FA Cup Magic Begins with Third Round Draw for Tottenham
By Aaron Coe
Tottenham Hotspur are already experiencing some of the magic of the FA Cup being drawn at non-league and eighth tier Marine AFC in the Third Round.
Tottenham Hotspur are amid a thick and furious run of games, which previously had a little gap in early January on the weekend of the 9th. That hole in the Tottenham fixture list was filled today, as Spurs received a bit of a reprieve being drawn away to Marine AFC a 125-year-old non-league club. While non-league club success is not unheard-of it is rare in the competition today.
Time For Tottenham?
Being the 120th anniversary of the first non-league club winning the FA Cup – Tottenham Hotspur in 1901 – it is fitting Spurs draw a non-league side to start what many supporters hope is a Cup run to glory. Marine AFC is only the second team from the eighth tier of English football to make the Third Round of the competition.
The appearance in the Third Round matches the best performance in the competition for Marine, who last reached the 3rd round in 1992-93 losing to Crewe Alexandra. Marine are currently in Division One North West of the Northern Premier League. Division One is one of two geographically grouped second divisions in the Northern Premier League, both feeding the Tier 7 Norther Premier League proper. Marine entered Division One after being relegated from the NPL Premier League in 2019.
Being drawn with a non-league side will present any number of opportunities to Tottenham and José Mourinho when the match comes in January. One would think we would see a youthful squad from Spurs making the trip to Merseyside. However, we also know that Jose Mourinho plays to win every game, so we cannot expect the team to just send the U-23 team. At this point the game is just too far off to get too into who might or might not play that night.
What we do know is that on the 120th anniversary of the first non-league team winning the trophy that team – Tottenham – being drawn against a non-league club might be the start of something magical. Afterall, the trophy will be awarded in a year that ends in 1 – like 1991 – and we know what that means to Spurs fans too. Whether or not this draw really is the start of something magical happening for Tottenham remains to be seen, but until then, it is fun to dream, which is exactly what the Marine fans are doing tonight, just in a different way.