It’s been an incredible week for us locally, with Worksop Town doing us all proud by reaching the FA Cup First Round Proper for the first time since 2001.
I’ve written in this paper before about the immense pride and sense of community local football clubs can bring. For a club which was on the brink only a few years ago, the turnaround at the Tigers really has been quite remarkable. A new owner, new pitch, Craig Parry’s title-winning squad and tremendous levels of support from local people have helped propel the club back to where it belongs.
Saturday didn’t start greatly for me. As people know, I am a big Notts County supporter and although being top of the league, we faced local rivals and so-far unbeaten Mansfield Town. Despite taking the lead, we ended up being battered and lost 4-1. It was made worse because of the amount of stick I got from fellow MPs Ben Bradley and Lee Anderson – both with me at Meadow Lane, but there to support the Stags. Thankfully I then had a much more successful experience after heading straight to Sandy Lane for the FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round tie against Boston United.
Some things of course are more important than football and many who were at the game will have been concerned at the medical emergency with a Boston United supporter, resulting in a delay. The situation was dealt with in a highly professional way and I want to thank those concerned, as well as wishing the gentleman a speedy recovery.
With the game back underway, the Tigers battled to a 3-2 win and the reward will be a tie against table-topping League Two side Stockport County. I am sure many will be making the trip there to support the team once again.
On the subject of football, we also had the great news that the UK and Ireland will be hosting the Euro 2028 tournament. I remember being a fifteen year old when Euro 96 came to England and some matches were staged in Nottingham. Whilst on this occasion there are no selected stadia that are local to us, hosting a major tournament gives us all something to look forward to and is great for the economy.
