IT WAS ONLY AS he wheeled away in delight, three minutes after half time, and as his name was announced over the Princes Park tannoy that I realised that I had seen Steve Butterworth before.
It was a season ago, during my epic FA Cup adventure which is documented in my new book The Road From Wembley, when he had been starring as the playmaker for Great Wakering Rovers in the First Qualifying Round matches against Ware.
Since those days in September 2007, ‘Scouse’ had been the subject of two transfers - first to Redbridge FC in the Isthmian Division One North, followed by a summer switch to the Isthmian Premier's newly-promoted Dartford.
And as I watched him being mobbed by his fellow players, and as the healthy Princes Park crowd stood to applaud his crisp left-foot volley, it was like coming across an old friend.
Butterworth didn’t know it, in fact probably still doesn’t know it, but he was one of the stand-out characters in my book.
He played in an epic nine-goal replay between Rovers and Ware and his silky skills were the first to catch my eye in a season-long journey which saw me watching some of the best players in the country by the time I had finished, in the FA Cup Final between Cardiff and Portsmouth.
Steve Butterworth, me and the FA Cup will always be inextricably linked.
I had chosen the clash between Isthmian Premier League teams Dartford and Hastings United as my tie of choice in this season's First Qualifying Round. The reason was simple, I had long yearned to pay a visit to Dartford’s sensational Princes Park home.
Built by the Conservative Dartford Council from a design by Alexander Sedgley architects, the stadium opened for business in November 2006 and was voted Best New Non-League Ground, 2006 by Groundtastic magazine.
I would go further and say it is the best Non-League ground around.
On arrival at the stadium with about fifteen minutes to go until kick off, I marvelled at the sleek design of the stands, the airy, light and beautifully designed terracing and the superb amenities.
As the match kicked off I took up a position at the visitor’s end of the stadium, partly because the position was the best for taking photos but also to take in the atmosphere of the Hastings support who had announced their arrival with a drum-backed march from the bar to the terracing behind the goal.
The game kicked off in brilliant sunlight and immediately you could see the increase in standard of two Isthmian Premier teams over the Step Five and Step Six teams of the previous rounds I had seen this year.
Hastings looked to have more creativity, but it was Dartford who took the lead after a quarter of an hour when Brendan Cass headed home from a Lee Noble cross. As usual I was up the wrong end.
Then as the game approached half time, Hastings converted direct from a Sam Adams free kick and in injury time, took the lead when Ben Radley scored from close range following another Adams free kick which the Darts defence failed to deal with.
This led to a glut of grumbling from the home crowd throughout the break as they tried to come to terms with a lead lost so easily. Meanwhile I was trying to decide whether I preferred my grass roots football to be played in a magnificent arena like Princes Park, or whether I preferred it a little bit more grass roots? In my mind, I like Non-League football to have a little less gloss on it. But regardless of my opinion, it certainly seemed like the majority of the people in attendance were lapping up the lavish surroundings, as this was easily the largest crowd I have ever witnessed for a game at this level.
But after the restart they had little time to wait before Butterworth lashed home the equaliser, and as I looked forward to a barn-storming second half, I suddenly realised my relationship to the Darts goalscorer.
The decision on which team would pick up the three thousand pound winners cheque came shortly after when Danny Dafter stooped low to head home a Ryan Hayes cross and the comeback was complete.
Both teams had plenty of opportunities to affect the final score, but with no more goals coming I was in the perfect position by the exits come the final whistle for a nice early Dart.
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