Non-league's greatest giant-killers eye another scalp — SkimNews
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- Altrincham have defeated 17 Football League opponents in the FA Cup — more than any club that spent its entire existence in non-league football — and face League One Notts County, two divisions above them, in the first round on Saturday, 7 November, with Notts County primed to be scalp number 18.
- Graham Heathcote made more than 500 appearances for Altrincham as a 100-goal midfielder and helped the part-time side reach the FA Cup third round in four consecutive seasons from 1978 to 1982, calling it an unbelievable achievement and claiming they were 'the best non-league team ever'.
- Liverpool was the scene of Heathcote's third-round penalty in 1981, scored in front of the Kop at Anfield, after Altrincham had drawn first-division Everton at Goodison Park in 1975 and star-studded Tottenham at White Hart Lane in 1979.
- Alliance Premier League champions twice over, Altrincham were denied Football League progression by a single vote in the 1980 ballot, a system replaced by automatic promotion a few years later.
- St Andrews was the scene of Altrincham's greatest FA Cup exploit in 1986, a win over first-division Birmingham City that made them only the second of four non-league teams to beat top-flight opposition away from home.
- Neil Gibson joined last year to help Altrincham avoid relegation and has overseen a seventh-place National League start that made the club look like play-off contenders, with first-ever EFL promotion the priority for a side that only turned professional four years ago; five of his players have previously appeared for Notts County, who were in the same league three years ago, and he previously helped Southport beat them in the FA Cup 24 years ago.
- Sam Heathcote helped Altrincham beat League One Barnsley in 2015, the club's most recent cup upset, and this year was at the heart of Macclesfield's defence in the shock of holders Crystal Palace — 117 places between the sides — which his father called 'far exceeded anything I've done'.
Why it matters: First-ever EFL promotion is Altrincham's stated priority, but the club only turned professional four years ago and must build a supporter base in a United- and City-dominated area. Heathcote says a third-round run would let the current generation of fans feel what the cup is all about — a tradition still spoken about 51 years after his Everton appearance.
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