Chatham Town FC end 97-year FA Cup drought

Article from Daniel Johnson of the University of Wembley

Chatham Town FC created club history last Saturday. They qualified for the First Round of the

illustrious FA Cup after a 97-year wait.

For so long, they have fallen short, making this one feel even sweeter. Club Secretary, Andy

Boneywell, said, “We've worked for many years to get here, and it feels really good.”

The fourth round of qualifying held so much hope for everyone associated with the club, but

it couldn’t have started much worse. After just 8 minutes, Tonbridge Angels took the lead.

The Chatham manager, Kevin Hake, must have got his message across during half time. The game was back level just moments after the break, through a goal from Tope Fadahunsi. The Chats goalscorer then doubled his tally, netting from the spot to give his club one foot into the first round.

In the 96th minute, Adam Leathers sealed the win, putting the ball into an empty net after a

mazey run from Adedapo Olugbodi opened up the Tonbridge defence.

Chatham Town are flying high right now, sitting second in the league, whilst still being in the

FA Trophy, the Kent Senior Cup and of course the FA Cup. They are currently on a 10-game

winning streak across all competitions, winning their last match late on at Cray Valley.

Despite all the recent joy, it may be out of the realms of possibility for Chatham to replicate

their best result in this competition; a quarter final appearance in 1888-89, but they will

certainly do their best to get close.

On Monday, they found out who they would face in the next round; a trip to National League

North side Buxton FC. Reactions to tie are split, with Andy Boneywell saying “It could have

been more glamorous” but also adding “they are a similar level to us, it makes the tie more

winnable.”

Their next opponents have had a far shorter wait for FA Cup success than Chatham, with

their last appearance in the First Round coming just three years ago.

The travelling fans were a big factor away from home against Tonbridge and will be needed

once more when facing visiting Buxton. Andy told me that they are “expecting around 500

fans” to make the four-and-a-half-hour trip, and that every single one of them will be “very

important."

The first-round tie is scheduled for the 1st of November at 3pm. It will be the biggest match in

the modern history of the club from Kent. After taking down a National League South side in

the previous stage, a second-round tie is certainly on the cards for the away side.