Blazers Go Out With Heads High

PROUD Balham manager and chairman Greg Cruttwell rued one of their most historic days as “the one that got away”.

- David Richardson

The Combined Counties Premier Division side led their Step 3 opposition Royston Town twice and equalised with 15 minutes left but ultimately saw their Cup run come to an end.

Cruttwell started Balham Blazers in 2001 with just one under-10 side – they now have 25 teams and the first team, formed in 2011 under the name Balham, have had five promotions in the last six seasons.

They’d won three ties to set up this thrilling clash but were cruelly beaten when they perhaps deserved better.

“I’m really proud of the effort and performance today,” Cruttwell told The NLP. “I thought we played the better football today, however, in the end you want to win and they managed to get over the line.

“Today demonstrates for me that they’re two leagues above us but we’ve got nothing to fear. It feels like the one that got away, they probably wouldn’t have complained if it had gone 5-3 the other way.”