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Hawks’ amazing achievement

Posted By admin On 17/01/2008 @ 02:27 pm In Other Stuff | No Comments

 

IT was a night of wild jubilation as Havant and Waterlooville celebrated their greatest-ever achievement.The Hawks woke up in dreamland today after

 

beating Swansea City 4-2 in the third round of the FA Cup.It means they will now travel to Anfield to play  Liverpool, who have won the world’s greatest cup competition seven times.Previously the Hawks had never got past the first round of the cup but they now are facing one of the most famous names in football.And the financial rewards of up to £500,000 will ensure the club has a bright future.Fan Alan Kirk said: ‘I’m emotionally exhausted. We did exceptionally well to score that many goals against a team ranked so highly.‘There was great character out there, but I was nervous for the last 20 minutes at least.’Harry Collins was there with his dad. The eight-year-old midfielder for Cowplain under-10s football team said: ‘I loved it. It’s amazing that we beat a team so much better than us.’Hayley Russell, 17, of  Widley Road Cosham, Portsmouth, said: ‘One minute it seemed we were going to win and the next they were really well-organised and attacking. You could feel everyone get nervous at the beginning of the second half when they scored, so it was a real shock when we made it 4-2.’Danielle Short, 36, of Blackbird Close, Cowplain, said: ‘It was so exciting to have a win at a full ground and now we have the chance to take on

Liverpool.’As the final whistle went the stadium announcer appealed for calm but hundreds of the capacity crowd were overcome with emotion and vaulted the safety barriers and invaded the pitch to thrust their heroes up onto their shoulders.Havant’s mayor Cllr Victor Pierce-Jones was watching the game with Havant MP David Willetts. Cllr Pierce-Jones said: ‘It was a fantastic night. I thought they all played brilliantly and the manager deserves credit because they were so well-organised.’Leigh Park community leader Dennis Ansell followed updates on the game on television. He said: ‘What an amazing achievement for these ordinary blokes.’Hawks chairman Marcus Hackney said: ‘We can earn a lot of money from Anfield.‘It will set the club up for a couple of years and will help us get our league form back. The financial benefits are absolutely brilliant.’More than 3,000 Hawks fans are now set to flock to the European Capital of Culture on January 26 despite being 100/1 outsiders to win the game.Last night 4,400 fans packed into the club’s West Leigh Park ground to watch their heroes see off the club ranked 83 places above them.Normally only 600 or so would be there to see the Hawks in action but those who made it last night witnessed a huge upset. 

 [1] The News 17 January 2008

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[1] The News: http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/

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