By Mark Carruthers
Stockton Town captain Adam Nicholson is relishing another historic moment in the Anchors’ rise up the Non-League pyramid as they prepare to host Oldham Athletic in the FA Trophy third round on Saturday.
The Stockton stalwart has made over 500 appearances for his hometown club and has been integral in their rise from Teesside League to the Northern Premier League Premier Division over the last 14 years. Nicholson has led the Anchors to the Northern League Division Two title, an FA Vase Final, promotion into the Northern Premier League and last season’s East Division play-off final win against Dunston UTS.
The memorable moments have continued to arrive as Michael Dunwell’s men compete in the third level of the Non-League game for the first time in their history after they claimed some eye-catching wins during the first four months of the season – but it is the cup competitions that has provided the real headlines. National League North opposition were dispatched in the FA Cup as Nicholson’s side saw off Marine in the second qualifying round and another step two club were sent packing in the last round of the FA Trophy as Scarborough Athletic were beaten at the Map Group UK Stadium.
Their reward for their win over the Seadogs was a home tie against former Premier League and EFL club Oldham Athletic, who are currently sat in fifth place in the National League. For Stockton, their visitors will present the highest-level opposition they have faced in the history – and Nicholson has insisted his side can rise to the occasion once again to reach the fourth round for the first time.
He told the NLP: “Their history speaks for itself and they won’t have heard of us – but everyone in the country and beyond probably knows who they are. It’s just another step on this journey where we just keep pinching ourselves but it is happening and we know this is a massive game.
“We know it’s going to be difficult and we know the level of opposition we are coming up against but we are trying not to focus on them and we have to make sure we focus on ourselves. We have to turn up on the day, we know we have made it difficult on our ground for teams that are better than us on paper.
“We had a close game with Macclesfield, we beat Marine, we beat Scarborough and we were 30 seconds away from beating Chester at home. We’ve proven we can do it against teams from a higher level and I know this is the highest-ranked opposition we’ve ever played – but we need to make it difficult and not let the occasion get to us.”
Another sizeable crowd will be on hand to witness Saturday’s tie and ticket sales remained ongoing until Friday night. There was a sold-out crowd for Stockton’s play-off final win against Dunston last season and Nicholson believes the home faithful could have a big part to play as his side look to pull of another upset.
He said: “Some of the lads that are new to the club haven’t really seen the ground as full as it can be. We do get decent attendances but when it’s sold out like the play-off final last season, they do go nuts. If we can get a goal and we can get at them early, the place will erupt and they have a massive part to play.
“Oldham won’t be used to our level of facilities and we have to play on that, play to our strengths and see what happens. It’s a cup match, it’s 90 minutes so we just have to give it our all.”
