Chasetown cup heroes hailed

They've done it again! Chasetown manager Charlie Blakemore hailed his heroic players after another giant-killing performance to reach the FA Cup first round proper for the second time in three years. They've done it again! Chasetown manager Charlie Blakemore hailed his heroic players after another giant-killing performance to reach the FA Cup first round proper for the second time in three years. The Scholars' 2-1 victory against Blue Square North side Nuneaton clinched an away tie at Team Bath in the next round on Saturday week. Hundreds of fans invaded the pitch to salute their heroes before heading for the bar, where players and supporters mingled to cheer the draw on TV. It's the second time in three years Blakemore's side have reached this stage of the competition, but the manager already believes it's the club's best achievement. "It was a fantastic performance from the lads and for me this Cup run beats the last one because we've beat two sides from two leagues higher – Conference South and Conference North," said Blakemore. "Nuneaton are a massive non-League club in the Midlands, they're a good side with a good pedigree and to beat them, we're living the dream again. "To reach the FA Cup first round proper in two years out of three is something I'm proud of and I'm especially proud of the lads and the whole club. "Three years ago, this club wouldn't have dreamed about this and to have done it twice is unbelievable. "Professionals enjoy it and that's their career, but for us, it's about achievement and pitting your wits against the opposition with the resources we have. "Sometimes I think that's more rewarding than what happens at the highest level." Victory earned Chasetown £10,000 to take their FA Cup prize money to £22,000 this season. But in drawing Team Bath away, they missed out on a potentially more lucrative tie against a bigger club such as Leeds. "The only disappointment is financially, but from a football perspective, it doesn't matter who we drew – we're in the FA Cup first round," said Blakemore. "To see our name alongside big clubs such as Walsall, Nottingham Forest and Leeds is a dream. "There were 300 people in the club when the draw was made and those are the magic moments and you can't buy those." Blakemore added: "There is a really good team spirit among the lads and when you've got to knuckle down and work, they work and you could see that on Saturday. "In the last 15, 20 minutes Nuneaton were always going to throw things at us, but the lads were resilient. "The workrate they showed was the big thing for me, but for an hour I thought we played some really good football." Chasetown were a team of heroes – and few bigger than striker Dean Perrow. The pint-sized striker set up Kyle Perry for the best chance of the first half before the opening goal, his diving header flying just wide. Perrow also created the first goal for John Branch a minute before the break. Then Perrow turned poacher for his 11th goal of the season 50 seconds after the restart. Nuneaton reduced the arrears four minutes later with a superb angled drive from Matty Collins. Blakemore also paid tribute to the 1,408 crowd, almost 1,000 of which were Chasetown supporters. He said: "The fans were like a 12th man."