The National League (in association with sponsors Vanarama) has released details of ticket information for their annual flagship final at Wembley Stadium connected by EE which will kick off at 4pm on Sunday 15th May 2016.

This year ALL ticket sales will be handled directly by Wembley Stadium and will be available for the first time with an option for ‘Print at Home’ (PAH).

Tickets will ONLY be available to purchase on-line and are priced as follows:

EARLY BIRD – up to and including 31st March:

Adults: £20
Seniors (Over 60): £10
Under 16: FREE **
(** 1 free U16 ticket can be ordered for each ticket sold at Adult or Senior price).

Additional tickets for Under 16 over the above allowance can be purchased at £5 each.
Early Bird sales are made even more attractive as no booking fee is charged.
Please be advised no ticket is refundable once purchased.
Disabled seated allocation is available directly through Wembley Stadium and details are also available on-line.

GENERAL ADMISSION SALE – date available to be announced:

Category 1: £41 (no concessions)
Category 2: £36 and £18 (Under 16’s)

These ticket sales will be subject to a booking fee.

For both General Admission and Early Bird sales, postage will be charged at:
£2.50 per order or £1 for all PAH sales.

WEMBLEY TICKET PORTAL: https://events.wembleystadium.com/Online/default.asp

Note: Early Bird tickets will NOT be available to purchasers either by post or available via PAH until the two competing finalist clubs are confirmed. This will allow for seated allocation to be made in blocks for any group of supporters of a club wishing to be in the same area.

In order for this to be offered, when on-line transactions are made the purchaser will be required to nominate which National League member club they align themselves to or they may indicate a ‘No Preference’ option.

Supporters of the two clubs reaching the Promotion Final will be allocated their tickets for the correct area of the stadium allotted to each finalist club.

As a consequence to the announcement by HM Government that this specific date and time will now be used for a nationwide silence to pay tribute to the victims of the recent event in Tunisia, as a mark of respect, The National League has taken the decision to delay the release of the fixtures until 1.00pm.

The National League joins with the football family to extend its condolences to all those affected by the Event in Tunisia and requests all Clubs, Staff and Supporters to honour the nationwide one minute silence.

In a rebranding initiative, which will under-line the competition’s status at the pinnacle of the semi-professional game; and linked to a community programme the length and breadth of the country, the Vanarama National League will engage fans not only of the competition’s 68 member clubs but football throughout the UK and beyond.

The new “Vanarama National League” will officially take its place in the football family on June 6th and the changes will include a new look logo, whilst acknowledging the past it looks to the future, to strengthen the competition’s identity.

The Vanarama National League will also launch a new broadcasting company, NLTV, which will be the first fully dedicated broadcasting channel focusing solely on the 68 member clubs, creating a regular narrative for the competition that will run throughout the whole season and lastly, in yet another first, the competition will create the all new NLTV Broadcasting Academy.

Brian Barwick, the incoming chairman of the new Vanarama National League says “I am delighted to be joining at this vibrant time with this exciting new branding. It offers so much to our existing partners whilst at the same time opening up potential new opportunities. I look forward to steering this great competition to new levels of awareness and visibility.”

A further resounding endorsement for this level of the game and in support of the new branding initiative, BT Sport have agreed a new three year deal with the competition which will extend the live coverage of matches and feature a regular weekly highlights show to be broadcast on a Sunday evening,

Tony Kleanthous, board director responsible for broadcasting said, “We are delighted to be continuing our partnership with BT Sport and indeed embracing their expertise and experience. NLTV’s aim is to launch a very affordable internet subscriber portal in 2016 where fans anywhere in the world can keep up to speed with what’s going on across the activities of all member clubs and everything which affects them, their players and even their fans. The NLTV daily show will include short clips, podcasts and updates from clubs around the country and our new digital platform will also feature highlights from every game every week so you never need miss the action.”

Steve Norris Commercial director at BT Sport said “We are proud to continue our sponsorship of this level of the game with a significant further investment for another three years. We are also pleased to support the academy initiative which underlines our commitment not only to grass roots football but the future education for all the young students out there who want a helping hand up the sports broadcasting ladder.”

