ROAD TO WEMBLEY
Reaction from the FA Trophy quarter-final draw
MARK STIMSON says his Hornchurch Heroes reaching the quarter-finals of the Buildbase FA Trophy is made more special because he’s seen so many of them go through life’s biggest milestones.
Stimson’s Step 3 side will now travel to National League North Darlington after they made Maidstone United their fourth higher-league scalp in this remarkable run.
The Urchins came out on top of a nine-goal thriller last weekend with Liam Nash’s 97th-minute winner clinching a 5-4 rollercoaster.
And Stimson – who famously won a hat-trick of FA Trophy finals as boss of Grays and Stevenage – says his side are daring to dream.
Former Thurrock boss Stimson told The NLP: “I’ve been very fortunate to win the competition a few times and this is really close to that because of the circumstances. Our last league game was in November. We have trained, but nowhere near as much as we’d like.
“Three players moved up to the National League South and weren’t available, plus we had a key suspension last Saturday – so when you put it all together, as crazy as it sounds, it’s almost up there with winning it.
“I’m so proud of the group. I’ve said this a lot the last couple of weeks, but this
is a very good group of, not just players, but people.
“When you’re working in Non-League, you only train twice a week if you’re lucky, you don’t always get all of your players because of work commitments.
“But six or seven of these players have been with me eight years. So I’ve seen them grow from 16, 17 years old to men who have got their own children.
Magic hands
“Like my boy Charlie, for instance. He’s played for me since he was 19 and he’s 28 now. He’s just had a son of his own, Archie – he is three weeks old! My first grandchild so on a personal note that is fantastic.
“Another, Remi Sutton, has got two children now. To see these guys go from boys into men with their own families and be part of that with them on Saturday makes it even more special.
“In most levels of football, people are round each other for a year or two. To have a lot of this group for so many years – we’ve had promotions and won things – and see them enjoy it is fantastic. The buzz on Saturday was probably better than anything we’ve had because they realise what competition it is and the draw we went into.
“Clubs like Notts County, Torquay and the one we’ve drawn, Darlington – what a name in football that is. To be in with that quality of team is great.
“When the draw came out, yes it’s a trip, but it’s great. We’re really looking forward to it.”
The club are now trying to arrange an overnight stay within the Covid guidelines, while players also sort time off work so they can travel to the north-east the day before.
Stimson says they will leave no stone unturned in their preparation and aim to enjoy the adventure with a place in the final four at stake.
“We’re going to try and do it the correct way,” Stimson said. “For us it’s great, the competition keeps our season alive. We’ve had four Trophy games once every two to three weeks since the league suspended so it’s kept us ticking over.
“Last Friday night I was thinking, ‘If we get beat tomorrow, that’s probably it until July’. Now, since the draw, I’ve been speaking to the club, we’re trying to sort out a coach and hotel, then you talk to the players about time off work, we’ve got training – we wouldn’t have that if we’d lost.
“We’ve picked up a couple of injuries who will be touch and go, the physio will have to get his magic hands working. We haven’t got the biggest of squads but if we have to bring a couple of the youth team along to give us enough, we will. It’s all good fun, as they say.”