GREENS FOR GO IN THE DERBY!
Hendon set sights on new Trophy upset
AWAY days do not come much bigger than a trip to Oldham Athletic, but an Isuzu FA Trophy tie against your high-profile rivals might just top it.
Pitching In Southern Premier South club Hendon lived the stuff of dreams as they rallied to a stunning 2-1 win away at Oldham’s Boundary Park – once a Premier League ground – last month, thanks to Niko Muir’s 96th-minute winner.
And that set up a mouth-watering last-16 tie against north-west London neighbours Wealdstone, now taking place on Tuesday night having twice fallen victim to the weather.
Board member Jatin Guntupalli, 24, believes the local derby could be even bigger than last month’s cup heroics.
“It still feels like a dream,” said Guntupalli. “It’s not every time you come across an ex-Premier League side that far down.
“It was a surreal feeling to go to a National League stadium that could still pass in the Championship.
“It doesn’t get better than that. Niko deserved that goal, it was an absolute 10/10 performance.
“Niko just symbolises everything about the football club. It had to be him, last minute – you just can’t beat it. These moments you really cherish because you don’t get them as often, especially for a club at our level.
“Our fans are really looking forward to the Wealdstone match, some more than the Oldham match. We’ll go into the game knowing that on our day we can pull out a win, we can go there and get a result.”
Just nine miles separate Hendon and Wealdstone – and the pair have been more than well acquainted on the pitch over the years.
Vital funds
The Stones, in the National League, currently sit two divisions above the Greens but Allinson’s side will back themselves to upset the odds again having already knocked out higher-tier opposition in Oldham, Eastbourne Borough, and Weymouth on their way to the fifth round.
Victory would also secure not only local bragging rights and a place in the annals of history, but vital funds at a tough time for Non-League clubs with £6,000 on offer for the winners.
For the likes of Hendon, who almost solely rely on the hard work of volunteers like Guntupalli, it represents a lifeline.
“It would further cement how great a season this has been so far and go into the history books of one of those games where you just had to be there,” he added.
“The cost-of-living crisis is really hitting football clubs hard, it’s getting so much more expensive to run these football clubs and matches like this really push up the clubs name.
“The minute we beat Oldham the number of followers our social media started to get, and the interactions were on a different level, we haven’t had that sort of interaction since we played the Arsenal under-18 side two or three years ago.
“We wouldn’t be anywhere without the volunteers. There aren’t enough words to describe how important they are. I can say with a hand on my heart that I think we have some of the best volunteers across the country.
“They’re fans that put in all of this hard work and they’re the ones that deserve the most.”
Find volunteering opportunities near you at https://pitching involunteers.co.uk