Good News At Last For Northwich Fans

The FA Cup can reward struggling teams whose supporters have had to put up with a diet of gloom for many years. This year Northwich Victoria have finally found some luck and after beating Charlton Athletic they will be at home again in Round Two.

Home for the Vics used to be the Drill Field where they played since 1875- reputedly the longest continuous residence of any football club. However, the club had to move from their long -term home when financial problems hit the club.

The Vics have been into administration twice in the past five years and as a result they have been unable to maintain their place in the Blue Square Premier- in fact they have been very close to going under as a club and reputedly still owe £500,000.

In January the club had to move to Altrincham's ground temporarily when safety equipment was removed from the ground by the current leaseholders. The financial dealings around the Vics have been complicated but as ever, loyal fans have suffered.

All the more fantastic to see those fans repaid by the tremendous win over Charlton- a club over 80 places above the Vics in the football pyramid. The home draw with Lincoln City offers a great chance to reach Round Three and land the big tie that could solve their financial problems at a stroke.

That would be a sensational turnaround becuse back in the summer the Vics were facing a double demotion to the Northern Premier League and only a successful appeal preserved their place in the Blue Square North.

After the weekend Northwich are the lowest ranked team left in the FA Cup but they have been in this position quite recently. In 2005/06 the Cheshire side got to Round Three and drew Sunderland away losing by a respectable 3-0 scoreline. Another draw like that could be just the lifeline the Vics need but Lincoln might have other ideas.