Bromley star Ben Thompson fires out Newcastle warning ahead of 'bucket list' FA cup clash
Bromley star Ben Thompson fires out Newcastle warning ahead of 'bucket list' FA cup clash
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Ben Thompson is no stranger to an FA Cup fairytale - and he's hoping the magic of the cup can conjure up another all-timer when Bromley travel to Newcastle today. Thompson, 29, was at the Millenium Stadium back in 2004 after his beloved Millwall made it all the way to the FA Cup final to lock horns with Manchester United.
Then aged just nine, Thompson would go on to play for the Lions but was cup-tied when the Championship outfit came within a whisker of making it to the semi-finals back in 2019. These days, the central midfielder is enjoying a new lease of life down the road at Bromley: the League Two first-timers with average gates of 3,000.
The Ravens will take 5,000 fans north to St James' Park in the hope of springing an upset on Newcastle. In Thompson, they boast somebody with plenty of big match experience - and he reckons the proverbial David has nothing to fear heading into Goliath's backyard.
"It's definitely one of the grounds I've wanted to tick off the bucket list," Thompson says on the eve of the game. "Obviously we did White Hart Lane in the FA Cup with Millwall - that was a big experience. Wembley is up there; that's the pinnacle, isn't it? Everyone grows up wanting to play there in your career and luckily enough I've been there twice.
"Anfield is definitely one I'd like to experience too. But St James' Park is well up there too and it should be an enjoyable one.". One of Thompson's earliest memories of the FA Cup is that trip up to Wales for the final back in 2004. Millwall made history that day by becoming just the second team outside the Premier League to play in the final since 1982 and left with a UEFA Cup spot in the bag despite failing to really lay a glove on the mighty Manchester United.
