Giant-killings were prevalent on Emirates FA Cup fourth-round weekend and Dulwich Hamlet boss Gavin Rose hopes his team can continue the trend in The Buildbase FA Trophy third round.
The Pink and Blue Army are the lowest-ranked side left in the competition and travel to Essex on Saturday to play Braintree Town, 18th in the National League table and two leagues above them.
But Hamlet have made themselves remarkably difficult to beat in recent months – losing just four times in all competitions since September – and made National League South side Whitehawk look like the underdogs in the previous round.
Doubles from Ashley Carew and former Yeovil Town and Southend United man Gavin Tomlin saw Hamlet win 4-1, and manager of eight years Rose believes there is no reason they cannot repeat the trick.
“Why not? We enter the cup competitions wanting to pit ourselves against the teams that are higher up than us,” he said.
“So this is an adventure and we just want to see how far we can go and how high a level we can compete at as a team.
“I don’t let my players worry about playing teams above us, as they have the belief we can play higher than they level we’re at currently.
“We’ve had a few clubs at Braintree’s level give us some match reports. We are very respectful of them, because they have a good manager and some very experienced players.
“But there’s been some massive upsets in the FA competitions of late and there’s no reason we can’t be a team that adds to that.”
Rose made 40 first-team appearances for Dulwich at the end of a lengthy non-league career that included spells with Bromley, Welling, Gravesend & Northfleet and Walton & Hersham.
But a win on Saturday would mark his best FA Trophy performance during his long tenure in south London, and equal the club’s best-ever run in the competition – with the only previous occasion Hamlet have reached the quarter-finals coming in 1979-80.
“We’re here to break down some boundaries and go further than we ever have done before as a club,” Rose added.
“It means a lot to the players and myself.
“That can set a new mentality within the club and an expectation that we can go to loftier heights within the non-league pyramid. There’s no reason we can’t take the next step.”
FA Trophy history
Dulwich Hamlet’s best run was ended at the quarter-final stage by Boston United back in 1980, although it took a replay for Boston to prevail.
The last time they were in the third round, manager Rose was plying his trade as a midfielder in 2002-03.
Braintree Town made it to the fifth round in 2001-02, but have not been past the third round since.
Did you know?
During the 1920s, Dulwich Hamlet had two players capped by England, Bert Coleman and Edgar Kail.
Kail – who played against France, Belgium and Spain in 1929 – was the last amateur player to play for England whilst solely with an amateur club.
The hit-man, who scored more than 400 goals, is still the subject of terrace songs by Hamlet fans.
One to watch
An experienced and creative player – and a two-goal hero in the previous round – 30-year-old Ashley Carew will have to be on top of his game if he is to marshal the midfield against Braintree.
Beginning his career in Gillingham’s youth set-up, Carew joined Cambridge United in July 2011 before injury struck and has since Spells with Carshalton Athletic, Ebbsfleet and Dover.
The prize
The winners will bank a cheque for £7,000 and book a place in Monday’s quarter-final draw, which will be held at Wembley Stadium from 10.30am and will be streamed live on Periscope via the @FA Twitter account.
Non-League Finals Day
The final of The Buildbase FA Trophy forms part of Non-League Finals Day, which takes place at Wembley Stadium on Sunday 21 May. Tickets are now on sale from ticketing.thefa.com priced at just £12.50 for adults and £1 for children.
