Penney Eyes Cup Scalp

Penney Eyes Cup Scalp

David Penney will always be a favourite amongst Swans fans and still holds the title of the only Swansea captain to be victorious at Wembley. That distinction came back in 1994 when his side lifted the Autoglass Trophy after a penalty victory against Huddersfield under the twin towers.

Less than 12 months later and Penney was on the hunt of cup glory again with the Swans as they beat Middlesborough in a third round replay in the FA Cup before falling 3-0 to Newcastle at St James' Park in the fourth round.

And on Saturday it will be FA Cup glory that is again on his mind as he prepares his new charges - Darlington - to defeat the Swans and book their place in amongst the big boys when the Third round draw is made after the weekend fixtures.

Darlington are in good form having won six on the bounce and the Swans will need to be mindful of that as they embark on the first of three away trips - Brighton and Blackpool follow in the next week as well.

In reflective mood though when speaking to the Western Mail, Penney reflected on those games in the North East over ten years ago and listed them as his greatest FA Cup moments

"The win at Middlesbrough was the most enjoyable FA Cup experience I had at Swansea,

"We'd drawn 1-1 with them at the Vetch, and we knew the incentive for winning the replay was a trip to Newcastle, a bigger team than Boro.

"No-one expected us to win, but we managed to pull it off.

I scored what turned out to be the winning goal, and Steve Torpey got the other.

"I remember press photographers trying to get into our changing room after the game to get pictures of us, but Frank wouldn't let them in.

"Everyone wanted to make a big thing of it, but he wanted to keep our feet on the ground.

"We were a decent side, and Middlesbrough were only one division above us at the time.

"The game at Newcastle? They started well, that's about as much as I remember.

"Paul Kitson scored a hat-trick for them and we couldn't manage to respond.

"That was the cup campaign over with, though it was still a terrific experience for Swansea and the fans to go to somewhere like St James Park."

And lets hope that after this season's campaign is over, and with no disrespect to Penney, that the game at Middlesborough is still his greatest FA Cup experience!

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