The magic and menace of the FA Cup
Gillingham and Barrow meet again in a competition that helped shape the visitors’ history
Originally published in Gills Journal by David Tickner
In February 1972, Hereford United produced one of English football’s most celebrated FA Cup shocks, defeating First Division Newcastle United in a replay at Edgar Street with Ronnie Radford’s famous long-range equaliser helping secure a 2-1 victory.
Four months later, Hereford, runners-up in that season’s Southern League Premier Division, challenged Barrow, who had finished third bottom of the Fourth Division, for membership of the Football League.
Before automatic promotion and relegation between the Football League and the Conference began in 1987, the Fourth Division’s bottom four clubs had to seek re-election by their fellow League members. Non-league applicants could challenge for their places but were only rarely successful.
Barrow were seeking re-election after 51 years in the League. They had done so successfully the previous season when they finished bottom of the Fourth Division. But in 1972, they were challenged by a club whose reputation and national profile had been transformed by the FA Cup. Having knocked out Newcastle, they reached the fourth round holding West Ham to a draw before losing the replay.
The first ballot ended 26-26. In the second, Hereford prevailed 29-20 and were duly elected to the Football League at the expense of Barrow who wouldn’t return until 2020.
The famous giant-killing at Edgar Street did more than transform Hereford’s future. It also influenced the fortunes of Barrow, over two hundred miles away.
From relegation to revival
More than 50 years later, Barrow are back in the fifth tier. Their relegation last season was rather more emphatic than in 1972. A dismal season, characterised by extraordinary managerial instability with five different appointees, saw them finish bottom of League Two with 36 points and nine wins. They conceded 78 goals and had a goal difference of minus 33. It was a far cry from their eighth-place finish in 2024 as they narrowly missed the play-offs. Immediately after their relegation, the ownership group issued an apology to fans and promised change.
In May, the club appointed Adam Murray, fresh from guiding Kidderminster Harriers to promotion through the National League North play-offs. Murray has since overseen an extensive reorganisation of Barrow’s squad and coaching set-up.
Among the summer departures were former captain, Niall Canavan; Sam Foley, who started the season as a player and finished it in charge as interim manager; and former Gillingham loanee, Connor Mahoney.
The turnaround wasn’t immediate. After eight games in the National League, Barrow were in the bottom four with only six points from one win and three draws. A 1-0 home win over Aldershot on 19 September began a sequence of six consecutive National League victories. Although that was ended by Eastleigh’s late equaliser at Holker Street last weekend, Barrow are unbeaten in nine matches across all competitions including four successive away victories.
They are now ninth in the National League, three points outside the play-off places. They travel to Priestfield not as a relegated side who are struggling, rather as a rebuilding side finding its feet.
Nine hours, five matches, one winner
Gillingham and Barrow have met only once before in the FA Cup – and that extraordinary tie required five matches to produce a winner. With each club competing in its respective region of Division Three, they were paired in the sixth and final qualifying round of the 1924/25 competition.
The first match at Priestfield on 13 December ended goalless. The stalemate continued through three 1-1 draws after extra time – first at Holker Street then at neutral venues Molineux, and in appalling weather on a barely playable pitch, at Arsenal’s Highbury Stadium. Finally, after nine hours of football, Barrow won the fourth replay 2-1 at Millwall in front of 4,242 spectators on New Year’s Eve, earning a first-round proper tie a little closer to home at Blackpool.
From replays to penalties
By modern contrast, there will be no replay if Saturday’s match finishes level. The 2026 tie will be settled by extra time and, if necessary, penalties.
Both sides were eliminated on penalties in last season’s competition. Gillingham lost at Newport in the first round while Barrow won 2-0 at Spennymoor before facing Wigan in round two. They led the League One side and 2013 Cup winners 2-1 only to concede a last-minute equaliser and eventually lose the shoot-out after extra time.
The following weekend, Barrow travelled to Priestfield in the league. Gillingham led 2-0 at the interval through a Jack Earing own goal and Aaron Rowe’s strike but Josh Gordon scored twice after the break to earn a draw for the managerless visitors just days after Andy Whing’s dismissal.
In the return fixture at Holker Street in February, Robbie McKenzie struck in the 13th minute of second half stoppage time to end a run of three successive defeats and secure Gillingham’s first away league win against Barrow since 1967. It was a result that further damaged Barrow’s survival hopes.
Barrow’s most recent win at Priestfield was a 1-0 victory in Division Three in February 1970. They were relegated that year with Gillingham following a season later.
No room for complacency
Recent contrasting results highlight both the promise and inconsistency of Gareth Ainsworth’s team. Following last weekend’s 2-1 victory at Shrewsbury, Gillingham approach Saturday’s cup tie eighth in League Two with 20 points from 14 matches.
Ainsworth is an enthusiastic advocate of the FA Cup recalling watching the final with his father and lamenting how the competition has lost some of its prominence. As a player in 2001, he scored for Wimbledon against, ironically, Wycombe Wanderers only to suffer elimination on penalties as the lower-division side continued their remarkable run to the semi-finals.
Speaking to BBC Radio Kent ahead of Saturday’s tie, Ainsworth warned against underestimating Barrow. He believes there is little to separate the National League from League Two and recognises the pressure on the home side. He has promised Gillingham will give the competition everything they’ve got and confirmed his intention to field a strong side.
Verdict
For Barrow, Saturday offers the chance to continue a revival that has gathered momentum since September. Gillingham, meanwhile, will hope the FA Cup provides an opportunity to build upon that hard-earned victory at Shrewsbury.
More than a century after their extraordinary five-match encounter, Gillingham and Barrow meet again in the FA Cup. This time one afternoon will be enough to decide the winner and loser.
Prediction: Gillingham 2-1 Barrow
David Tickner writes regularly about Gillingham Football Club on Substack. You can read, follow or subscribe for free at Gills Journal | David Tickner | Substack
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