After five became two in the second round qualifying, Paul Taylor put his Emirates FA Cup band back together again as they continued their inaugural Road to Wembley.
Doncaster native Taylor, 26, has joined forces with his dad Pete, brother-in-law Andy Leslie and Andy’s dad, another Pete, with the aim of attending a tie in every round of this season’s competition. Andy’s one-year-old son Harry was a late addition to the party but he has now made it a Fab Five.
They have since taken in ties at Anstey Nomads and Mickleover Sports, while they face a maiden trip to Alfreton in the fourth round qualifying on Saturday.
A work trip to Germany rendered Andy Leslie unavailable for the second round qualifying, but he and little Harry returned for the trip to the Don Amott Arena.
Taylor picks up the story:
“Me and my old man were once again looking forward to catching up with Andy and his dad as well as my nephew Harry for only his second-ever game.
“After a few pints with work the night before, I decided to set myself up for the game with a pre-game visit to the local chippy; blinding!
“What followed was a two-hour journey to Mickleover which should have taken just under an hour! I missed the turn off I needed before my sat nav packed in and constantly re-routed us! We are still having no luck with finding these grounds!
“After talking to a few of the locals and driving around most of Derby and the surrounding areas, we found the ground… 20 minutes into the game!
“If anything, it made me realise my dad – a taxi driver! – should do the driving from now on!
“We came in to a good little non-League ground and what seemed a proper Cup atmosphere with both sets of fans behind the goal in good voice.
“Alfreton had already missed a penalty before they scored with another, and they nabbed a second goal to go in 2-0 up at the break.
“Mickleover gave it their all in the second half and pulled one back but eventually bowed out of the competition.
“I was stood between both sets of fans, so as the first Alfreton goal went in I was drenched in around £20 worth of beer! Just what I needed!
“Harry enjoyed the game too, standing at the front with me during the second half.
“It was great to watch the game with him and the way he kicked his legs about I think he was keen to join in on the action. He has definitely caught the football bug!
“Sadly we couldn’t carry on the tradition of watching the early Premier League kick-off in the club bar due to our poor ability to follow a sat nav but I’m sure we’ll make up for it.
“The FA Cup is definitely starting to hot up with one round to go before clubs from League One and League Two enter. I’m sure all the smaller sides are hoping for Sunderland away...or our local side Doncaster Rovers!
“We’re all looking forward to a trip to Alfreton for their fourth round qualifying round tie against St Neots Town.
“I’m sure both teams will be going all out to get into the first round proper.”
You can follow Paul’s Emirates FA Cup adventures on Twitter: @PaulT_92
