Did He Really Mean It?

And so, we enter the final week. Two non-league teams prepare to meet each other in the First Round Proper of the FA Cup. Either side, potentially, only 180 minutes away from drawing a top-flight side. Either side only 90 minutes away from a tie against names such as Nottingham Forest or Leeds United and a guaranteed television appearance - earning the kind of money that could keep them going for years to come.

Both of these clubs have risen to the national concious over the last few years thanks to this competition. Team Bath became the first University side to reach the first round of the FA Cup since Oxford in 1880 when they were pitched against Mansfield Town in 2002. A brave performance and all the television cameras you could wish for were not enough to prevent the students going down 2-4.

Chasetown, meanwhile, were featured live on BBC TV in their first-ever FA Cup first round tie against Oldham Athletic in 2005. They were unlucky not to win the first tie outright, but forced a replay at Boundary Park that they lost, without shame, 4-0. This game took place in front of a mammoth 2,426 travelling supporters (as well as the obvious home support!) - the largest ever following that Chasetown have taken to any game.

(As an aside, the first ever FA Cup game that I watched in real life was at the Moat Ground, Church Gresley, as two goals from Kevin ‘The Viking’ Allsopp saw Gresley Rovers beat the then lower-division Chasetown 2-1. From that day, I’ve loved both Gresley Rovers and the FA Cup competition as a whole. It will be nice to get re-acquianted.)

And so, both sides meet this Saturday for the chance to play in the Second Round proper for the first time in their respective histories. The Students at home to ‘The Scholars’, at Bath’s magnificent (hey, don’t mock - it’s the best ground in that league!) Twerton Park stadium.

This season, Team Bath are pushing for promotion from the Southern League Premier Division (having reached the play-offs for the first time in their history last year), while Chasetown are bidding to get out of the league below, and rise to their highest ever placing on the league ladder.

Attendance-wise, Team Bath lag way behind not only other teams in their own league this season, but also of Chasetown and a number of clubs in the league below. Team Bath average only 113 fans for their home league games this season, while Chasetown average 309 fans at home. This combination will no doubt result in the largest crowd at Twerton Park this season, as the visitors have already confirmed that there will be more than 600 fans alone travelling on the organised transport with the club. So, it promises to be a cracking atmosphere - and, aside from however many of us from this here blog make the journey (currently standing at five confirmed bodies), the Chasetown fans will outnumber the Bath fans almost 5-to-1.

I’m looking forward to it. The FA Cup proper has begun. Onwards to Twerton Park, Bath.