The FA Vase holds a special place in the hearts of the Nathan family – and Colney Heath manager Micky hopes his side can add to those memories.

The Magpies’ 2-1 win over Redbridge at The Recreation Ground on Saturday sent them into the first round proper with a home tie against Hoddesdon Town the reward.

And that tie is made even more special as his father John played for the Lilywhites when they won the inaugural FA Vase in 1975, beating Epsom & Ewell 2-1 at Wembley.

Micky said: “This is important to me because my old man won the Vase so it’s something to play for.

“It’s memories, it’s history and it’s a prestige competition that you get to play in.

“For the players it should be a source of pride, of passion and of enthusiasm as well. You’ve got something to aim for. You get two, three, four rounds in and there are financial rewards for the club of course but you don’t know where you’re going to play.

“A cup run is the heartbeat of your season, no matter what cup you play in. When you’re still in the cup during the cold winter months, it gives you something to play for and everyone wants to be in the squad.

“But when you’re out and you’ve just got the league to play in, the motivation isn’t always there.”

The victory over Redbridge wasn’t as straight-forward as the manager would have liked, admitting the loss of goalkeeper Emmanuel Olajide after an hour left him with “a few more grey hairs”.

Bradley Osbourne took over between the sticks and although he was beaten once, Colney Heath hung on for the win.

Nathan said: “[Osbourne] used to be an academy goalkeeper a long time ago but that was then and this is now.

“It was 30 seconds of panic where I thought ‘who do I put in goal’? But they took the decision out of my hands and he volunteered.

“[Redbridge] didn’t really create much. We kept them at bay for most of the game and restricted them to long shots and if you do that, you’ll win the game.

“We’ve got to be more clinical. There are too many times when we’re trying to be too pretty and walk it in. We’re not Arsenal so we need to be a bit more ruthless in front of goal.

“It was one of those games where we weren’t at our best, not by a long shot. But over the last four games we’ve massively improved. It’s coming together. We were missing a few but the lads responded very well.”