COUL RUNNINGS
Brush with Blues has whet the appetite
Scarborough Athletic’s Michael Coulson is beginning to dream of another FA Cup glory run
MICHAEL COULSON remembers the last time FA Cup fever came to Scarborough and Premier League giants Chelsea were in town – he was a ball boy! The 29-year-old attacker was still at school in 2004 when the old club reached the fourth round and lost out to a Blues side featuring Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and the game’s only scorer John Terry. But just three years later the club had dissolved and started again as Scarborough Athletic in the Northern Counties East League. And ten years on the supporters are dreaming of more FA Cup memories with Hyde United standing between By MATT BADCOCK them and a first round proper tie.
“I was a ball boy for the Chelsea game,” Coulson told
The NLP. “It was incredible – I remember listening to the draw at school. Everyone had it on, they got Chelsea and everyone was bouncing about.
“We’ve got Hyde now, which is good because at least one of the teams in our league is going to reach the first round. It would be class if we could.”
The former Grimsby Town and York City winger joined his boyhood club in the summer after a spell in Scotland with St Johnstone.
Upsets
He’s scored 15 goals with Steve Kittrick’s side getting off to a good start in the EVO-STIK North in their first season back playing in the town at the Flamingo Land Stadium and reaching the cup’s fourth round qualifying stage. Coulson has FA Cup pedigree of his own having played for Barnsley in the semi-final at Wembley against Cardiff City in 2008. “I scored two goals for Barnsley, both in the third round of the FA Cup,” he said. “One was against Southend and the other against Blackpool. “Obviously we got to the semi-finals at Barnsley. We beat Chelsea and Liverpool. I came on in the Chelsea game and in the semis at Wembley. It was incredible. “This year I’ve played about seven games in the FA Cup! It means so much to the little clubs. You could see how much it meant to everyone on Tuesday when we got the winner in extratime against Stratford Town. It was a good feeling.”