The small town dreaming of FA Cup glory

FA Cup fever is sweeping a market town as its non-league club attempts to reach the third round for the first time since 1886.

Gainsborough Trinity will travel to Harrogate Town later for their second-round tie, which will be shown live on BBC Two.

"It's on everybody's lips at the moment," said butcher Baz Hunter, who has created a Holy Blues sausage – inspired by the team's nickname – for the occasion.

He is hoping the Lincolnshire side will find their own winning recipe when the match kicks off at 19:45 GMT.

"It's fantastic to see a small club have this run of success," said Mr Hunter, who launched the special sausage the day after Trinity beat Hednesford Town on penalties in the first round.

True to the nickname, the "strong and sweet" recipe includes blue Stilton and blueberries, along with steak.

The response from his customers has been so overwhelming that Mr Hunter has had to make increasingly large batches.

"It's just taken the town by storm," he added.

Trinity play in the Northern Premier League – the seventh tier of English football – and are the lowest-ranked side left in the competition.

Their average home attendance is about 500, but they sold their allocation of 1,000 tickets within 48 hours of them going on sale.

Over at Gainsborough Parish Church Primary School, the children have been learning about the last time the team reached the second round, some 72 years ago.

In 1952, Queen Elizabeth II was in her first year on the throne, Sir Winston Churchill was prime minister and rationing was still in force.

"They were disappointed about the lack of sweets and quite glad that they're living in modern times," said teacher John Anderson.

The school has strong links to the club and uses the ground for its annual sports day.

"We've been designing football shirts for Trinity and footballs," Mr Anderson said.

"The buzz around school has been brilliant."

One local lad who is hoping to play a big role in the match is Lewis Butroid, a former professional who now splits his time between football and accountancy.

He began his career at Scunthorpe United when the club was playing in League One. When he was eventually released, he had to find his feet "in the real world".

"I ended up at Gainsborough, which was good for me, because it meant I could focus on my career away from football," he recalled.

"I had to think what else am I good at other than sports. Maths is something I've been pretty good at all the way through school," he said.

He now works in the accounts department of a local solicitors, HSR Law.

"It's quite a lot of pressure," he says of his day job. "Quite a lot of money you're dealing with. But they're really flexible with football.

"I do like this job because it gives me a chance to switch off from football. I come in and I don't get asked too much about how the weekend was, but since this cup run, everyone's bought in."

Butroid has already had a taste of Wembley, having played for Hereford in the final of the FA Trophy in 2021.

Nevertheless, he admitted to some nerves. "You can see how much it's meant to the town," he said.

"It's a feeling of pride in what we've already done, but also a bit of nerves and hoping we can put on a good show."

Harrogate play in League Two, three tiers above Trinity, but at Parish Church Primary, the children are confident of upsetting the odds.

"We're upwards of 4-0, 5-0, 6-0," said Mr Anderson of his pupils' predictions. "We're going all the way, definitely."

And if they do win through to the third round, Butroid is already calculating his chances of drawing Liverpool.

"That would be the dream," he added. "But we've got to get through Friday night first."

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