Chairman of Vanarama David Bernstein says “My extensive involvement in football over the years has allowed me to be connected with a wide range of initiatives. I am particularly excited by this announcement and the Broadcasting Academy is an educational project to which Vanarama is proud to extend its support. We have demonstrated our commitment to football and their communities up and down the country and want to continue working with an organisation whose vibrancy and ethos matches our own.”

The final words come from the outgoing Chairman of the Football Conference, Brian Lee, who will complete his tenure at the end of this current season “Our announcement around the name change, broadcasting channel and academy excites me and I sincerely hope it excites the football world. I know I am passing on this organisation in good shape and there is much more to come with the positivity showed so far it can only be more exciting for our clubs, our fans and the future of our game”.

BT Sport has also teamed up with Vanarama, to provide financial support for the all new “NLTV Broadcasting Academy”. This will be another first for the industry, whereby forty eight media students from around the country will be given the opportunity to be part of this exciting new initiative where they will be trained in filming techniques and then embedded with clubs, provided with BT professional broadcasting equipment and taught by BT Sport technical staff how to film, edit and stream media to a new production hub.

Tony Kleanthous added “This would never have been possible without the committed support of the commercial team at BT Sport and our hugely supportive title sponsor Vanarama who have committed extra funding and other resources to help get this worthy project up and running. This will provide students with the best teaching, using the best equipment in the best environment, real on the job training and I just can’t wait to see the smiles on the faces of the graduates who receive the first diplomas we will be handing out next year”.

Vanarama, the competition’s Title Sponsor, together with leading sports marketing agency SportQuake have combined to facilitate the name change and logo design, culminating in the announcement last month that Vanarama were extending not only their main sponsorship but adding support for the academy. This underlines their commitment not only to the competition but also to education and community. SportQuake specialise in creating world class two-way partnerships between rights owners and brands.

With Chorley springing a surprise 6-0 defeat on Tamworth, the Pitmen now sit four points behind the clutch of four teams on 63 points but having played at least a game more than their rivals.

With no match next Saturday, Hednesford, for so long camped in the top five after a fantastic run of form over Christmas and New Year, could be seven points back with only twelve left to play for by the time they face Solihull Moors on Easter Monday.

The Pitmen were wounded by a second half submission against Tamworth last week, but their all-round performance in a game that very much fell into the bracket of the ‘must-win’ category was hugely disappointing for the near 500 Hednesford fans watching.

Early signs were positive as the home side pressed their opponents into a number of defensive mistakes, Salva De la Cruz looked rushed in goal and Jamey Osborne’s desire in chasing a lost cause saw an attempted clearance blocked, only for the ball to run agonisingly close to Nick Rushton who would have been clean through.

However, once Luke Coulson ran beyond his opposing wing back Glenn Walker into the acres of space left by a Hednesford back three caught napping and hit a shot across Dan Crane that the keeper got a hand to, but couldn’t prevent finding the far corner; Rob Smith’s side faced an uphill task.

The effort and commitment of the players, personified by Richard Batchelor’s attempts to win the midfield battle against the impressive Jeremy Balby and Tom Winters, couldn’t be questioned but, not for the first time in recent weeks, a lack of punch in attack and a porous defence was Hednesford’s undoing.

An injury to the usually inspirational Ben Bailey on the stroke of half-time, picked up when gallantly blocking another foray down the left by Winters, perhaps summed up the struggles of the home side and their fate was all but sealed on 54 minutes.

The Pitmen had pushed high up the pitch as they chased an equaliser, but it was still too easy for Adi Yussuf to
sprint beyond Chris Westwood and finish confidently past Crane to double Oxford’s comfortable lead.

The onslaught that was so desperately required for Hednesford to score three goals and spectacularly turn the tables never really materialised against an organised Oxford defence.

Marvin Robinson’s looping header wide was the closest the home side came to even testing De la Cruz before the final whistle was blown and the gutted Hednesford players trudged off the pitch in much same way as the disappointed fans on the terraces.

