A FOOTIE-mad family have been to every round of this year’s FA Cup — and will be at today’s final thanks to The Sun.
Phil Hart, 46, and sons Fin, ten, and Will, 13 — all Colchester United season ticket holders — began a journey topping 2,000 miles by watching lowly local team Cornard United beat Fakenham.
Vowing to support whichever team won, they took in Stowmarket, Bishop’s Stortford, Braintree, Brackley and Stockport.
In the Third Round, Stockport lost to Crystal Palace, and the family saw them then beat Doncaster, Millwall, Fulham and Aston Villa to set up the Wembley showdown with Manchester City.
After The Sun contacted the FA, teacher Phil secured three tickets for the big game.
Phil said: “I’ve watched my boys fall in love with football all over again.”
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Phil, from Great Horkesley, near Colchester, said: “As Colchester United season ticket holders I knew my sons and I are unlikely to see our team win the FA Cup.
“So this year we decided to create our own road to Wembley with just one rule – we had to pick a team at random and follow the winner, wherever that may be and whenever the game was – all the way to the final.
“It was pure grassroots — dodgy refs, questionable chips, but brilliant football. We were hooked.
“We stood on terraces in the rain at Braintree, Googled where Brackley was, and queued for pies in Stockport.
“We cheered for unknown heroes and mourned for clubs we’d only met that day. The passion was real, raw and more fun than anything on TV.
Fin said: “It’s been really fun visiting new stadiums and getting to meet some famous players.”
FAMILY’S ROAD TO WEMBLEY
Here’s how Phil Hart, 46, and sons Fin, ten, and Will, 13 made their way to Wembley,
- Colchester to…
- 3 Aug Cornard 3 v 0 Fakenham 26 miles 1hr drive
- 17 Aug Stowmarket 1 v 5 Cornard 60 miles 1hr 30 mins drive
- 31 Aug Bishop’s Stortford 5 v 0 Cornard 75 miles 2hrs drive
- 14 Sept FA Cup 2nd qualifying round Hemel Hempstead 0 v 1 Bishop’s Stortford 150 miles 3hrs
- 28 Sept 3rd qualifying round Bishop’s Stortford 3 v 2 Hereford 75 miles 2hrs drive
- 12 Oct 4th qualifying round Braintree 1 v 0 Bishop’s Stortford 35 miles 1hr
- 2 Nov 1st round Brackley 0 v 0 Braintree (Brackley won 5-4 on pens) 240 miles 5hr
- 30 Nov 2nd round Stockport 3 v 1 Brackley 460 miles 8 hrs
- 12 Jan 3rd round Crystal Palace 1 v 0 Stockport 150 miles 4hrs
- 10 Feb 4th round Doncaster Rovers 0 v 2 Palace 344 miles 6hrs 45
- 1 March 5th round Palace 3 v 1 Millwall 140 miles 4hrs
- 29 March Quarter final Fulham 0 v 3 Palace 145 miles 4 hrs
- 26 April Semi-final Palace 3 v 0 Aston Villa 145 miles 3.5hrs
- 17 May Final Palace v Manchester City 145 miles 3.5hrs
- Total miles round trip 2,190
- Total travel time 45 hrs 15 mins
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