IF all goes to plan for long serving Stockton Town defender Adam Nicholson will make his 300th appearance for the club at Wembley Stadium.
First though, there’s an all Northern League Buildbase FA Vase semi-final to get through as Marske United and Stockton Town lock horns in the first leg on Saturday.
Nicholson has been part of the club for nearly a decade and is desperate to celebrate his third century at Wembley in the Vase final.
“Playing at Wembley in the Vase final will be the pinnacle of my career without a doubt, but we know that Marske will be a very tough game,” he said.
“We’ve had some tough games along the way, especially when you consider that at the start of the season we only won twice in our first 11 matches.”
Just three seasons ago the club was on the brink of winning the Wearside league but issues with their ground prevented them from moving up to the Northern League.
But it’s a huge testament to the club, according to Nicholson, just how many players and fans have stayed loyal through the difficult times.
He added: “It’s amazing what’s going on in the town. People are really into the scarves and shirts, and there are loads of people talking about the game.
“It’s such a contrast to when we were in the Wearside League, when we just had a handful of people watching us.”
Due to pitch issues at Marske United’s home ground, Stockton will have home field advantage for both legs as they bid to reach Wembley for the first time.
Marske won the league in 2015 and sit six places above Stockton in the Northern League table and have overcome the likes of Shildon and Hinckley to reach this stage.
Stockton meanwhile have dispatched the likes of West Auckland and City of Liverpool and Nicholson can’t wait to taken on a familiar foe with a spot at Wembley on the line.
“This is only our second year in the competition, we’ve got no fear and there’s nothing to lose,” he added.
“We know everything about them, and vice versa. We know that on our day, we can match anyone – even more so with a place at Wembley at stake.”
Buildbase FA Vase History
Both clubs have gone further in the competition than they ever have before. Stockton Town went out in the second round last year after a 1-0 defeat to Sunderland while Marske suffered a similar fate losing 2-0 to South Shields in round two.
The prize
The winning club will take home £5,500 and a place in the final at Wembley, whilst the losing side picks up £1,750.
