National Game Awards 2017/18 in association with SCL – Cup kings tag will live with us forever, says Jody Brown

(MAKING HEY: Jody Brown, pictured, saw his Heybridge Swifts side play no fewer than 20 cup games before mid-January)

Acerbis Cup Run of the Year winner is Heybridge Swifts

Jody Brown admitted Heybridge Swifts’ NGA-winning cup run did affect their promotion bid – but he wouldn’t have changed it for the world!
The Essex club were the lowest-ranked team left in both the FA Cup and FA Trophy and played no fewer than 20 cup matches by mid-January, taking a number of higher-ranked scalps along the way.
But the gruelling schedule eventually took its toll as the Swifts’ promotion bid from Bostik North faltered amid the culmination of poor weather and a long fixture backlog.
In the end, Brown’s side missed out on promotion by three points before their 70-game season was ended by one of their FA Cup scalps, Haringey Borough, in the play-offs.
So, no trophy for Brown to parade at Scraley Road, but the former Welling United and Grays Athletic boss can take plenty of positives – and memories – into the summer, not least the FA Cup first round clash at League 2 Exeter City, watched by over 3,000 fans.
“We beat a lot of teams that finished a lot higher than us in the pyramid,” Brown reflected. “In the end, it had a knock-on effect on our league season and we missed out on promotion by three points, which was disappointing.
“But, for some of the players, it was a life-changing experience, playing against Football League players as a Step 4 club. As a collective organisation, we’re absolutely delighted with the cup runs. Exeter was a great experience. We went there very confident.
“At the time, we’d only lost one in 20 and we actually went there thinking we could beat them, and we  gave a good account of ourselves – we didn’t want to go there and have a backs-to-the-wall performance.
“We matched them possession-wise and created chances of our own, and until the 88th minute, we were still in the game.
“It was a special day for everybody connected with the club. We went to town on it and stayed down there for two days, and it was a great experience for everyone involved.”
Masterminding lengthy cup runs is nothing new on Brown’s CV. He was part of the management team which steered Redbridge to the FA Cup second round in 2011 where they were beaten by Crawley Town. Brown says it’s good for the soul.
“I’ve told my players that when you look back on your career, even if you have gained promotion, you’re still going to remember this cup run in a very special way,” he added.
“We’ve had a couple of tough years as a football club but things have really turned around this year and it’s a great accolade.”
 
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