FA Cup Run 2016/17

It might seem like a big jump, but I’m not sure at the time any of us knew that Clive arriving (Dec 2015) or the Colwey’s coming (May 2016) were moments occasions. I admit the first press conference Danny and Nicky took was special, but going into our FA Cup run we were just promotion contenders; we’d been there with Gary Simpson and Chris Moyses for a short while.

I’m also skipping a huge chunk of our recent history; Chris Moyses reign. It’s not a snub, the building work was going on behind the scenes but I missed some of the season through work commitments and didn’t get a moment I could call one of the best.

Going into the Guiseley games (the preliminary round) we’d only won two in six (Braintree and Wrexham), drawing two (Bromley and Solihull) and losing two on the spin (Barrow and Dover). This was pre-Forest Green, before the pomp and hype arrived at the club. Our 0-0 draw took us back there to set up ‘FA Cup’ Theo for a brace and our journey’s start.

I couldn’t pick a single moment to define the run, it wouldn’t be fair. The Altrincham game was good for me personally as it shut up a few moaners in the crowd, but obviously the Oldham game gave us a stage to shine upon. We did, setting up that Ipswich double-header which will always be remembered in history. For me, that night was bittersweet. Nathan’s goal is perhaps the one single moment that stood out in the run, but losing my Uncle Jeff just an hour or two after tinged the game with sadness.

The Brighton win was as much their own doing as ours, but it set up Burnley which again gave us that magical moment as Sean Raggett headed home. I left the ground hugging grown men, crying openly and wondering where the journey would end. For me, it ended that day; I don’t recall Arsenal fondly as we were pumped 5-0. Still, what a time to be alive.