PHOTO SPOTLIGHT: Harborough Town complete a classic FA Cup giant-killing at Tonbridge Angels – and KEVIN QUIGLEY captures all the action

There’s nothing quite like the FA Cup to inspire hope in the most cynical of fans at the top and bottom of the football pyramid

It was a family affair as fans of both Tonbridge Angels and Harborough Town descended on Longmean Stadium on Saturday

No trip to watch your team in the FA Cup would be complete without a handmade trophy – with aluminium-wrapped honours always the smartest

Longmead Stadium may be on the smaller side but to fans of both teams, there’s no venue they would rather have travelled to

Fans made their way into the ground well before kick-off in a bid to soak up the atmosphere and offer up a few late prayers

The sixth-tier side have last reached first round proper in 2020 but had to play their tie against Bradford City with zero fans

Ahead of a busy day of custom, the ground’s food and drink vendors made sure supplies were full to the brim before welcoming the punters

Tonbridge Angels have played at the stadium since 1980, where they relocated four years after Tonbridge Football Club’s 1976 liquidation

As the stands filled up, fans had to be prompt making sure they were fed and watered before the action kicked off in Kent

An overwhelming number of home supporters made sure they were kitted out in their team’s rich royal blue

On a not-particularly beautiful English afternoon a number of fans took shelter in the stadium’s indoor bar

At last the teams made their way onto the pitch, with the travellers hopefully of bloodying a nose on their first-round debut

Tonbridge fans may not have expected for the visitors to come out swinging and collect such a scalp on their first attempt

As action kicked off, it took a little while for the deadlock to be broken as both sides battled to gain the upper hand 

But shortly before the end of the first-half it was Harborough Town’s Paul Malone who was able to ink his name on the scoresheet

Fans craned their necks and jostled to get the best vantage point at a packed ground as the minutes ticked down

After the break Harborough Town grew in stature as Ben Stephens netted two more just after the hour mark

Tonbridge fans must have been scarcely able to believe what was happening as they found themselves 3-0 down with 20 minutes to play

But the hope of a comeback under the lights will have raised morale, if somewhat prematurely for the home supporters

Harborough scored their fourth in the 87th minute and althought Sean Shields provided the home side with a consolation deep in added time, the tie was theirs

Just days after making history with their berth into the first round proper, the Leicestershire side have a second round match to look forward to 

The travelling fans greeted the players with obvious delight on the heels of such an auspicious afternoon down south

With Reading FC to come in their next round, the Harborough Town fans will have got themselves a taste for giant-killing