Hednesford Town
Crane, Hurst, Westwood, Bailey © (Todd 48), Tunnicliffe, Thorley (Thomas 63), Osborne, Walker, Robinson, Rushton (Strain 55), Batchelor

Subs Not Used: Kerry, Diggin

Oxford City
De la Cruz, Coulson (23), Lapoujade ©, Del Alamo, Henderson, Santiago, Jackson, Fofani, Yussuf (54) (Wilson 74), Balby (Benjamin 70), Winters (Barcelos 79)

Subs Not Used: Stonehouse, Scott

Bookings – Thorley, Osborne

Star Man – Tom Winters
Entertainment Rating – 2 Stars
Attendance – 520

Rob Smith’s side went into the game knowing that a fifth straight win would see them move up to third place in the table and overtake a Tamworth side which had seemed out of reach at one point.

The much-changed home side, who were preparing for the second leg of the FA Trophy semi-final on Saturday, started the better of the two teams as they forced a number of throw-ins which were as troublesome as dead ball situations due to their long throw specialist, Louis Bruce.

It would be Ferriby who would force the first attempt on target when Adam Bolder found space inside the box, but his driven effort was palmed over the bar by Dan Crane in the Town goal after 13 minutes.

Two minutes later, Ryan Kendall saw a long skidding effort diverted wide by his own man, whilst at the other end Andy Todd’s low driven effort was easily saved by goalkeeper Tom Nicholson.

Hednesford’s best chance of the half came after 36 minutes when Jamey Osborne drove forward and pulled the ball back to Nick Rushton who saw his fiercely-struck shot blocked on its way to goal.

The game swung the Pitmen’s way right on the stroke of half-time though, when Ferriby defender Nathan Peat was dismissed for a late tackle on Tom Thorley, his second of the half.

With the introduction of Adam Thomas at half-time, Hednesford started the second period on the front foot and three minutes into it they were ahead. A lovely ball to Rushton saw the striker take the ball down and round one defender before firing home past Nicholson.

Ten minutes later the lead was almost doubled as Thomas was denied brilliantly by Nicholson, as his point blank effort was turned away. As with football everything can change in the space of a few seconds, and this was the case just after the hour mark. As the ten men looked for a way back into the game, Ferriby’s Nathan Jarman struck the crossbar after the ball was whipped in low and hard.

Sixty seconds later they were 2-0 down when Thomas cut inside from the right wing and fired home an excellent second goal to double Town’s lead. This really deflated the home side and Hednesford could well have added further goals to the tally with Tom Thorley firing a free kick just wide of the upright while in the last minute, Osborne once again surged to the bye-line before finding Glenn Walker who shanked his effort and the chance was gone.

In truth though it didn’t matter as Hednesford played out time to record another excellent victory on the road and continue their upward momentum.

North Ferriby United: Nicholson, Bruce, Peat, D’Laryea, Anderson, Wilson, Taylor (Wilde 50), Bolder (Fry 71), Jarman, Kendall, Bateson
Subs not used: Denton, Gray, Douglas

Hednesford Town: Crane, Hurst, Campion, Bailey, Todd (Thomas 46), Thorley, Osborne, Walker, Robinson (Diggin 66), Rushton (Strain 79), Batchelor
Sub not used: Kerry

Attendance: 253
Star Man: Adam Thomas
Entertainment Rating: Three Stars

The postponement of last week’s equally as important game at home to AFC Fylde means key midfielder Jamey Osborne is still suspended with captain, Darren Campion, also sitting out after seeing red at Colwyn Bay, along with injury doubt Chris Westwood also unlikely to take part at Nethermoor Park.

Jack Thomas, so impressive in midfield during January, has been recalled early by Mansfield Town from his loan stint and, with George McGee also returning to his parent club, Birmingham City, the Hednesford manager is left with a threadbare squad ahead of a game which sees The Pitmen face a major opponent in the race for the Vanarama Conference North play-offs.

‘With Campion out I lose my captain and one of the best full backs in the league: Osborne, arguably our best player, is also suspended and Thomas, who was our best player last month, leaving is a devastating blow.

‘McGee has gone back to Birmingham and Chris Westwood is out with a calf injury, so we are struggling to field a team. Westwood may have to sit on the bench but in reality he will not be fit to play a part.’

Smith’s struggles have been eased slightly by the recruitment of Lloyd Kerry on a month’s loan from Harrogate Town, news confirmed earlier today by the club, and Andy Todd, who has joined from AFC Telford United, but after the manager watched tomorrow’s opponents beat title favourites Fylde on Tuesday night, he is only too aware of the test his patched up squad face in Yorkshire.

