The FA Trophy is a tournament often ignored by the mainstream media, apart from some coverage of the final on local TV and the obligatory column in most newspapers, but for teams involved it is a big deal. While the money on offer may be dwarfed in comparison to a good FA Cup run, a team that goes all the way and wins it could find themselves equally rewarded by boosted attendances and merchandise sales.

I know only too well how much it means for a club and its fans to get a chance of a day out at Wembley and have their moment of glory. I have been to two FA Trophy finals with Barrow (1990 and 2010) and both times have seen my hometown lift the trophy, which for me is streets ahead of any of my other favourite football memories. It also provides players like Jason Walker (now with York City) with opportunities such as scoring the 25-yard winning goal in extra time for your hometown team. Now it can’t really get much better than that, and with less local players getting in teams the higher up the leagues you go, such a goal at Wembley is a rare occurrence.

If you haven’t seen Walker’s special goal, its from about 3m15s in during these highlights. 

In this years competition, there were some early upsets affecting the top teams in the Blue Square Premier with high flying Wrexham and Fleetwood both exiting at the first stage, losing 2-1 to Hinckley and 3-1 Northwich Victoria respectively. Mansfield and Tamworth bundled out of the competition, Mansfield losing 2-1 away to Droylsden and Tamworth losing 1-0 on the road to Worksop Town.

Selected results featuring the BSP teams are as follows:

Nuneaton Town 0-2  AFC Telford

Northwich Victoria 3-1 Fleetwood Town

Colwyn Bay 1-3 Lincoln City

Vauxhall Motors 4-4 Kidderminster harriers

Stockport County 2-2 Stalybridge Celtic

York City 2-2 Solihull Moors

Barrow AFC 3-2 Harrogate Town

Wrexham 1-2 Hinckley United

Droylsden 2-1 Mansfield Town

Grimsby Town 3-0 Darlington

Gateshead 3-2 Kettering

Worksop Town 1-0 Tamworth

Alfreton Town 4-0 Southport

Luton Town 2-0 Swindon Supermarine

Chelmsford City 2-3 Bath City

Truro City 2-5 Ebbsfleet United

Hampton & Richmond Borough 2-0 Hayes & Yeading United

Boreham Wood 0-1 Cambridge United

Newport County 0-0 Forest green

Gosport Borough 0-1 Braintree Town

FA Trophy Second Round Draw

Ebbsfleet United vs. Chester

Wealdstone vs. Barrow AFC

Weymouth vs. Alfreton Town

Worksop Town vs. Newport County / Forest green Rovers

Gateshead vs. Braintree Town

Lincoln City vs. Carshalton Athletic

Vauxhall Motors / Kidderminster Harriers vs. Droylsden

Dartford vs. Boston united

East Thurrock United vs. Hampton & Richmond Borough

Grimsby Town vs. AFC Hornchurch / Farnborough

Cambridge United vs. AFC Telford United

Northwich Victoria vs. Staines Town / Maidenhead United

Hinckley United vs. Luton Town

Salisbury City vs. York City / Solihull Moors

Guiseley AFC vs. Stockport County / Stalybridge Celtic

Bath City vs. Basingstoke Town