There’s a great opportunity for the unbeaten Shakers to do some more FA Cup shaking when we meet Harborough Town from the Southern League Premier Division this Saturday at the final qualifying stage of this season’s Emirates FA Cup.
We’re the last Step Five team still in the tournament, and are up against a team from Step Three. But we beat Radcliffe from Step Two, and the prize this time is a place in the First Round Proper. So come on, you Shakers!
It would be understandable if performances in our last two league matches were affected by thoughts of the Harborough game. After a 5-1 win at Longbridge which featured Mitch Allen facing three penalties within the first 60 minutes, we were then perhaps not at our best against Glossop North End at Gigg Lane on Tuesday evening.
We were much the better team but failed to convert a number of chances. We went ahead 10 minutes into the second half with a penalty from the lethal Rustam Stepans and added a second nine minutes later when Bryan Ly blasted home from six-yards. Glossop fought to the end, and despite pegging the Shakers back and sharing the spoils we took our unbeaten run to 21 matches – but only just.
Highlights and post-match interviews from Tuesday are available on our YouTube channel (links below).
Maybe a culmination of playing a number of games in a short space of the season so far affected us going into the final 20 minutes on Tuesday, but this weekend is the fruits of the labour – a chance to reach the First Round Proper of the FA Cup and they don’t come around all too often when you start the competition in August and the Extra Preliminary Round!
It is something sides from our step in the football pyramid have only achieved on two occasions in recent times. And up until 2019, it was where supporters were generally accoustomed to starting the road to glory, wouldn’t it be nice to be back there, after all that has happened since then?
Read the story so far in our summary of the FA Cup HERE.
We are most certainly ready to go and give it our all at a packed Bowden Park this Saturday. Follow the Shakers on this run and get all your match information below.
In Opposition – Harborough Town
This is very much a community club for Market Harborough in Leicestershire. They came into existence in 1975, took their present form in 2007, and run a wide variety of teams for all age groups.
The Southern League Premier Division Central side are in 15th place, having won two, drawn four and lost three of their nine games. This is the first time they have come through to this stage of the FA Cup, after beating Step Two side Leamington in the last round. Highlights of this 1-0 victory can be found below:
Last weekend Town – “The Bees” – lost 5-2 away to Northern Premier League Midlands Division side Sporting Khalsa in the Isuzu FA Trophy third qualifying round.
Tickets
THIS FIXTURE IS SOLD OUT.
Supporters without a ticket are advised not to travel, there will be no ticket sales on the day.
Limited coach tickets remain for supporters at a cost of £19 per seat, leaving Gigg Lane at 10am prompt on Saturday morning.
Head to buryfc.co.uk/tickets to purchase.
Travel & Parking
Ground: Harborough Town Community Football Ground
Address: Northampton Rd, Market Harborough
Postcode: LE16 9HF
Parking: Parking is available in the council car park adjacent to the ground as well as in agreed local designated areas. We kindly request you to respect our residential and business neighbours, and to arrive early to avoid congestion upon entry.
Public Transport: It is possible to get a bus to the ground although it is not a particularly frequent service.
The “X7 Stagecoach” bus operates between Leicester and Northampton. The closest stop is Market Harborough, Leisure Centre and is approximately a 5 minute walk following the instructions by car from the roundabout.
Nearest train: Market Harborough Station (1 mile away) is served by frequent EMR (East Midlands trains) from London St Pancras and the East Midlands.
There is a taxi rank available at the front of the station. approximate travel time is 10mins depending on traffic conditions.
Driving:
From A508 Southbound
If you are travelling from the North Harborough Town’s ground is situated on the A508 towards Market Harborough Leisure Centre. Follow the A508 passing Protheroe’s Garage on your left-hand side and turn right at the next roundabout. Immediately bear left, follow the road around and you will see Harborough Town FC clubhouse diagonally across the car park.
From A508 Northbound
If you are travelling from the south (A14) travelling north on the A508 heading for Market Harborough for about 8 miles going through Great Oxendon. You will go down a hill and you will come to a roundabout, take the first exit, immediately bear left, follow the road around and you will see Harborough Town FC clubhouse diagonally across the car park
Ground Facilities: Portable toilets will be placed at the top end of the ground, along with catering facilities for food and drink.
Away fans have been allocated the area on the left-hand side of the pitch (rugby ground side), from the away dugout and along the top end of the ground (viewed left). There is also provision for 100 covered seats further around the top end.
Non-League Dogs: Due to the large crowd, dogs (outside of those required for disabled supporters) will not be allowed in the ground this weekend.
It is respectfully requested that our supporters remain in the ground for a short period of time after the game has finished. This is to all for the safe exit from the ground for all supporters.
Match Coverage & Live Stream
If you are unable to make the game, we’ll have all the live coverage across our media platforms.
Live Stream (UK Users ONLY): With this weekend being an International Break and fixtures in the EPL / EFL Championship not scheduled to take place, the broadcasting blackout preventing 3pm kick-offs on Saturday’s being live streamed is not in place. Competition rules indicate that FA-run competitions are to be broadcast within the UK only.
Following discussions with Harborough Town since the announcement of the draw and considering the interest in the sold-out fixture, the board at The Bees have worked with us on this and we are delighted to confirm that a live stream of this game to be provided online for supporters to follow from 2.30pm on the day. A team of media volunteers will be heading to the ground to setup from Saturday lunchtime.
We thank Harborough Town for their support throughout, both in their informative dialogue and assistance with facility provisions.
The stream will cost £9.99 (inc VAT & fees) for domestic pay-per-view users in the UK ONLY, and these will become available to purchase from Friday via our ticketing provider, TicketCo HERE
A commercial premises stream will also be available.
Audio Commentary: Roch Valley Radio will be providing commentary for this game. Click here ahead of kick-off to listen live. Audio commentary will be provided for every game of the season, so you will never miss a piece of the action.
Social Media: Our team will also bring you in-depth text commentary via the club ‘MatchDay Live‘ Twitter feed, with team news and half time and full time updates available also on Facebook and feel like you are there with our match galleries and imagery available over on Instagram.
Whatever the weather, wherever you are across the globe, we have you covered.
Up the Shakers!
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