FA Cup Second Qualifying Round
Throughout the unprecedented years of success between 2016 and 2020, a magical run in the FA Cup was the missing piece of the jigsaw for Pontefract Collieries.
Now first team manager Craig Rouse, the assistant to Craig Parry during those unforgettable glory-laden years, is plotting to lead the Colls into the third qualifying round for the first time in the club’s history.
The Colls will need to win at North West Counties League side Squires Gate tomorrow to go one step closer to the prestigious first round.
“It is a big game and it is a chance to create history,” Rouse told Non League Yorkshire.
“In times I have been at the club we have created a lot of history in terms of promotions and putting the club at its highest footing in terms of league standing.
“To go and break (the FA Cup) record it would mean everything.
“It would mean in every competition apart from the County Cup, the records have been set by us.
“On the other side of it, after a tough 18 months for all clubs financially because of the pandemic, (the prize money) would help us to continue the work that is going on around the ground.
“For us as a club (going through) would mean everything and hopefully we can continue the run we are on.
“In terms of Non League sides, there’s always one side who creates that little bit of history.
“There’s always that one side who gives themselves that bit of exposure.
“We have seen at clubs at our level in recent years.
“The message for our players is ‘why not us’?
“We want to go as far as we can.”
Rouse knows the Colls could fall to in-form Squires Gate but he is aware of some of the potential opponents on offer in the third qualifying round if they get through.
The likes of National North giants York City, Guiseley, Bradford (Park Avenue) and even Boston United, managed by local lad and ex-Colls reserve team boss Craig Elliott, could lie in wait.
“You always have to look at the attendances in the Conference North since the crowds got back in,” he said.
“It suggests a lot of people have turned themselves towards Non League Football and clubs are getting the backing.
“For us there is a few (potential) mouth-watering ties against clubs in our region (if we get through).
“If we were to get through this round it would be great to draw one of them.
“But first and foremost we have to get past Squires Gate and that it is no easy tie.
“We are obviously travelling away from home and they are a club that are at this round on merit.
“We’ll give them the respect they deserve but hopefully if we implement what we can do then we’ll get in the hat for the next round.”
The FA Cup has been a welcome distraction for the Colls whose start to the NPL Division One East can be summed up as tough.
The Colls have only won one of their eight league games – the win at Pickering Town – and they have lost all four of their home matches.
However, Rouse is beginning to see green shoots of recovery.
“It has been a difficult period,” he said.
“We went on record saying August was a really tough month for us.
“We knew we may be a little undercooked in terms of pre-season due to the break we had.
“That’s no excuse now.
“That’s out of everyone’s system now and we’re up to speed now.
“We looked like we were fading in games in August and you only had to look at the times teams were scoring against us.
“Since we have got to September we now look like the team who is coming on strong.
“We look like the team with legs and we look at the team who are forcing the issue late in games and we’ve had some really positive performances.
“In my opinion we dominated the game against Lincoln and barring two or three individual errors, we should have gone and won that game.
“We went to Brighouse and put on a really positive performance in a game that we was a little bit nip and tuck.
“I thought we edged the first half and the second half was tighter.
“We had the (Jimmy Williams) sending off so we had to close ranks and make sure we got out of there with something.
“Then Tuesday night against Worksop was probably one of our best performances of the season.
“We certainly didn’t get what we deserved, especially in the first half and the game was decided by one moment – a scrappy goal.
“Hopefully we can turn this league form around.
“I don’t think the performances in this month have got what they have deserved.
“I think we have deserved if not seven points, at least six and we’ve come away with one.
“We have to face up to it and there’s no hiding away from it.
“We have to control what’s in front of us and once this two-weeks of cup games is over we need to dust ourselves and concentrate on the league.”
If you have enjoyed reading Non League Yorkshire over the past few months, please consider making a donation to the not-for-profit organisation NLY Community Sport which provides sport for children and adults with disabilities and learning difficulties. CLICK HERE to visit the JustGiving page. There is a video at the bottom of the page showing our work.
NLY Community Sport, run by James Grayson and Connor Rollinson, has always had combatting social isolation at the top of our objectives when running our Disability Football teams.
Our work is playing an important role in reintroducing our players, who have disabilities and learning difficulties, back into society.
We have six teams, a mixture of Junior and Adult teams – Nostell MW DFC, Pontefract Pirates, Selby Disability Football Club and the South Yorkshire Superheroes (Barnsley) – across Yorkshire.
We have enjoyed great success over the past three years. Several of our players have represented Mencap GB in Geneva, including Billy Hobson from Selby and Greg Smith, whose story is quite inspiring.
You can learn more about the organisation HERE and on our Facebook page.
Watch the video below to see highlights from our three years as an organisation. The video was produced for our players at the end of March to remind them of good memories from the last three years.