“I thought I’d had my best moments in football but this is right up there, this is brilliant.”
Those were the words of Plymouth Parkway striker Andrew ‘Rocky’ Neal after leading his side into the second round of the FA Cup.
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The striker’s two penalties ensured the Southern League Premier Division South side beat their seventh-tier rivals Berkhamsted 2-1 after extra time to book a place in the FA Cup second round.
Neal, 33, has been at Parkway since the summer of 2025.
A self-employed builder, his goals helped Truro City win promotion from the league Parkway currently play in up to the National League.
But after helping the Cornish side win the National League South title, he left as the club went fully professional and Neal stayed part-time.
However, he was still able to have one of his greatest days in front of the live television cameras on Monday night as Parkway made the second round for the first time.
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“It was a tough game, we knew it would be, but I’m just delighted to get that win for the club, the fans, the staff, the players, everyone,” he added.
“It’s such a good feeling around the club at the minute, and hopefully that continues.”
The Plymouth side – who play less than three miles up the road from League One neighbours Argyle – will host League Two high-fliers Barnet in the second round.
Having never reached the first round proper before this season, the club is just 90 minutes away from the chance of playing one of the Premier League giants.
“It’s going to be a tough game obviously, but I fancy us against anyone at home,” added Neal.
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“We’ll bring them down here, we’ll give them a good game.
“I’m sure we’ll have a game plan and let’s just see what can happen – it’s the magic of the FA Cup.”
Manager Karl Curtis is in his first season at the club and has guided them to fourth place in their division.
They are four points behind leaders Uxbridge, who they beat 3-1 in their most recent league game last week.
Curtis says the cup run has given his ambitious club the hope they can push for more promotions having risen from regional league football over the past decade.
“It’s the belief,” he tells BBC Sport. “It just keeps growing, the belief.
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“The FA Cup run will end, it’s going to end at some point, whether that’s next round or in the third round.
“But what this does is just generates belief in the group, so when we do go back to our league campaign if we find ourselves in a good position, top six, top seven, the belief that we can beat top teams and good teams and we can go on and finish our season strongly, that’s the most important thing.
“Forget the finances, it’s about big nights like this and the fans.
“There’s lots of people watching who couldn’t get a ticket tonight and everyone watching on the telly and there’s fans here for the first time, so come to the league games.
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“We need to generate this type of atmosphere because it’s the difference between us maybe staying in the play-offs and maybe filtering away.”
