Hartpury University manager Martin Longworth admits that it has been impossible for his team to ignore the prospect of playing at Wembley Stadium, should they reach the final of the FA Vase.
The team battled from a goal behind to come away as 2-1 victors over Erith and Belvedere in the quarter-final on Saturday.
The semi-finals will take place over two legs, with the draw being later today at 3:15pm.
“I think it’s really unrealistic to say you’re not thinking about it,” he said.
“We are only one round away and we are very ambitious.
“If we get there, brilliant, if we don’t get there, we’re going to give it the best we can.
“I think for the motivation of the staff, the players and the institution, we’ve got to be really upfront and honest and say, ‘two positive results and we’re at Wembley’, and that’s what we want.
“So we’re not shying away from that.”
Regarding Saturday’s victory, Longworth was pleased with how his side grew into the game, saying: “I thought we actually started the game really poorly and probably deserved to go 1-0 down at the time.
“We looked a little bit nervous and didn’t really maintain much of the ball, but then I thought once we did concede, we started to get a little bit more of a stranglehold on the game.
“They (Erith and Belvedere) only had one or two blocked or half chances, and I thought we managed the game quite well considering we went 1-0 down.”
The team had never been past the fourth round in their short history, meaning the quarter-final was a big occasion for the Acorns, and one Longworth could only speak positively of.
“One team had 2,500, one had 1,500, one had 900 and we had 250. But actually the 250 was brilliant and it was a good attendance for us.”
Thank you to the 256 in attendance for this afternoons @thefavase Quarter Final tie against @EBTheDeres and making it a great occasion for the Club to be a part of!
— Hartpury University FC (@HartpuryUniFC) March 1, 2025
Safe travels home @EBTheDeres and good luck for the remainder of the season 🤝#proudtobelong #hartpury pic.twitter.com/QJfG3sVB2W
He continued to praise the fans that turned out, stating: “We were very well supported, and there was a fairly good atmosphere there as well.
“All in all it was just a good occasion.”
The club was formed in 2020, and Longworth has been at the helm since its creation, overseeing plenty of success in such a short period.
They are on track for a second successive promotion, currently sitting top of the Hellenic League Premier Division after winning Division One in 2023/24.
Regarding the rapid development of the club, he said: “It’s been amazing. The director of sports and the director of football at the time suggested there could be a potential project here, and I was quite interested in the project itself having just moved back to the area.
“I’ve been supported really well in terms of the infrastructure and some of the aspects of the football club. We’ve had two players who have been with me since the start, and I’ve had another couple of players with me since Step 7.
“It’s great to see the development of how the team’s gone not just on the field, but off the field, and fingers crossed we can potentially get to Wembley and potentially get promoted to Step 4, which would be the third promotion in four years.”
Pairing their league fixtures with this FA Vase run has led to Hartpury having a busy schedule this campaign, but they have managed to keep momentum going between the two competitions.
“I don’t think we’ve lost since September 3, so I think it’s been nearly six months and I think we’ve had 30 games unbeaten.
He expanded by saying: “Sometimes we’ve got a stretched squad, sometimes we’re full strength, sometimes we’ve got constraints with other games and sometimes we’ve got no constraints.
“I think it’s just about the lads trusting us and trusting me and the programme.
“Every single game, we’re going to give it our absolutely best to win.”
