Town slip up with fairy tale in sight

A Ashford Town Fulham

There were fears this game would be postponed after torrential rain made the Homelands pitch something of a mud bath, but the horrendous conditions only added to the 90 minutes of drama which were to follow. With Sky TV cameras in attendance – the deciding factor in the game going ahead – Southern League Ashford were the underdogs against a Fulham team then in the bottom league of the professional game. Yet with 10 minutes remaining the home side led 2-0, courtesy of goalscoring machines Dave Arter and Nicky Dent. The fairytale was not to come true, however. As players slipped and slided around the pitch, Ashford conceded two late penalties to end the game 2-2. Ten days later, they met again at Craven Cottage for the replay. Ashford were 2-0 down within 20 minutes, but, incredibly, came back to level the game 3-3 in the final minutes courtesy of two goals from the inspirationalmark Stanton. Town finally went down 5-3 in extra time.

November 12, 1994 (First Round)