Yate are building perfect story…
PAUL Michael won't get tired of hearing Build Me Up Buttercup – even during Yate Town's upcoming fixture pile-up!
The popular 60s song by The Foundations has become the club's victory anthem and it was belted out louder than ever on Tuesday by their players and staff.
The Southern League Premier South side reached the FA Cup first round proper for only the second time in their 114-year history by beating National League strugglers Dover Athletic.
After supporters had invaded the pitch at full-time it was back into the dressing room for their celebratory sing song.
“The celebrations at the end were different class,” Michael told The NLP after admitting he woke up on Wednesday morning with a sore head following the party. “Everyone sings Sweet Caroline and we just wanted something of our own.
“On one of the bus trips on the way back, everyone was singing along with [Build Me Up Buttercup] and we thought it went quite nicely with the lyrics. We adopted and made it our winning song.
“Everyone had friends and family there and sharing that experience together was really nice to see. Everyone was singing in the clubhouse together after the game it was a really nice moment.”
The togetherness of the Yate squad had never been more apparent with all staff and players enjoying the moment.
“Some boys are having to be patient because we're on a good little run at the moment,” said Michael. “The boys on the bench always go out and do their running af terwards, I don't have to say anything, it's just the culture they've helped create.
“They all support each other, they're all up out of the dugout when one scores. They really are together, there's going to be lots of games and lots of opportunities for everybody over the next few weeks but definitely that togetherness is a big part of why we're doing quite well at the moment.
“We've got no superstars or anybody on contract, we're just a hardworking group of boys that are in it together.”
Yate were made to wait for their shot at the first round after drawing at Dover before claiming the higher-league club didn't want to play the replay when the floodlights failed before the game but were then fixed, much to the frustrations of the home side.
Prize
“It was more on my part, the management and the background of those at the club,” said Michael. “It was out of our minds by the Thursday and actually it might have been a very good thing because we had a couple of boys carrying knocks from the Saturday and they'd healed up by a week later.”
Playing the waiting game was the hard part, knowing a home tie against Yeovil Town was the victory prize.
Substitute James Harding netted the only goal with 15 minutes left to send Yate into that dreamland. By the time the tie arrives, it will be their fifth consecutive home game with two more to come before facing a gruelling schedule of seven straight away matches in an attempt to catch-up with their league program.
Michael, though, wouldn't change these FA Cup memories for anything.
“Seeing ‘Yate Town – Harding 75' come up on the BBC, a few of the committee and supporters have been there a long time really cherish those little things,” he said. “It's nice to see people happy and give a little back.
“Yeovil will be a bigger test and bring a bigger following for an even better occasion.
It's a free hit for us, we can play with no pressure and see if we can cause another upset.
“We went out in the first game last year so this year we just wanted to get through one. Then you just want more. Now we're in the first round proper it's not enough. That's the beauty of the FA Cup.”
