Malmesbury Victoria boss Kev Bridgeman was full of praise for the 55 fans who travelled to Roman Glass St George on Saturday.

The fans witnessed a 2-0 victory and saw their team progress to the second round of the FA Vase for the first time since 1976/77 thanks to goals from Shane Bumphrey and Joe Tranter sealed Malmesbury’s progress.

Bridgeman was delighted with how his team performed but he dedicated the win to the 55 travelling supporters who were in fine voice throughout.

“We’re chuffed to bits,” said Bridgeman. “I’m pleased for the 55 fans as they were superb. They went on the bus with the boys, they were signing, chanting and it was so nice to see. I sent the lads over to them after the game but it was great to see the camaraderie, there were more away fans than home fans but I’ve not seen scenes like that.

“We discussed before the game our favourite FA Vase memories but I’ve never seen anything like what I saw Saturday, my assistant grabbed me, and had people jump on top of me.”

The emotions were polar opposite to what Bridgeman was feeling seven days earlier after he criticised the attitude of his players but, after a good week, his emotions were stark contrast.

“A week is a long time in football, it’s mad,” Bridgeman commented. “A week ago I was fuming. I didn’t go into the club house for an hour but this week I was delighted and we all went for a few beers afterwards.

“We had a good training session and put them through their paces with hard running and we got a tune out of them. The attitude and application was first class and thoroughly deserved. We were never under any significant pressure.”

The draw was made on Monday and Malmesbury have been handed a difficult task as they face Sholing, who are top of the Wessex Premier League and have a 100% record so far.

Bridgeman commented: "Other than maybe Thatcham Town, who won it last year it’s probably the toughest draw we could have had.

"We’re away, they won the Vase in 2014 but when the draw was made the boys were absolutely buzzing. It’s a team from a higher league for a third game running but we’ll have nothing to lose."