Memories of the early rounds of the Cup
Unless a non-league team gets a plum home Cup draw in the New Year, this coming Sunday marks the end of an era for Match of the Day. Our cameras will be at Station View for live coverage of second round FA Cup tie with Mansfield, the last of 14 first and second round ties we have covered live since we regained the FA Cup contract in 2001.
Of those 14, 13 have featured our preferred formula of a non-league team at home to a league team. Strangely enough, the only exception - a derby between in 2002 when the second round draw conspired against us - featured a home team who subsequently became a non-league team. Two of the remaining 13 - Hereford (2-1 winners over Wrexham in our first ever live game in 2001) and Accrington Stanley (1-0 winners over Huddersfield the folowing season) - have subsequently regained their Football League place. And our most recent live game - the other week - may be the prelude to another promotion from the Conference, or Blue Square Premier as it's now known.
Almost without exception, working on these has been an enormous pleasure for all of us: the host clubs are incredibly welcoming, and generally perform above themselves for the cameras. The non-leaguers' record in the 12 non-league v league ties so far has been an impressive four wins, five draws and only three defeats.
And it's not just been a case of our playing safe and picking the highest-ranked of non-league clubs. Admittedly, that was the case with Torquay, though they surpassed themselves by thrashing a team from two divisions higher. On four occasions in our live games, though, teams from below the top tier of non-league football have held or beaten opposition from at least three divisions higher: in 2001, Hinckley 0 Brentford 0 in 2004, last season and, perhaps most memorably of all, 1 Oldham 1 in 2005.
That remains one of the most memorable trips any of us have had while working on MOTD, and epitomises the pre-Christmas Cup experience we've enjoyed so much. The draw was originally Blyth Spartans or Chasetown v Oldham, pending a fourth qualifying round replay. We liked the sound of the tie either way, though Blyth as famous Cup fighters from the 1970s were the better known of the two underdogs. Chasetown, then of the Midland Alliance, won the replay and duly faced an Oldham side no fewer than 132 places higher up the pyramid.
From the moment our commentators Steve Wilson and Mark Bright and our pre-match feature producer Sarah Williams started to contact the club we knew we were onto something a bit special. Firstly, Mark went to train with the squad and Steve struck up a rapport with Chasetown's manager Charlie Blakemore, which still sees them in regular contact to this day. Charlie gave us access all areas including permission to film his team talk, and he and his players completely bought into Sarah's memorable opening sequence in which they told the story of the club while working at their various day jobs.
We arrived at our hotel near Walsall late on the Saturday night to an impromptu invitation to the wedding reception taking place there, and ended up waving sparklers in the car park to commemorate Bonfire Night. On the day itself, the club put up a hospitality marquee, brought in caterers, and welcomed Ray Stubbs, Mark Lawrenson and the entire production team like long-lost family. They outlined their plans to tarmac the car park and install proper dugouts with the appearance money, then the team proceeded to play out of their skins in front of a full house, take the lead, and earn a deserved replay. It was the FA Cup at its absolute best: mud, blood, sweat and 100% honest endeavour.
Even our coach's arrival back at Television Centre brought the bonus of a free gig as Green Day played a set for Top of the Pops in front of the builiding. Since then, we've all followed Chasetown's progress from afar, and are particularly pleased to see them make it to the FA Cup second round for the first time in their history. We wish them all the best at Port Vale on Sunday.
Not every trip has been quite like that, but it's been a fantastic experience throughout, and we hope we've done the early rounds and all the teams involved justice since 2001. Fortunately, our recent acquisition of Football League and Carling Cup rights from 2009 means we will be able to show action from all 92 league clubs throughout the season, which seems entirely appropriate for a national broadcaster funded from everyone's licence fee. But we will miss the FA Cup and the non-leaguers in particular, and hope Harrogate Railway can emulate the teams mentioned above, and provide us with a great spectacle on Sunday.
