11 November 2008

Falling In Love Again

No I'm not here to talk about an Eagle Eye Cherry track! Last weekend I attended my first football match in roughly two years. That's mainly been due to a lack of finances during my life as a student, and also the debilitating love of a certain Leeds United!

The last game I went to was Preston North End, whose Deepdale stadium was only a stone's throw away from my old accommodation, against Sunderland. Preston won 4-1, and all in all it was a good game. But the spectacle I witnessed on Saturday was a classic.

Curzon Ashton FC is a little club in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester. No you probably hadn't heard of them before the weekend, especially due to the fame and familiarity of their neighbours Manchester United and City! The club only formed in 1963, and had never before appeared in the 1st round of the FA Cup.

In
Exeter City, Ashton faced a side who were formed 59 years earlier, four divisions above them, and 97 places higher. Yes the Grecian's, high-flyers in League Two, were odds-on favourites to beat the little team from the Unibond First Division North, and Ashton's manager Gary Lowe had written his side off in his programme notes.

But that didn't stop the plucky part-timers going 3-0 up, with Gambian international James Ogoo scoring the pick of the goals, a screamer from outside the box, that caused wild celebrations from the hotel porter and the rest of his side.

Exeter did get back into the game with two late goals, causing real panic amongst the few hundred fans sat around me in the only seated stand at the Tameside Stadium. But the dream of those loyal fans wasn't to be ruined, and one of the most dramatic cup-upsets of recent times was
realised.

The FA Cup had a new set of fans, and the emotion was clear to see as they stormed the pitch to celebrate and congratulate their heroes. Speaking to Gary Lowe after the game, it was clear to see just what winning this football match had meant to both him and his players, and for that reason I fell in love again with the FA Cup.

The scenes of those players celebrating in their changing room will stay with me as I continue my career in journalism, and so they should!