‘Guiseley were excellent on Tuesday night, it was as good a display as I’ve seen of late, they are a very strong, experienced side who play great football. Going to Guiseley at any time is a daunting task but with the squad issues we have it makes it even harder.

‘After the superb victory at Colwyn Bay we thought we were in a relatively strong position but the last week has seen us decimated. With a full squad I would be very confident of getting something from the game but we know it’s an uphill task now.’

The Pitmen can take heart from fact that throughout this turbulent season they have regularly gone against the odds and recorded unlikely victories, no more so than during their last outing in North Wales, and, with just five points separating Tamworth in third and Hednesford in sixth, tomorrow’s game has the distinct feel of the proverbial promotion six-pointer.

The Travel Club coach leaves Keys Park at 9.30am with regular updates through the @Hednesford_Town Twitter feed and www.htfcsa.co.uk/forum keeping supporters right up to date with all the action from a huge game in the Vanarama Conference North play-off battle.

Guiseley AFC Form – WDWLLW
Previous Result – Guiseley AFC 3-1 AFC Fylde – Vanarama Conference North – Tuesday 10th February 2015
Next Fixture – Boston United (A) – Vanarama Conference North – Saturday 21st February 2015
Current League Position – 4th

Hednesford Town Form – WLWDWW
Previous Result – Colwyn Bay 0-3 Hednesford Town – Vanarama Conference North – Saturday 31st January 2015
Next Fixture – West Bromwich Albion (H) – Birmingham Senior Cup QF – Tuesday 17th February 2015
Current League Position – 6th

Both Clubs have agreed, as a goodwill gesture to supporters following the abandonment, for reduced admission prices, whilst ensuring that associated costs can be covered. Therefore admission prices for Saturday’s Conference North fixture will be as follows:

£11 Adults,
£7 Concessions (over 60s & unemployed – with current ID),
£4 Young Adults (16 – under 21 – with current ID),
£1 Juniors (under 16),
WCFC Season Ticket Holders to use Cup Voucher 3, and
WCFC 10 Match Season Ticket Holders to use a normal match voucher.

The match pitted together two sides who had genuine ambitions of staying in touch with the current top four and Hednesford’s supporters were acutely aware that anything other than a win, with Chorley holding four games in hand over them, would be a backward step following Tuesday night’s hugely frustrating late defeat to Barrow.

Despite the importance of the game it was Chorley who started far the brighter as Chris Simm broke clear of a leaden-footed Hednesford defence inside the opening minute and lobbed the ball over the onrushing Dan Crane, only to see the ball bounce on the six yard line and land on the roof of the net.

Simm was involved in the opening goal seven minutes later when Crane made a hugely unfortunate misjudgement, as the usually reliable goalkeeper took a total air shot to present the big striker with an easy chance to score.

Hednesford had a mountain to climb after a nightmare start but to their credit they showed great spirit to bounce back immediately as James Hurst burst down the right wing to set up Robinson at the near post to equalise before, just five minutes later, Jamey Osborne epitomised the desire of the home side by winning the ball in midfield and playing a fantastic ball through to Robinson who finished well to turn the game completely on its head.

The Pitmen had the wind in their sails and showed immense hunger and desire to create a further three chances to score before half-time. With captain Darren Campion substituted due to injury Glenn Walker was a roving pacey replacement at left back and he skipped easily beyond Ross to set up Richard Batchelor who dragged his shot wide and then down the opposite flank Osborne brilliantly created an opening for Robinson who stabbed over the bar when off balance.

Paul McCone and Ben Bailey were competing very strongly with Chorley’s sizeable attack but were almost caught out when Simm broke free but could only scuff his shot across goal on 23 minutes.

Hednesford had the best chance of the half shortly before the interval when Osborne’s wonderful through ball found debutant Nick Rushton who was denied by an outstanding point blank save from Sam Ashton.

The second half saw Chorley putting increased aerial pressure on the Pitmen back line but, led by the immense Bailey, the home side looked solid throughout and, but for the upright and another superb Ashton save, Robinson could have had a hat-trick and young Birmingham City loanee George McGee could have made the game safe in the final minute.

