North West Counties League
Following their West Lancashire League championship success in 2006–07, the club were accepted into the North West Counties League for the 2007–08 season.
The club's first match in the North West Counties League was a home match on 11 August 2007, against Darwen in front of 101 fans, which they won 5–0. The following Tuesday they played their first ever home match under floodlights winning 2–0 at home to Holker Old Boys
In September 2007 the club announced a new shirt sponsorship deal with Lytham St Annes based company VetPlus, who are due to sponsor the teams kit for three years, as part of a five figure deal. On 8 September the club played their first ever match in the FA Vase beating Northern Counties East League Division One club Worsbrough Bridge Athletic 3–0. The club had also arranged for the FA Vase trophy to be on display before the game.
Manager Mick Fuller won the leagues manager of the month award for December 2007 following four successive wins during the month. On 26 January 2008 the club reached the last sixteen of the FA Vase, in their first season in the competition, when they beat Studley 3–0. On 9 February they reached the Quarter-finals of the FA Vase after they beat Sussex County League leaders, Crowborough Athletic 2–0 in front of a record crowd of 772 at Crowborough's Alderbrook Recreation Ground. On 11 February they were drawn at home in the Quarter Final to Midland Football Alliance club, Coventry Sphinx on 1 March. The match ended in a 3–3 draw after extra time. Kirkham & Wesham won the replay 1–0 on 9 March in Coventry with a goal from Sean Paterson. In the two-legged semi-final against Eastern Countes League Premier Division club, Needham Market the team won 4–2 on aggregate.
On 24 April, the club won the Division Two knockout trophy with a 1–0 win over Bootle, and two days later secured one of the two automatic promotion places in North West Counties Division One when they beat Castleton Gabriels 3–1.
On 11 May, they won the FA Vase beating Lowestoft Town 2–1 in the final at Wembley Stadium in front of a total crowd of 19,537, with about 14,000 from Lowestoft and about 3,500 Kirkham & Wesham supporters. A goal down for most of the game, Kirkham & Wesham scored twice in the last six minutes, both goals coming from seventeen-year-old substitute Matt Walwyn, son of former Blackpool player, the late Keith Walwyn, who only played the last 11 minutes of the game. Kirkham & Wesham secured prize money of £20,000 for their win. Although the total amount the club earned was expected to be around £75,000. They were promoted to the Premier Division after finishing second in Division Two.
For the start of the 2008–09 season, the club changed their name from Kirkham & Wesham to A.F.C. Fylde.
Read more about this topic: A.F.C. Fylde, History
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