Neil Austin left his hometown club Barnsley FC the summer before their famous run to the FA Cup semi-final in 2008, but he is now making a different kind of history with another team in the town in the same competition.
The 34-year-old right-back played 165 games for the Reds and helped them to promotion from League One in 2006, but he was one of many players from that team who soon left as he moved on to Darlington where he watched Barnsley defeat Liverpool and Chelsea in a superb cup run. A decade on, he is part of another cup run as Shaw Lane AFC are due to host League Two Mansfield Town, who play three divisions above them, in the first round of the FA Cup on November 4 from 12.30pm live on BT Sport.
The Ducks are also in a battle for their sixth promotion in seven seasons into the National League North, having come back from 2-0 down to lead at Ashton Athletic on Saturday before conceding a controversial 89th-minute penalty and drawing 3-3. Austin said: "It was unfortunate that I missed out on Barnsley's cup run, because I am a big Liverpool fan as well. It would have been great to have been involved in but I was buzzing for the players and for the town.
"This cup run with Shaw Lane is great for the town too. What the club has achieved in the last few years has been unbelievable. Who knows, maybe one day it will be a Football League club and be playing Mansfield every season?
"I am really looking forward to the cup game and it's brilliant for the club. The chairman Craig Wood really deserves it for all the time, effort and money he has put into the club,It's just 11 against 11 and you can't rule out us beating them. It will be interesting to see how Mansfield deal with playing at Athersley Rec. It should be an unbelievable atmosphere with what I am hearing about the demand for tickets."
As well as playing for the Ducks, Austin also coaches their under tens and has another job as a dual-fuel engineer, fitting smart meters. He has been with Barnsley's highest ever non-league club since leaving Hartlepool in 2015. He said: "I am loving it. There is a great dressing room there with lads who get on really well on and off the pitch. We have a great team spirit and it shows in games."
Saturday's match at Ashton was the last in which Austin had to wear a protective face mask after fracturing his cheekbone in a pre-season game at Harrogate then having an operation. Ashton netted in the 16th and 20th minutes to go 2-0 up but Paul Clayton pulled one back within seconds then an own goal levelled the scores before Spencer Harris made it 3-2 to the Ducks at half-time. But the hosts won a penalty in the 88th minute and converted to ensure that Shaw Lane had to settle for their first draw of the season.
Austin said: "The referee gave a penalty but he couldn't tell us which player apparently pushed one of their players over. It was very disappointing but we're still happy with the start we have made."
That result left three teams, including the Ducks, level on 34 points in the Evo-Stik Premier. But Altrincham won on Tuesday to go three points clear of second-placed Shaw Lane who have two games in hand.
