Chastown are seven divisions and 133 places below Oldham, however this did not stop them giving the three times FA Cup semi finalists a fright in the first game. Chasetown took the lead on 23 mins with a Nick Harrison 30 yard shot, which hit a post and sneeked in. The Chasetown fans went fanatic as a FA Cup fairytale was being written. They held onto the lead for 8 minutes until David Ayres, the 41 year old midfielder who scored against us last season levelled it up. Chasetown held their own in the second half to set up a lucrative replay.
Chasetown have scored 20 goals in the competition so far and have won through five ties to gain entry to the first round proper, they even had to qualify for the qualifing stages!!!! This was already a great achievement as Chasetown are the lowest ranked team to reach the first round stage. They will enter the game full of confidence. After losing the first two games of the season they have embarked on a 22 match unbeaten run. A tremendous feat. The match against Walsall in the Staffordshire Cup has been postponed to ensure the players enter the game tonight fresh.
Chasetown have been offered use of Manchester Uniteds training facility at Carrington to prepare for the game. They started training at 10 am and will finish at 12 midday. The manager of Chasetown has stated that although the players will recieve no bonusses for their cup run, they can look forward to a nice pre-season tour next year as a reward for their efforts.
The match tonight should attract a decent crowd, Oldham will be opening all four stands as Chasetown show caplability of filling their 3000 allocation. With all four stands open hopefully this will attract more Oldham fans to pay on the day.
On behalf of all Walsall fans id like to wish Chasetown the best of luck for tonights tie.