Gorleston FC boss Darren Cockrill says he is overwhelmed by the FA Cup run that has put his side one step away from reaching the first round proper for the first time since the 1950s.
The Greens beat National League South side St Albans City 4-2 on Saturday to progress to the final qualifying round as Christy Finch scored a hat-trick.
Two tiers separate the clubs in the English football pyramid but Gorleston were never behind in the game, although keeper Jake Jessup made some brilliant saves to ensure their progress in the competition.
“Since we came in, we’ve been trying to set new boundaries – we’re trying to build the club, we’re trying to raise the profile and results like this do it,” Cockrill told BBC Radio Norfolk.
“The last five or six minutes felt like an eternity. God knows how many paces I paced in the technical area. It’s overwhelming.
“When you set out a plan and they stick to it like the letter of the law, it breeds confidence within the group – but at the end five or six of them were out on their feet. They were throwing bodies on the line.
“It’s the FA Cup, if you’re willing to do that you never know what will happen.”
Gorleston first reached the main draw in 1951-52 when they lost 5-4 to Leyton Orient in a replay, having drawn the first game on their own ground 0-0 – and they did so again in 1957-58, only to suffer a 10-1 thrashing by Gillingham.
Their most recent appearance in the final qualifying round came 46 years ago when they lost to Enfield but this time they hope to go one better – with the draw to be made later on Monday.
Cockrill, who has been in charge of the eighth-tier Isthmian League North Division club for two years, said he and assistant Olly Willis had made some “big calls” in terms of team selection for the game against St Albans.
And one of them, recalling Finch in attack, paid off spectacularly.
“He’s someone we’ve looked after while he’s been out, he’s had a long road back,” Cockrill said. “We knew he was the best person for the job. and he took it with both hands – he can score goals, he’s done it for years.
“People underestimate how hard his two chances were under pressure and to put the penalty away as well at a really important time – he’s repaid us.”
Willis added: “We haven’t got a massive squad and the midweek games have been difficult for us in the last two weeks.
“Part of it is down to the FA Cup run – we’d always take this over anything, we’ve no regrets there but this performance shows where we’re at in terms of commitment and togetherness.”