Sittingbourne: The fans cheering the club 'on the crest of a wave'
Clive Miller, better known as Clive the Mexican or simply The Sombrero, is a dedicated Sittingbourne FC fan. Home and away, he follows the team in his trademark outfit, belting out songs to spur on his adored club, known by fans as The Brickies. Clive's years of dedication are finally being rewarded as he says the club is "on the crest of a wave".They are unbeaten in 28 games, on course for promotion to the 7th tier, and two games away from Wembley in the FA Trophy - the biggest game in their 140-year history.
A £6.4m stadium is also potentially in the works as part of an 8,400-home 'new town', if the development is given the go-ahead. "Hand on heart I can't remember things being this good," Clive added. Sittingbourne was the lowest ranked side left in the FA Trophy when they played Southend on Saturday but came out on top after a shock win.
Former player Maurice Dunk, now the chairman, said he "burst into tears" when the goal from Anthony Church gave them a 1-0 lead in added time."Everything came back, from the moment I walked in there with my dad as a six-year-old, to the times we nearly went bust. "There was all this pent up emotion," he said.
About 1,000 fans travelled to Roots Hall stadium in Southend, which has a capacity of more than 12,000.One was Neil Cornelius, better known as Southend Brickie, "because I come from Southend and I'm a Brickies fan". He travels three hours each way to the team's home at Woodstock Park for games."It is just the perfect game - especially when Sittingbourne are doing so well and have a fighting chance," he added.Southend Brickie and Clive 'The Sombrero' Miller, are just a couple of "about 50 'ultras' who will follow the club anywhere," according to the chairman.Maurice feels things are "perfectly aligning" and he dreams of making Sittingbourne the biggest non-league club in Kent.
With crowds growing, Maurice said Sittingbourne FC is "a sleeping giant that's been woken up". On March 1, they'll face Aldershot Town at home."They're not on the best run and we're on cloud nine," said Maurice.
BBC South East is running a new feature called 'Behind The Teams' where we'll be looking at the characters who keep small clubs going across Kent, Surrey and Sussex. If you think your team should be featured please email southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or contact us on Facebook, X or Instagram.
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