we are growing and learning all the time and getting better and more streetwise with every game that passes.”

The Synners were 2-1 winners at Alnwick in their first home fixture this season and while Town felt hard done by there, a Brannon Patterson strike sparked the celebrations as they secured a second victory of the season, 1-0 over Ryton and Crawcrook Albion, last weekend.

Town made two new signings last week with 25-year-old coach/defender Yannick Aziakonou coming in from Blyth Town, and also brought in a familiar face in Phil Bright.

“Yannick made his debut against Ryton and already he has shown his qualities. He will be an important player for us with his experience of this league and a player who the lads can look too and learn from,” said the boss, whose side visit Sunderland West End in mid-week ahead of what he describes as a ‘big game’ on Saturday against a ‘very good Billingham side’.