THE FA Cup never fails to unearth a fairytale and Island-born non-league striker, Scott Jones, will be hoping he can be the hero when Chichester City meet League 1 Tranmere Rovers in the second round today (Sunday).
Chichester, the lowest ranked side in the second round, were incredibly handed a first round bye.
The West Sussex club, which plays in the eighth tier of league football, the Isthmian League’s South East Division, are on the verge of playing the biggest game in their 19-year history.
Scott, who grew up in Binstead and lives in Haylands, said knowing Chichester would face Tranmere, rather than high-flying League 1’s Wycombe, has given the team some hope of causing a huge upset.
Playing at Prenton Park will be the biggest game of Scott’s career.
Although he openly admits he prefers surfing to football — even riding the waves at Compton hours before a league match to get his blood pumping — facing Tranmere and being part of the huge occasion, in front of a TV audience of millions, dwarfs it.
The 29-year-old, yet another decent product of Island football, was on the books with Binstead & COB as a youth and its first team at 15, has played for Brading Town as a teenager and made 35 starts (with five as a substitute) for Newport, scoring 21 goals, following a spell at Havant.
“The Tranmere match is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The way things are going, we fancy our chances of causing an upset,” the window fitter said.
“With how lucky we’ve been, you can’t rule anything out. Stranger things have happened. It’s the FA Cup, after all.
“We’re pumped for the game. There will be a lot of nerves, but being the underdogs, we feel we’ve got nothing to lose.
“After getting through the first round proper, this is a free hit.
“We’ll give it our best and show what we can do.”
Scott, who attended Binstead Primary, Mayfield Middle and Ryde High, hopes to be in the starting line-up after starting the last two games.
Although Scott is not pleased with his goalscoring record so far this season, he finished as the club’s top scorer the previous three seasons — bagging 30 last term to help Chichester win the Southern Combination Premier Division title.
As part of his unique FA Cup experience, the Islander trained at St George’s Park in Staffordshire — England’s state-of-the-art football complex — yesterday (Saturday).
“Imagine if we got through this tie. It would be ridiculous. We could be drawn against a top club like Manchester United, at Old Trafford. It would be unbelievable.
“It’s crazy. You’d think it was a million miles away, but it’s only one game — 90 minutes.
“The odds are very much against us, but anything can happen.”
The match will be screened live on BT Sports, with coverage beginning at 2pm and kick-off at 3pm.
The FA Cup third round draw will follow immediately on the BBC.
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