When the FA Cup draw was made, I think it’s fair to say most peoples first thought was the same – Tim Sills.
The Wimborne manager, who’s coming up to his first anniversary in charge, spent two-and-a-half years at Torquay and wrote himself into the Gulls folklore one afternoon in May 2009.
With Torquay 1-0 up against Cambridge in the Conference National play-off final Sills, who scored in the semi-final against Histon, had his big moment, but that moment very nearly didn’t come at all.
“About two minutes before half time I went up for a header and ripped all of my ankle ligaments because I stood on someone’s foot – my ankle turned all the way over and I was in the most pain I’d ever been in on a football pitch” Sills recalls.
“I took my boot and sock off at half time and I just remember my physio swearing quite profusely when he saw it, so I knew I was in trouble. The club doctor – who was a legend – patched me up and put three injections in my foot because there was no way I wasn’t going back out there.”
There was no way the Gulls top scorer was leaving that pitch, but how well can Sills remember what happened next?
“It’s hard to remember…” Sills joked as we sat in the home dugout at New Cuthbury on an exceptionally warm September evening before first-team training.
“74th minute, defending a free kick, the ball got cleared and off I went. Nine or ten seconds later I was getting on the end of an incredible cross from Wayne Carlisle and there was no way I was missing that, guiding my header into the corner.”
It was the best day of his career and fulfilled a lifetime aim: “Growing up, being a professional footballer was my dream, but my ultimate dream was to play at Wembley. To play there was overwhelming, but to score there is something I knew I could dine out on for the rest of my life and I’m definitely making sure that happens.”
So, with this being the dream draw for the former Gulls striker, where was he when he found out the news?
“Randomly I was about to go into a meeting with MyTime [the charity Sills works for] and we ended up on a boat… as soon as I saw that it was Torquay at home the hairs on the back of my neck stood up – if I’m going to find out anywhere then I might as well be in a boat floating in Poole Harbour” Sills laughed.
With Wimborne drawing potentially the biggest team in the hat, the tie is of enormous magnitude for the Magpies – looking likely to set a new attendance record for the New Cuthbury.
“You look at the draw at this stage and you either want someone beatable at home to get through to that holy grail of the first round or you want that really big tie – there isn’t a bigger club you could get at this stage than Torquay or Yeovil” said Sills.
Wimborne though, as Sills is keen to stress, will not be there to make up the numbers and will approach the game with the aim of winning.
Just before we concluded the interview, I asked Sills about his first year in charge of the Magpies: “At no point have I ever regretted coming across. We’ve had some real highs setting an unbeaten club record in the Southern League, but then limped towards the play-offs.”
“Having the summer to rebuild, the potential of the club is growing more and more. With Jimmy Glass here in his role, we’re ready to kick on again, we just need to make sure we get it right on the pitch.”
After an unbeaten start to the season and excellent summer recruitment, everything seems in place for an exciting season ahead.
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