Speaking after the game Hednesford boss Rob Smith waxed lyrical about the fantastic commitment and desire shown against a Chorley side who gave his side a real test and, should The Pitmen continue to exhibit the characteristics on show today who knows where this young, fit and clearly together team could end up.

Hednesford Town
Crane, Hurst, Campion © (Thorley 13), Bailey, McCone, Thomas (Melbourne 90), Osborne, Walker, Robinson (9,13), Rushton (McGee 63), Batchelor

Subs Not Used
Diggin, Sullivan,

Chorley
Ashton, Ross, Mather, Teague ©, Smyth (Winter 44), Roscoe, Dorney, Whitham, Dean, Simm (8) (Hine 46), Cottrell (Hammond 79)

Subs Not Used
Lynch, Mulholland

Bookings – Osborne, Teague
Star Man – Ben Bailey
Entertainment Rating – 3 Stars

Both Clubs have agreed that in the event of Worcester City’s scheduled Saturday 24th January fixture versus AFC Fylde being postponed due to AFC Fylde’s FA Trophy commitments then the opportunity of a free Saturday will be utilised for the replayed match. Otherwise the match will be rescheduled for a midweek date later in the season.

Further details on the replayed match will be announced on Wednesday morning, once the outcome of AFC Fylde’s FA Trophy tie on Tuesday evening is known.

County had lost just one game at home all season, having won six in succession, but it was Hednesford who started by far the better side in the opening 20 minutes.

Rob Smith’s men, themselves on a five match unbeaten run, registered no less than five attempts at goal with a front three of Steve Diggin, Danny Glover and Glenn Walker looking threatening as their team attempted to continue where they left off away from home after the 5-0 drubbing of Stalybridge Celtic a couple of weeks ago.

Unfortunately The Pitmen did everything but score in that opening quarter and the home side took a surprise lead against the run of play when another Hednesford attack broke down and County were able to waltz through a largely non-existent midfield before Scott Spencer outran Darren Campion and Francino Francis to finish well past Dan Crane.

Despite finding themselves a goal down, Hednesford continued to attack well with Glover’s clever step-over allowing Tom Thorley a yard or two of space on the edge of the area, unfortunately the midfielder’s shot flew over the crossbar.

The away side had another great opportunity to equalise after the half time break when Walker’s left footed volley was saved by Ian Ormson before a Jamey Osborne free kick was headed too high by Diggin; however, with 16 minutes remaining and with The Pitmen still very much in the game, Stockport were presented with another opportunity to settle the match.

First Francis horribly skewed a clearance and when the loose ball was headed onto Lee Stevenson down the left wing, Francis looked to outmuscle the Stockport player only to lose his footing and present Ritchie Baker with an easy chance from 12 yards which he duly swept past the exposed Crane.

With Hednesford now needing to really chase the game, Stockport were always going to threaten on the counter attack and, despite Ormson making a superb save from a rasping left footed Hurst drive, the third goal came when a long ball by the goalkeeper found Hurst struggling with Spencer and once the defender leant into the back of the striker the referee was only ever going to give one decision.

Jamie Milligan despatched the resulting spot kick to put a rather unfair gloss on a victory that, had Hednesford made the most of play when they were on top in the first half and cut out the defensive lapses in the second, would have been rather more difficult for The Hatters to achieve.

Rob Smith now has a free midweek to prepare his team for what is arguably their biggest match at Keys Park this season as they welcome near neighbours Tamworth for the first league derby between the sides since March 2003.

The manager will no doubt be looking for a 90 minute repeat of the opening 20 minutes of Saturday’s game at Edgeley Park as Hednesford look to make another concerted push towards the top six in The Vanarama Conference North.

Hednesford Town
Crane, Hurst, Campion (c), Bailey, Francis, Thorley, Osborne, Walker (Love 85), Glover, Diggin (Sullivan 59), Batchelor (Robinson 73),

Subs Not Used
Melbourne, Westwood

Stockport County
Ormson, Belezika, O’Halloran, Moses, Gregson, Lees, Baker (77) (Churchman 87), Stevenson, Owens, Spencer (22), Milligan (80) (c) (Woolfe 90)

Subs Not Used
Hurst, Sharp, Russell

Bookings – Moses
Star Man – Scott Spencer
Entertainment Rating – 3 Stars
Attendance – 2651