Hastings United F.C. - 2012-13 FA Cup Run

2012-13 FA Cup Run

Previously, Hastings United only ever made one appearance in the first round proper of the FA Cup, this being a 1-0 away defeat to Stevenage Borough in 2002. Since then, Hastings had fallen short of another appearance in the contest proper, until 2012-13 which started with entry in the first qualifying round, after gaining a bye from the extra-preliminary round, due to their level of the seventh tier on the league pyramid. After qualifying for the first round proper, the team beat Bishop's Stortford 2-1 away, before following this up with a 1-1 draw, also away from home, against Harrogate. This meant that the team faced a replay on their own territory, only to draw by the same scoreline again in normal and extra time. This meant to settle the tie a penalty shootout was required. Hastings having scored the same number of penalties as Harrogate after each team took five, won the tie on sudden death enabling them to travel to Middlesbrough for the third round, doing so as the lowest ranked team left in the competition. On 5 January 2013, Hastings were finally knocked out by Middlesbrough, beaten 4-1 at The Riverside Stadium. Despite this, Bradley Goldberg, the scorer of Hastings' goal will be widely remembered by all Hastings fans as it was quite possibly the biggest match in the club's history.