An emotional Ian Concannon hailed his Didcot Town side’s efforts as they secured a place in the first round of the Emirates FA Cup for the first time.
The Railwaymen, the lowest ranked team left in the competition, came back from two goals down to beat Brentwood Town 4-2 in the fourth qualifying round and put their name in tonight’s draw.
The draw, which also includes Oxford United, will be shown live on BBC2 at 7pm.
“It’s a joyous, joyous occasion,” said a thrilled Concannon.
“My emotions are all over the place at the moment.
“Didcot Town getting to the first round of the FA Cup, that’s what dreams are made of.”
They had to do it the hard way, after conceding twice in the opening ten minutes to their Ryman League Premier Division visitors.
But, having come from behind in three of their four earlier rounds, Concannon was always confident of their chances.
- Highlights from Didcot Town's FA Cup win, via the club's Youtube channel
He said: “These lads, as I’ve said to many people, they never give up.
“They just keep going and going and they don’t know when they’re beaten.
“They clawed their way back into the game and then we went and won it, so it’s just desserts in my opinion.”
But goals from Jack Longford, Mark Janes, Josh Dutton-Black and Jack Powell helped the club, from Division 1 South & West of the Evo-Stik Premier League. secure victory.
Powell, the son of former Oxford United defender Paul, could hardly hide his excitement.
He said: “I’m absolutely buzzing. I just can’t wait to see who we get in the next round.”
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