Neil Gibson aims to create more magical FA Cup memories as a manager like he did as a player

Neil Gibson will get his first taste of the FA Cup as a manager this weekend when his Altrincham side travel to Slough Town in the first round proper.

However, the Prestatyn man has been involved in the famous competition previously as a player when he was part of a memorable giant-killing in the 2002-03 season.

Gibson was a midfielder in the Southport side of the Football Conference that knocked Football League Division Two (now League One) outfit Notts County out of the FA Cup by a 4-2 margin.

Also in the Sandgrounders line-up that day for the first round tussle was Marc Lloyd-Williams, the future Welsh Premier all-time record marksman, while ex-Caernarfon Town boss Phil Wilson was manager at Haig Avenue.

Gibson played a key role in the game’s turning point close to half time when he was victim of a bad tackle and then a raised hand from County’s Darren Caskey, who was sent off as a result.

The Magpies were 1-0 up at the time and doubled their lead before the hosts replied to make it 2-1 at the break in a tie shown on that Saturday night’s Match of the Day, the great Barry Davies on commentary.

Southport turned the tables in the second half, scoring three times against the 10 men through Steve Pickford, his second of the game, Peter Thomson and Chris Lane.

Unfortunately, the Sandgrounders were beaten 3-0 in the next stage by fellow Tier 5 club Farnborough Town, who made round four before losing to Arsenal.

For Gibson, this weekend’s first round tie at Tier 6 Slough Town throws up the opportunity for a whole new adventure in the FA Cup.

Slough are currently fourth-from-bottom in the National League South, a level below Altrincham, who lie 19th in the National League.

Gibson’s first game as interim manager at Moss Lane resulted in a 0-0 draw at Braintree Town last Saturday.

Speaking about this Saturday’s tie at Arbour Park, Gibson said: “If we’re the best version of us we can be, we really should progress through the round, but we only do that if we’re the very best version we can be of ourselves.”

Neil Gibson formerly managed Connah’s Quay Nomads and Prestatyn Town, winning the Welsh Cup with both clubs.

He was also the first man to lead Prestatyn into the Welsh Premier League, where they spent a total of eight seasons.

Last season, he took over at National League club Wealdstone and worked wonders to save them from relegation.

• Altrincham are best known for their history of giant-killing in the FA Cup, holding the record of knocking out more Football League sides than any other club that has spent its entire history playing in non-League.
  
• They reached the third round of the FA Cup in four consecutive seasons between 1978–79 and 1981–82.
• To date the club has recorded 17 victories against Football League clubs: