By Mohamed Hamza, Sportsbeat
Anthony Church hopes history will repeat itself as Sittingbourne aim to upset Aldershot Town in Saturday's FA Trophy quarter-final.
The 37-year-old made an instant impression on his debut for the Pitching In Isthmian League outfit, firing home the late winner against Southend United in the fifth round to send the Brickies to the last eight for the first time in their history.
National League side Aldershot Town are next on the calendar for Ryan Maxwell's men and while three tiers separate the two sides in the footballing pyramid, Church is confident his side can write another chapter in their fairytale.
“It's an amazing achievement to reach the quarterfinal but we're not just here to take part," he said.
"Of course we are going to be huge underdogs. Aldershot are a full-time football club and are in the National League and there is a gulf on paper between the two teams.
“But there's no reason why in 90 minutes, if we turn up and apply ourselves as best we can, we can have another upset.
“All you can do is follow the gameplan that has been given and the boys will execute it as best as we can and see if we can pull off another upset.
“We'll go out there and try to do our best on the day. It'll be a difficult game but all we can do is our best. Hopefully we can try and emulate what we did at Southend.”
Church has had a long and varied career, having plied his trade at Bishop's Stortford, Chelmsford City, Boston United, Grimsby Town and Alfreton Town.
Though his career seemed to be inching towards retirement at the age of 37, Church put thoughts of stepping away on hold when Sittingbourne came calling, rolling back the years with his giant-killing goal against Southend.
Church added: “I’ve played football a long time, professionally and semi-professionally and it’s right up there with one of my best days because it was so unexpected.
“I had almost retired a few weeks before so to be involved in a game like that and to help the team was nice. The team and the management team are really good people so it was a great day.
“I haven’t scored a lot of goals in my career but I’ve scored some important ones along the way and for Sittingbourne it’s one of the most important ones to date.
“I was only on for 10 minutes but I knew exactly what was asked of me when I went on. You have got to believe you can make a difference otherwise there’s no point going out there.
“I’m a little bit older and coming off of the bench but you can play just as an important role. You can watch the game as it’s unfolding and you never know, if you believe and an opportunity arises, you have to be there to take it.
“Thankfully I was there to help the team.”
The Staxson Stadium is sold out for the clash and Church praised the supporters and volunteers who help make it all possible for football clubs at Sittingbourne's level, with opportunities to get involved now available through the Pitching In Volunteer Hub.
Through entering their postcode, individuals can locate volunteering opportunities at nearby clubs and discover more details about which roles are available.
Church said: “It takes a lot to be sustainable and for clubs to keep operations going.
"I've been at some great clubs, there are some really good people who give their time up and they go unnoticed and there are a lot of unsung heroes in non-league.
“You find some really good people who aren't doing it for any other reason than their love of the football club. There's a lot of unseen work that goes on just to get clubs to function day-to-day.
“Non-league football is a community. I've got a lot of friends I've got to know along the way through non-league football and it's a like a family really.”
