Friday night’s FA Cup Second Round tie has the potential to change the club for the next generation, according to Gainsborough Trinity CEO Matt Boles.
The Holy Blues are set to travel to North Yorkshire, facing SkyBet League Two Harrogate Town in the second round of the world’s oldest cup competition for the first time in 72 years.
They came back from 3-0 and 4-3 down to beat Hednesford Town on penalties in the first round, after making their way through four qualifying rounds.
In the dream run they have already pocketed £65,625 from previous ties and now will play Harrogate Town live on BBC 2 for a place in the third round and a chance at a mouth-watering Premier League away day. That will come with a winners’ purse of £75,000 too.
A Boast to the Gainsborough Trinity Coffers:
Boles was keen to emphasise just how significant the finances involved are, and said: “For non-league clubs the dream is to get to the first round and then go as deep as you can. Because, as soon as you get to that first round the prize money changes football clubs is the honest truth. You’ve only got to look at Marine a few years ago, they did the dream and got a Premier League club.”
“If you get to the dream of getting to the next round and get a big boy, then that has the potential to change the club for the next generation. So, it’s massive there’s no point trying to hide it.
“It’s not all about the money. The memories, the entertainment, the excitement, the feel good around the town, the businesses that are thriving on it from our success. That all mixes into it and bodes well for the football club’s future.”
On the run which has already seen Trinity play six matches, Boles said: “It’s been amazing… for a lot of football clubs their dream is to get to the first round, and you can do that not on a regular basis, but on a more regular basis than what we’ve done. To get to the second round is just once in a lifetime stuff.”
That now historic game at Hednesford will certainly live long in the memory.
“I’ve never gone through so many emotions in 120 minutes plus penalties. People say what a great day it was, I thought it was a horrific day! Afterwards I was just emotionally drained, you look back on it now and it was brilliant but during the game it was horrible. I was pacing up and down, celebrating and then down, then up again. It was a rollercoaster,” the Trinity CEO said.
All Roads Lead to Harrogate:
He will now look forward to the big game on Friday as 1,000 Gainsborough Trinity supporters are set to make the trip north to Harrogate.
Boles said: “It’s going to be massive, for us to be taking 1,000 fans is just crazy. We took 600 to Hednesford and when talking about this game with Harrogate I honestly didn’t think we’d take that many, with it being on TV and on the Friday night. ”
“It’s going to be emotional, there were plenty of tears shed at the last round when we won. Hopefully, it’s enjoyable for everybody and that everybody behaves and has a good time, and hopefully it’s not the last day out.”
Everyone at Gainsborough have the right to dream of a potential third round clash with one of the Premier League elites, and Matt Boles has his eyes on game team in particular.
He said: “For me, I’m a Tottenham fan, so it’s got to be Tottenham away. I’ve already told the lads I won’t be sitting with them for that one, I’ll be going corporate and sitting next to Daniel Levy and quizzing him all day.”
Gainsborough Trinity will travel to Harrogate Town on Friday, November 29, and you can follow all the latest on LincSport.