As they prepared for Saturday’s FA Cup second round tie at Blackpool, the players and staff of Brackley Town held a quiz in their hotel , just as they had done before their match at Gillingham in the previous round. Here is a question that was not asked on either occasion: which club had to wait until the final minute of last season to avoid relegation from the sixth tier of English football but are now on the verge of joining the elite in the third round of the Cup for the first time in their history? The answer is obvious to everyone at Brackley, the Northamptonshire club who are enjoying a radical upturn in results on all fronts this season.
A 1-0 victory against Tamworth in April, coupled with Lowestoft Town’s failure to beat Gloucester City, enabled Brackley to survive in the Conference North on the final day of the 2015-16 campaign. That was the second season in succession that they had cut it so fine and this time it was only goal difference that kept them up. But now they are riding high in their league and advancing in two cup competitions as well as flying the non-league flag in the FA Cup, one win away from going into the third round draw with Manchester United, the holders, and all the other top clubs.
Related: FA Cup photo essay – a look at Stockport v Woking in the first round
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