The memory of 4 December 2016, is a painful one for Curzon Ashton but manager John Flanagan insists he looks back upon that day with pride as his team prepare for their Emirates FA Cup second round qualifying clash with Stockport County.
Ashton were ten minutes from a causing a huge upset against League One AFC Wimbledon in the second round proper, but three goals in 162 seconds turned the match on its head.
A 94th-minute winner by Tom Elliott was the dagger to the Curzon heart and capped off a remarkable comeback to deny the hosts a place in the hat for the third round.
But Flanagan is now fully focused on the Greater Manchester derby that awaits this weekend and revealed he was delighted with last season’s FA Cup exploits, despite letting a 3-0 lead slip.
He said: “The players don’t so much bring it up because of what happened. It was very painful.
“I’m the one who reflects back on it with a lot of pride because we were that close to beating them.
"Ok, we were 3-0 up and we should’ve won but something extraordinary happened that only the FA Cup seems to produce. I’ve never seen anything like that before.
“The motivation it gives you is that you get the chance to be on TV. The build-up to that was match lovely and it was a nice week prior – the focus on our club was amazing.
“But this is a new season and a tough match awaits. The rivalry adds spice to the game, for sure. We’re only about five or six miles apart, it’s very close and there’s a rivalry.”
Stockport got the better of the Nash when the sides met in the National League North last month but that isn’t something Flanagan is focusing on, although he admits the Hatters are a side he has history with.
He said: “I was an apprentice at Stockport so I have a link to them. I have had an affection for them over many years and to get the opportunity to play against them is always quite a thrill from my point of view.
“Just the fact that we get to go to Edgeley Park is really nice. Playing a big club is inevitably going to be difficult but that might work in our favour.
“They may have beaten us 3-0 earlier in the season but to be fair, I thought we had as many chances as they did on the day. They took their chances and we didn’t take ours, but maybe they deserved it.
“I have absolutely no fears in taking them on – we won’t be going there to shut up shop, we’ll be going there to win.
“It’s a hugely important match for the club. Everybody wants to get a bit of a run in the Cup and it would help our season generally. The confidence would be high if we win. We need to give a good account of ourselves, play the right way, don’t sit back and go for it.”
Emirates FA Cup history
The Nash produced their joint-best Cup run last season when they made the second round proper, losing a thrilling tie to AFC Wimbledon 4-3. They previously reached the second round in 2009 when they beat League side Exeter City in the opening round before losing to Kidderminster Harriers at the next stage.
As for Stockport, they have reached the fifth round on three occasions in their history, most recently in 2001 when they were knocked out by Tottenham 4-0 at White Hart Lane. Other fifth round appearances include in 1950, when they lost to Liverpool, and 1935, when they were eventually knocked out by West Brom.
Did you know?
Curzon played against a Manchester United XI, which included World Cup winner Gerard Pique, Giuseppe Rossi and Jonny Evans, to commemorate the opening of their new ground, Tameside Stadium, in 2005.
The prize
The winners of Saturday’s tie, who will progress to the third qualifying round, will net £4500 in prize money.
