IT WAS PURE MAGIC IN '85

IN MY eyes, the FA Cup has always been the world's greatest knockout tournament. And our noble Non-League teams add so much magical intrigue as they aspire to pit their wits against the Premier League big boys.

- Tony INCENZO

One of my favourite FA Cup memories dates back to the 1984-85 season when I went to a random match in every round - and proceeded to write a book about it. I enjoyed some wonderful adventures along the way.

My odyssey started in the preliminary round where hosts Dudley Town beat Heanor Town 4-0 at The Sports Centre. Boasting a capacity of 30,000, it was Britain's largest contemporary Non-League stadium featuring a 1,500 seat grandstand plus an abundance of steep grass banking.

I was fortunate enough to observe the very first FA Cup goal of 1984-85 because the referee inadvertently kicked off four minutes early and Dudley opened the scoring through Mickey James after just 60 seconds.

Unfortunately, though, this fantastic arena closed down and was condemned a few months later due to an adjacent mining collapse.

In my next tie, I ventured to Friar Lane Old Boys versus Wednesfield Social. Hundreds of passengers sitting impatiently on a broken down InterCity 125 train atop railway embankments overlooking the pitch unintentionally witnessed the only significant action- a ballooned penalty miss from visiting centre-forward David Morrison. The game finished 0-0.

My next port of call was Blyth Spartans 1 Guisborough Town 1. I remember avidly chatting to everyone regarding the Spartans' famous FA Cup exploits during 1977-78. These included a remarkable 3-2 victory for the Northern League side away to Stoke City in round four and the staggering 42,157 crowd at St James' Park, Newcastle, in losing the 'home' fifth round replay 2-1 against Wrexham.