Hornchurch face the biggest game in their history on Saturday as they head to Meadow Lane to take on Notts County in the semi-finals of the FA Trophy.
Despite five of their seven matches in the competition being played behind closed doors, due to restrictions in place during the coronavirus pandemic, Jordan Newman has been fortunate enough to witness all but one tie in the flesh.
The first two matches were played in front of crowds, before England went into its second national lockdown in early November, and crowds have not been allowed at games since.
But here is Jordan's story of Hornchurch's road to within touching distance of Wembley.
Bowers & Pitsea, away, won 3-1
When the draw was announced, it was déjà vu after drawing them in the FA Cup. Going into the game we felt slightly confident, however with the number of ex-Hornchurch players in their team we knew it would be tough.
From memory we started strongly but went behind midway through the first half. It looked like we would be going out, however the gaffer made some subs which changed the game for us. It was an amazing atmosphere behind the goal with all us Urchins. It’s always a cracking day watching the Urchins play away.
However I missed the third goal, which was a blinder from all accounts, as I looking away! It was such a relief to go through and it was a buoyant journey home with my pals, until Boris made the second lockdown announcement just before we got back to the club. It’s amazing to think we only played one more league game after that away at Folkestone. It was also the last Saturday away game with my pals so it really stands out.
Wingate & Finchley, home, won 4-1
Wingate & Finchley at home was an overall top performance from what I saw. We even played in our away kit for that fixture!
Unfortunately like most home games prior playing behind closed doors, myself and the rest of the Supporters’ Association committee did not see much of the action for home games.
This was because we were helping the club with the numerous COVID measures that we had to put in place, including track and trace, temperature measures and other crowd management bits.
However it was 100 per cent worth it and the club were very thankful and supportive. There was, and still is, such a good feel around the place and it was great to see so many new supporters coming to watch us. Fingers crossed they, and many more, return when we can have crowds. Many thanks to the rest of the committee for their help at those games! It was certainly hard graft!
Tonbridge, away, won 1-0
This was only my second experience of watching the Urchins remotely, having watched our FA Cup fixture at Hampton & Richmond earlier in the season.
It was such a strange feeling having watched the Urchins home and away for the past 12 years. Watching the fixture at home with my dad, we went absolutely mental when Joe Christou popped up last minute with the winner having been down to 10 men for majority of the second half!
I'm not sure the others the house appreciated the screaming and shouting!
Dulwich, away, won 2-1
I was very fortunate to be asked by the club and Andy, who runs the social media side of things for the club, to attend as our media representative for the fixture.
My main role was to operate the club's Facebook and Instagram accounts. It was the first time I’ve ever been in the boardroom for a fixture. We were so well looked after and even Steve Coppell was sitting on the table next to me!
We played so, so well at this fixture and thoroughly deserved to win. However I couldn’t get out of my fan mode when Charlie Ruff got the winner near the end!
If you look closely at the winner, you see me fall over in a Del Boy fashion. I got some stick from my pals and the committee about that!
King's Lynn, home, 1-1 (won 3-0 on penalties); Maidstone, home, won 5-4
As soon as the draw was made for the King’s Lynn game, panic set in as we realised we had to learn how to do live streaming!
The Supporters’ Association shelled out £1000 to buy the necessary equipment for the club and it was very stressful testing it!
After some discussions, King’s Lynn streamed the first fixture, but we streamed the Maidstone game.
It was the wish of the club and ourselves to make sure this game was accessible to as many of our fans as possible and we streamed it live for free on YouTube.
I think it came over well and was pleased how it came out. I did love a comment from one of our fans saying the commentary team, Jago and Luke, sounded like Test Match Special!
For both of these games, myself and the committee helped the club run the fixture. We must have had the oldest ball boys in the country at these two fixtures!
For both games we also had BT Sport turn up, so my main role for the King’s Lynn game was to help Jeff Brazier and his team with any queries he had.
For the Maidstone fixture I operated the stream with Billy operating the camera. It was very hard not to celebrate the last-minute winner in the Maidstone game as anything I said would be picked up on the mic. As soon as the stream stopped, I celebrated!
Both games were full of drama, Wrighty the hero in the King’s Lynn game pulling off outrageous saves and the last-minute winner from Nashy in the Maidstone game to win 5-4. It was certainly eventful!
Darlington, away, won 2-1
Again I was very fortunate to be asked by Andy and the club to attend as the club's head of media. This time however I filmed the game along with highlights/interviews for the YouTube channel.
As soon as the draw was made my first thoughts were “wow that’s a long way”. However it was absolutely mind-blowing that us supporters, along with some help from the local community and West Ham, managed to raise £6,000 to help the club with the costs for the fixture.
The hotel the night before was a brilliant evening, the match itself was high drama once again. I certainly had a tear in my eye after the final whistle to think we are 90 minutes from Wembley.
How hard has it been for the Urchins faithful to not be at games during all of this?
It’s been unbelievably difficult, especially for the hardcore fans who have been through thick and thin to go to games for years. We are known as a vocal bunch and it’s such a shame we can’t all be together to cheer on the boys.
At each fixture it would have been and incredible atmosphere, let’s hope we are all back together soon. That’s been the massive miss for this run. I believe we would've taken a record away following for the club to Notts County on Saturday.
Can Urchins beat Notts County?
Anything is possible in football. It’s the toughest draw on paper we could possibly have. I still recall back in 2008 when we went to mid-table Weymouth in the National League and beat them in the last minute through a Simon Parker winner.
If we pulled this off, it would be the greatest win in Hornchurch’s history. The team have such a togetherness and I truly believe we can.
What would it mean to go to Wembley?
It would be beyond words how much it would mean to get to Wembley. Never in my wildest dreams have I thought we would be 90 minutes from it. And we the possibility of fans being able to attend, it would be such a morale boost for the whole community. Lots of friends, family and neighbours are certainly getting into this run!
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