WHERE were you when Taunton Town played in the first round proper of the FA Cup for the first time in 35 years?

Well, as you’re reading this, chances are you were among the 2,297 people who crammed into the Viridor Stadium to watch the Peacocks take on Barrow AFC on Sunday, November 6 last year.

They had already played seven matches to get there, seeing off Tiverton Town (after a replay), Cinderford Town, Slimbridge, Hampton & Richmond Borough and Hemel Hempstead Town (after another replay).

Current Taunton captain Matt Wright said: “[The FA Cup run] was a surprise to everyone. We defied the odds, played seven games just to make the first round... no-one expected us to get that far.

“Barrow were top of the Conference at that point, so looking at the draw you’d think we didn’t have a sniff, but of course in the Cup anyone can beat anyone else.”

The club were determined to make a success of it too, as chairman Kevin Sturmey says: “It was like going from Sunday League to Manchester United in a few weeks.

“It was a monumental effort from a small team.”

The anticipation made itself felt throughout the county town, with a County Gazette pullout stoking the fire, until the Peacocks’ biggest day in three decades arrived.

The Town players and staff turned up for the game at 1.30pm... to find they’d been beaten to Wordsworth Drive by many of their supporters.

Manager Leigh Robinson recalled: “Things have gone by so fast, but the memories still live strong.

“We turned up at the ground 90 minutes beforehand, and usually at that time there’s no-one there.

“But it was crawling with people already – there was a real buzz.

“When I went back to the changing rooms, I turned round and saw [the ground] was jam-packed.

“It was just amazing, and I made sure to never forget that.”

Somerset County Gazette: Taunton draw two all in their FA Cup game against Barrow at the Taunton home ground this Sunday, 6th of November 2016..

CRAMMED: Taunton fans at the Viridor Stadium for the Barrow game.

Kicking off in front of the Match of the Day cameras, there were good early chances for both sides, and the hosts won a 15th-minute corner.

Ryan Batley’s set-piece was met by Wright, who picks up the story.

“I peeled off my marker, and as soon as I got my head to it I knew I’d scored.

“The celebration was a funny one, as I remembered some friends had me down as first goalscorer so I’d won them some money, and I just kept running.”

Wright was denied a second by an acrobatic save from Joel Dixon, but having worked their way back into the game, the visitors were level on 35 minutes courtesy of Byron Harrison’s penalty, awarded for Batley’s shove on the influential Moussa Diarra.

Just two minutes later we had lift-off again, another corner seeing Matt Villis poke home, but only six minutes after that Barrow levelled again – Richard Bennett bundling in after yet another corner kick.

The visitors went down to 10 men in the aftermath of the equaliser, though, as Richard Hughes saw red for an apparent ‘simulated headbutt’ on Owen Irish.

Opportunities kept coming after the break, but after a goal-stuffed first half, the scoreboard did not budge in the second period.

“That was our chance, with them down to 10 men for half the game,” says Wright.

“Craig Veal had a chance in the last 10 minutes, and Shane White’s cross hit the post.”

It finished 2-2, which meant the Peacocks – and 44 of their fans – had to travel 297 miles to Cumbria nine days later, the coach trip extended to almost nine hours by an accident on their route.

The replay at Holker Street was, in stark contrast to the game in Taunton, goalless at half time.

Jordan Williams put the home side ahead just three minutes after the restart, curling a superb effort past Lloyd Irish, but the visitors kept themselves in it, and hauled themselves level on 73 minutes.

Before Ben Adelsbury, Ed Palmer was the Peacocks’ set-piece king, and he thundered home from 20 yards to send the travelling fans into ecstasy.

But, as in the first match, Town conceded soon after scoring – this time Owen Irish tried to clear Ryan Yates’ left-wing cross, only for the ball to end up in the net.

The Peacocks couldn’t raise themselves to score again – indeed Barrow should have scored more – and the cup run was over, albeit with heads held high.

Wright said: “We didn’t let ourselves down in the replay, but we had to work so hard to score – Ed Palmer hitting a great free-kick – but then the way we conceded was disappointing.

“But it’s certainly up there, if not the most memorable highlight [in my football career].”

Having come so close to the second round, where they would have faced Bristol Rovers, there was certainly a sense of an opportunity missed, but the cup run had a massive effect on the club.

Sturmey said: “We made a lot more friends, and sold the Taunton Town dream to more people; we want them to keep coming.

“We have more sponsors, and bigger crowds each week.”

This time last year, Town were languishing in the lower half of the table – albeit with games in hand – and the nine FA Cup matches showed themselves in the players’ legs come the playoffs.

Sturmey added: “Lovely as it was – and I wouldn’t change it for the world – the cup run did kill us [in the league] last year.”

Now, ahead of this weekend’s FA Trophy match with Beaconsfield, there is no doubt that promotion is the aim for Robinson’s side.

The boss said: “The league is our priority this year.

“We were in the limelight last year, and we know that won’t happen every year.”

Skipper Wright adds: “If we had the team we have now last season, I think we’d be closer to or even above [runaway league champions] Hereford.

“It’s amazing how far we’ve come in 12 months."