If we go back to December 2004, to Exeter City to be precise. They're enduring their second season in the Conference, without two pennies to rub together and with a very bleak future ahead. They're then drawn away to Manchester United in the 3rd round of the FA Cup, a match worth millions to the club. They then turned up at Old Trafford and had the audacity to draw 0-0, before losing 2-0 at St James' Park. Fast forward to today and Exeter City are a club thriving. Promotion to League Two was achieved via the play offs in 2008 and they followed that up with a second consecutive promotion. After surviving on the last day of the season they're currently holding their own in England's 3rd tier, with crowds up and the wind in their sails, they really are a club on the up. Obviously their manager and the players ultimately bring success to the club, or any club for that matter, but none of this was imaginable 5 years back, but with a big slice of luck in the FA Cup draw they received a pay day which built a solid foundation for a decent sized club to be built upon.
It's the sort of story that every lower league club dreams of happening to them one day and it's these possibilities that make the FA Cup so exciting for fans of these clubs. My earliest memory of the FA Cup was in 1998 when my beloved Aldershot Town, then of the Ryman Premier, were at home to Conference side Hednesford. The visitors took the lead, before a late Gary Abbott goal forced a replay. The Shots travelled away and beat their higher placed opponents, setting up a 2nd round tie with Exeter - The first time that we had played a Football League team in competitive action since re-forming in 1992. The following season Aldershot had navigated their way through 3 qualifying rounds and landed a home game against then 3rd Division leaders Brighton & Hove Albion. A sell out crowd of 7,500 was there to see it, as were the Match of the Day cameras. Brighton ran out 6-2 winners in the end, but the buzz of excitement surrounding that day will stay with me forever. During my early days following The Shots, the regular visitors to The Rec were Heybridge Swifts, Sutton United, Carshalton Athletic and the 4 men and a dog that followed them. Suddenly we were up against a proper club, with a large away following and for the first time in my life I experienced what felt like "proper" football at The Rec. This is what the FA Cup is all about.
Although as the years have gone by, I've got older, been around the block a few more times and seen more FA Cup let downs than I care to remember, the magic of the Cup has seemed to have been avoiding Aldershot. Infact, 47 seasons have gone by since Aldershot's most famous FA Cup moment, in January 1964. Aston Villa were the opponents - A true giant of English football at that time. Record time FA Cup winners, multiple time champions of England, a well supported club playing at a huge ground in a major city and a team that had never been beaten by lower league opposition in the FA Cup. Aldershot, a team that had joined the Football League in 1932 and had never played higher than the basement league should be no problem, surely? Well, a 0-0 draw at Villa Park forced a replay at The Rec on 8th January 1964, where The Shots ran out 2-1 winners. A truly fantastic achievement and it must still rank as a favourite memory for anyone who was lucky enough to have been there that night. In today's money, that'd be equivalent to Morecambe turning over Liverpool!
Has much happened since then? Well, not really. A 1-0 defeat at Liverpool in 1971, a couple of runs to the 5th Round where the dream was ended by Carlisle and Shrewsbury respectively and a 3-0 win over then 1st Division Oxford, between multiple defeats by non-league opposition, is about as good as it's got. The "new" club hasn't faired much better either, infact, in the 12 years I've been watching The Shots the best it's got was a 3rd round defeat at then League One Blackpool. That was the only time we've reached the 3rd round since re-forming, with Round 2 generally being our glass ceiling. I've seen defeats at this stage against Exeter, Hartlepool, Scunthorpe, Colchester, Millwall and Tranmere. I think it's pretty easy to see why I can never get too caught up the excitement when FA Cup time comes around.
This season was no different, I fully expected a dull, uninspiring draw, in which we'd have little chance of winning. I wasn't wrong and we were drawn away to League One Brentford. Everyone knew this sort of tie would come up, it was just a saving grace that it was local and that Griffin Park is a decent venue. So, a thousand travelled from North Hampshire to West London for the match, determined to enjoy a good day, even if no one expected much on the pitch. As it happened, the players surpassed expectation and took a first half lead through Wade Small, the away support rejoiced and we started to think we might actually win this... Then moments later it was 1-1. In the end, that was how it stayed and it could be argued that we did enough to win the match. We were all glad and slightly surprised by the result, but there was an underlying feeling that we should have won the match and that we may have missed our chance.
The 2nd round draw paired us or Brentford with a trip to Dover Athletic, a cracking draw and one that presented the winners of the replay with a very good chance of reaching the 3rd round.
Going into the replay, it reminded me of last season when we hosted League One Tranmere Rovers in the 2nd Round, knowing that a win would be rewarded with a home tie against Wolves. There was a big crowd that night, big expectation and plenty of excitement... Along with the inevitable let down and a 2-1 defeat. This time around, the build up was a bit more muted as we remembered what happened last season. Even as I sat on the platform at Frimley Station in the freezing cold waiting for my train, I had a "can't be arsed" feeling about the whole thing. A late night, freezing my balls off, a probable defeat and a waste of time. I'd been in this position too many times in the past.
The fans had certainly learned lessons from last year and it seemed the manager had too. Setting up with an attacking trio of McGlashan, Small and Morgan, Aldershot took the game to Brentford and opened the scoring with only 8 minutes on the clock, with another Wade Small goal. The East Bank went mental, then as it died down we all remembered what happened 10 days ago and we awaited the Brentford onslaught. It never came. Aldershot's defence was comfortable throughout, with Jamie Young not really having much to do all night. It wasn't until the 4th official's board went up to signal 3 added minutes that I and others around me really believed what we were seeing. The match ended with Aldershot playing keep ball and toying with the Bees. The referee blew his whistle to the delight and slight disbelief of the 3,000+ home supporters in the ground.
Aldershot's first FA Cup win against higher league opposition since October 2000, when Aldershot beat then Conference side Dover has set up a 2nd round tie against that same team. This time the roles are reversed and we go to The Crabble two leagues higher and knowing that it's the best chance we've had of reaching the 3rd round in years. With a potential money spinning tie awaiting the winners, this could finally be our day in the sun. I always knew the magic of the Cup existed, but is it on it's way to Aldershot 47 years later?
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