By Reuters
Minor league Tamworth hardly need an incentive to write their name in FA Cup folklore against Premier League Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday but just in case they do, a local bar in the market town is offering beer for life for a match-winner.
The Staffordshire side, nicknamed the Lambs, host eight-times FA Cup winners Tottenham on their astroturf pitch in a classic David v Goliath contest.
While Tamworth boss Andy Peaks will be busy devising a tactical plan to stop the likes of Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski, general manager of Pitchers Bar Jason Pegg is hoping the promise of endless pints can help cause a massive shock.
“What better way to show our backing than with a little fun?” Pegg, who is offering the prize to any Tamworth player who scores a winning goal, told local media.
“A winning goal means more than just a place in the record books — it’s the stuff of legends. We want to be part of that excitement, and what better way than offering free beer for life to the player who delivers the magic moment?
“We know it’s a big ask, but anything is possible in football, and Tamworth FC has a history of surprises. We can’t wait to see who steps up to the plate.”
Tamworth are 16th in the National League, which is the fifth tier of English soccer but have already beaten League One Huddersfield Town en route to the third round.
In that game, Tommy Tonks scored directly from a throw-in and the midfielder will no doubt be flexing his muscles to launch more havoc-wreaking deliveries into the Tottenham area on Sunday.
“I’ve never actually measured how far I can throw the ball, I just launch it as far as I can,” Tonks said before the Huddersfield game. “I can see it in the faces of opposing defenders and goalies — they absolutely hate it.”
Peaks, who quit his job as a support worker in a local college to coach Tamworth full-time, described the visit of Tottenham as massive for the town and said the North London club can expect a hostile atmosphere when they walk out for the tie that will be broadcast live.
“The facilities won’t be what they are used to, there’s maybe one shower working and the toilet door hanging off its hinges,” he told BBC Radio 4 on Friday.
