Leighton Town firing on all cylinders for big FA Vase game on Saturday

Memories of Leighton Town celebrating after their FA Vase win at Bradford Town in February last year

Leighton Town are “firing on all cylinders” and ready to face Walton & Hersham this weekend in the Buildbase FA Vase

Their Surrey opponents beat Guildford City 4-2 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in their third-round clash last Saturday.

Leighton warmed up with another friendly, this time a 2-1 win over higher league Biggleswade FC. Goals came from Danny Webb – who is back from Hemel full time now – and Ashton Campbell, in preparation for the eagerly anticipated Vase tie, which will be available for fans to watch on live stream.

And joint-manager Joe Sweeney is in confident mood.

“After Saturday’s performance against good level opposition we are in the best possible shape going into the big game,” he said.

“The lads can’t wait. We’ve got two more training sessions this week and the squad is ready and firing on all cylinders.”

They will however be without the suspended captain Jordan Fredericks and Tim Silford.

Sweeney added: “We are very excited to have our first live match feed so everyone can watch the game.

“We hope it’ll be a great way for all our supporters to see it.”

The club are hoping it will mark the start of another successful Vase run, or will find themselves in the strange situation of the seasonbeing over again.

“If we could end this horrible period with a trip to Wembley, that really would be a dream come true,” Sweeney concluded.

Leighton reached the last 32 by beating Gorleston 4-2 back on December 19.

Goals from Sonny Newbury-Barr, Ashton Campbell, Louie Collier and Scott Thomas – on his first appearance at Bell Close in over ten years – saw them the only Spartan South Midlands League side through to the fourth round.

Having made the quarter-finals twice in the last three seasons, the club are hoping this year they can finally earn a place at Wembley in May – by which time Corovavirus restrictions should have been lifted to enable spectators to attend.

Last March,in the last eight,they were unlucky to miss out on a semi-final place in the competition with a heartbreaking 4-3 defeat at Corinthian.

But the huge numbers of travelling fans won’t ever forget their fantastic 3-1 win over Bradford Town in Wiltshire in the fifth round.

This Saturday’s visitors, nicknamed the Swans and managed by Scott Harris, play in the Combined Counties Division One, where they were laying second after 12 games when games were suspended for the pandemic in December.

The Walton on Thames club made headlines in August 2019 when seven 19-year-old students, known as the Class of 18, became the owners.

While fans from both sides won’t be able to see this weekend’s game in person due to current Covid-19 guidelines, they will be able to watch online.

Leighton have confirmed they will be streaming the game live and, supporters can enjoy the action from Bell Close.

To ensure the best quality possible, Leighton are employing a highly experienced, reputable media and broadcasting company to film and stream.

And, to cover costs and raise some much needed revenue for the club, they we will be charging £5.99 for the live stream.

If you would like to register and purchase the live stream, visit https://www.247.tv/filmmymatch