Today I'm going back 35 years to 1986 and York City's FA Cup visit to Caernarfon Town played at The Oval in North Wales in front of a crowd of 1,980.
I can distinctly remember the journey to North Wales that day. It seemed to take forever due to an absence of dual carriageways at the time. When we arrived we wanted a pint and entered a pub in the town centre, not far from the imposing Castle which was the venue for the investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales in 1969. When we walked in, I swear that the locals were speaking English but as soon as they heard our accents, they switched to Welsh. It made for a slightly hostile atmosphere and I felt that the whole afternoon had that kind of undertone.
This particular FA Cup tie couldn't take place these days because Caernarfon are no longer allowed to enter the English competition. Back in 1986 Caernarfon Town played in the English League pyramid structure and, at the time were members of the Northern Premier League. In 1995 the club decided to move into the League of Wales and, as a result forfeited their right to play in the FA Cup.
Caernarfon Town, nicknamed The Canaries due to their bright yellow shirts were managed by Tranmere Rovers legend John King who had made 265 appearances for the club scoring 5 goals. King left Caernarfon to take on a second spell as manager of struggling Rovers in December 1987 and he took them from the foot of the Fourth Division to the threshold of the First Division during his reign which finally came to an end in 1996 when he moved upstairs to facilitate the appointment of John Aldridge as player-manager.
Caernarfon's FA Cup run of 1986/7 was the most successful season in the competition in their history. Their mammoth run started in the 1st Qualifying Round where they beat Marine 2-0 at home. In the 2nd Qualifying Round they went to Winsford United and won 3-1 before drawing another away tie against Eastwood Town in the 3rd Qualifying Round. A 4-1 victory saw them drawn away again, this time at Chester-le-Street Town in the 4th Qualifying Round and they won again, this time by 3-2 to take their place in the 1st Round Proper. In the 1st Round they beat Football League opposition in Stockport County before their goalless draw at home to York. Few people gave them much chance in the Replay but they pulled off a memorable Cup upset in winning 2-1 at Bootham Crescent. Their 3rd Round tie at home to Barnsley also finished goalless but this time they succumbed in the Replay losing 1-0 at Oakwell. Caernarfon had played nine games in seven rounds of the competition. When Coventry City beat Spurs at Wembley the following May, they only played six games in six rounds to win the whole thing!
CRB Match No. 470
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