As an FA Cup record holder, Bideford AFC have a proud association with the competition.
Back in 1974/75 they played no fewer than 13 FA Cup ties as a result of playing numerous replays in the qualifying rounds, including needing five games to beat Falmouth Town and four more to beat Trowbridge Town in the next round!
With second replays and beyond now a thing of the past, it’s highly likely that this record will never be beaten as the North Devon outfit set out on the 2025/26 Emirates FA Cup trail with a home tie against Wellington AFC, familiar opponents as this will be the third successive season that the two teams have locked horns in this competition.
“The FA Cup is massive for the club because of the rewards that a decent run could bring,” experienced manager, Sean Joyce, who has been at the helm since 1998, told us. “We’re ready for the challenge ahead at the weekend; our opponents are already two games into their season, but we have home advantage and we’ll be looking to make that count.
“We’ve done a lot of work on the training pitch; if I’m being totally honest we could have done with a couple of extra pre-season friendlies, but that was out of our hands with teams pulling out of fixtures.
“This summer has been the first time in quite a while that I’ve had 90% of the squad committed for the following campaign and it has given a solid base from which to build.
“We know that it’s going to be a strong Division One South this season; the standard, in my opinion, will be higher than last year given the teams that have come down, those that have moved up into this level and some of the budgets that the existing clubs have.
“There’s going to be lots of travelling once more. I do think that it’s something which needs to be looked at generally, but we just get on with it and do what we can with the resources we have at our disposal.
“Last year it was extremely competitive; a few wins in a row could thrust you right up into the leading pack, whilst similarly a few defeats on the bounce and you were battling it out in the lower reaches of the table.
“It’s going to be a similar story this time around and we’ll be aiming for those play-off positions amidst teams with much bigger budgets than ours.
“If we get it right, avoid too many injuries, work together and have that bit of luck along the way, there’s no reason why we can’t push on from last season’s finish just inside the top ten.
“It would be nice if we could have a season where we’re not looking over our shoulders and can focus on looking up the table.”
IMAGE: Sean Gosling
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