However it was a different looking United that Aldermaston faced and United triumphed deservedly so to lift the cup and complete both the double and a marvellous season.

There was a tinge of sadness connected with the game as playmaker Leigh Mason, a critical cog in the United midfield wheel, was ruled out with a broken hand sustained at Henley Town last Tuesday evening. But as if to evidence United’s strength in depth Adam Dickens was drafted in to replace Leigh and all was well with the world in the end.

Manager Letts had made the brave decision to rest no less than 8 players plus a few squad players from the first team that travelled to Aldermaston Saturday and paid the price as Aldermaston completed a league double over the newly crowned champions and in some style by 5-1. However this did provide an opportunity to look at AFC albeit through gritted teeth and there is no doubt that it benefitted the team last evening.

A special mention to our Club Captain who replaced Ross Middleton due the fact Ross was in China! Gabb could have been forgiven for not turning up as he formed part of the defence in Saturday’s rout but as ever when the chips are down Gabb’s stands tall. And stand tall he did with an immense contribution to the nights triumph.

This was a team effort as it has been all season so I will reflect on the team as opposed to individuals but the classic free kick honed on the 3G at Wye Valley worked a treat as runners created a gap through the AFC defence, it really was a fine goal. But our secretary describes that far better than I in his yet again excellent match report.

As for Aldermaston I feel they have much to contribute toward the Thames Valley Premier League and with their set up can only grow stronger.

In true Thames Valley League fashion they kept going before finally hauling themselves back in the game to set up a nerve wracking finale. The facts speak for themselves they did the double over the champions and that can’t be denied, two battles won, one more meaningful than the other perhaps, and they deserve great credit for that but there is no escaping the fact that United won the war, twice, in bringing home the club’s first league and cup double in 35 years.

AFC Aldermaston have acquitted themselves well this season finishing 5th and of course reaching the BTC Senior Cup Final and I’m sure when they have time to reflect they will be quietly pleased with their season, knowing that they can drive things forward and become a real force in the league and that can only be for the benefit of the league as a whole.

Now that the dust has settled we as a club applaud their effort last evening and wish them luck for the future.

United have had many divisional triumphs and plentiful cups won over the years but to be league champions is special and despite what some may say, league tables really don’t lie and Marlow United have earned the right to sit proud. Some may call it arrogance but if you are going to succeed you need that self-belief that only winners have and this squad has self-belief aplenty.

The team of 2014/15 will always be known as a champion team and that is the legacy of a squad and management team that pulled in the same direction through thick and thin to eventually overcome all.

The team of 2014/15 has joined three previous championship winning teams of 1979/80, 1985/86 and 2004/05, legends all.

Now we look forward to a break, safe in the knowledge that this squad will be retained and further strengthened with some potentially exciting additions who will join us on the adventure of 2015/16.