FA Cup tie could see 11 ex-Stags in biggest game in AFC Mansfield's history
With National League North Boston at football’s step six and Northern Counties East League Premier side AFC at step nine this will be the biggest game in the Bulls’ short history.
Both sides won their midweek replays this week to book a showdown that will see AFC’s ex-Stags Jason White, Jonathan D’Laryea, Liam Marsden, Craig Mitchell, Jimmy Ghaichem and Cameron Dear squaring up to former Stags manager and skipper Adam Murray’s Boston, who could include Adam Chapman, Jamie McGuire, Ashley Hemmings and Jack Thomas.
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Hide AdAFC Chairman Andy Saunders said: “It has got got be the biggest game in our history hasn’t it? It’s absolutely wonderful.
“I was always confident that Boston would win their away replay.
“I thought we matched Rushall in the first game last weekend and the gaffer had done his homework on them.
“So I always felt we had a good chance. But when we were 1-0 down within two minutes you began to feel this could be a bit tricky.
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Hide Ad“But all the lads buckled down and you couldn’t really pick a man of the match because all of them put in a shift. It was a fantastic all-round team performance.”
The only down side for AFC is that the game is scheduled for 3pm on a Saturday that Stags are at home to Notts County in the big local derby at 1pm, meaning many fans who would have liked to have seen the tie will struggle to get there on time.
Having been held at home 0-0 by Evo-Stik Premier League Rushall Olympic and then gone 1-0 down inside two minutes of the replay, AFC turned the tie on its head with two goals in as many minutes soon after half-time for a memorable 2-1 win over their step seven opponents.
Boston are not having the best of times and alarm bells must have been ringing when Midland Football League Haughmond, playing at step nine level, held them 1-1 at York Street at the weekend.
But the Pilgrims breezed through the midweek replay by a convincing 5-0 scoreline.