In the first of three special features ahead of Saturday afternoon's hotly-anticipated clash, Steve Jupp, BA11's Club Historian, recalls recent appearances at this stage of the nation's favourite cup competition!
On Saturday at Ramsgate, Frome Town will bid to reach the Fourth Qualifying Round of the FA Cup for the first time in 39 years. On a glorious October afternoon in 1984, they hosted high-flying Bath City (three levels further up the pyramid in the National League or Gola League as it was known then) and humbled them 3-1 with a brace from Bertie Allen and a headed clincher from Steve Butt.
Their reward was an away tie at Bognor Regis which was lost 2-0 and, in the four decades or so since, opportunities to emulate that side's mighty achievement have been few and far between with Saturday’s clash only their fifth subsequent appearance in Round Three. Here's how the previous four went...
2008 - TEAM BATH (home) drew 2-2; replay (away) lost 4-0.
After battling through four rounds, the Robins could not have had tougher opponents than National League South leaders Team Bath yet the impossible look on as a Mark Salter double gave them a 2-0 interval lead. Fitness levels began to tell after the break, however, as the Students broke Badgers Hill hearts with two late goals to force a replay which they won comfortably at Twerton Park.
2014 - BOREHAM WOOD (home) drew 2-2; replay (away) lost 1-0.
National League South Boreham Wood visited The Hill where goals from Ben Thomson and Mark Francis twice gave Frome the lead only to be pegged back both times and in a wet, end-to-end Monday night replay, the North Londoners edged it with the only goal of the game.
2017 - HEYBRIDGE SWIFTS (away) lost 2-1.
A golden opportunity in Essex as the home side were a level lower but the Robins needed a man-of-the-match performance from Kyle Phillips as Chas Hemmings' equaliser looked to have secured a replay before Heybridge responded with a late winner.
2021 - BATH CITY (away) lost 5-0.
Revenge was a long time coming for the Romans as Cody Cooke helped himself to a hat-trick in front of over 1,400 at Twerton Park but who knows what might have been had George Rigg's first-half effort gone in rather than strike the woodwork?
2023 - RAMSGATE (away)...
Time for a different ending?
Tickets for our Frome Town CBS Fundraiser are available to buy at the link below: