Fareham Town set for second longest away trip in club’s history this weekend

Fareham Town will rack up the miles if they want to embark on the club’s best-ever FA Vase run.
By Simon Carter
Published 9th Dec 2020, 10:37 BST
Flashback - Fareham Town players about to set off for Blyth in 1974. Back (from left): Ray Lovell, Dave Stokes, Henry Davis, John Williams. Second row: Tom Jewitt, Jim Dixon, Dave Ings, Simon O’Neill, Barry Brear, John Richardson, Phil Horne, Tim Crosby. Third row: Jimmy Searle, Richard Duke. Front: John Kirby, Mick O’Neill, Mick Richards, Terry Cannings, Ken Atkins, Alan Wilson (glasses).Flashback - Fareham Town players about to set off for Blyth in 1974. Back (from left): Ray Lovell, Dave Stokes, Henry Davis, John Williams. Second row: Tom Jewitt, Jim Dixon, Dave Ings, Simon O’Neill, Barry Brear, John Richardson, Phil Horne, Tim Crosby. Third row: Jimmy Searle, Richard Duke. Front: John Kirby, Mick O’Neill, Mick Richards, Terry Cannings, Ken Atkins, Alan Wilson (glasses).
Flashback - Fareham Town players about to set off for Blyth in 1974. Back (from left): Ray Lovell, Dave Stokes, Henry Davis, John Williams. Second row: Tom Jewitt, Jim Dixon, Dave Ings, Simon O’Neill, Barry Brear, John Richardson, Phil Horne, Tim Crosby. Third row: Jimmy Searle, Richard Duke. Front: John Kirby, Mick O’Neill, Mick Richards, Terry Cannings, Ken Atkins, Alan Wilson (glasses).

Pete Stiles’ men travel down to deepest Cornwall this weekend for a second round tie with Helston Athletic.

That’s a round-trip of around 454 miles - the second longest any Fareham side has ever had to make in the club’s history.

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With most of the journey on A roads, it could well take around five and a half hours to reach Kellaway Park – and that’s if the roads are traffic-free!

If they are successful, the Reds will trek back to the west country the following Saturday to face Plymouth Parkway - almost a 330-mile round-trip - for a place in the last 32.

Fareham have never progressed beyond the third round stage in the Vase. Twice they have reached that stage - in 2003/04 and 2004/05.

The furthest a Fareham side has ever travelled is when they played at Blyth Spartans in the 1973/74 FA Amateur Cup.

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Blyth - a town about 13 miles north of Newcastle-upon-Tyne - is almost a 700-mile round-trip from south Hampshire.

The Amateur Cup second round tie pitted the reigning Northern League champions against the reigning Hampshire League champions.

Blyth had reached the semi-final and the quarter-final in the previous two seasons, and two late goals gave them a 2-0 success against the Reds.

Neither Blyth or Fareham won their league that season, but Blyth were Northern League champions in seven of the next 10 campaigns and Fareham won the Hampshire League for the last time in 1974/75 before progressing to the Southern League in 1979.

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This weekend’s trip to Helston is one of the longest any of the Portsmouth area’s non-league clubs have ever had to make.

The furthest Gosport Borough have ever travelled is the 526-mile round-trip to North Ferriby United in the quarter final of the 2013/14 FA Trophy. A shorter trip to Westleigh Park followed in the last four.

Hawks endured some long trips in their sole National League season in 2018/19.

They travelled 280 miles to Fylde on the Lancashire coast – that was on a Tuesday in February, losing 6-2 - 320 to Hartlepool and 333 to Barrow (on the first day of the season).

But their furthest journey was a 339-mile trip to Gateshead.

Related topics:FarehamFA VaseBlyth SpartansPete StilesCornwall