With the countdown well and truly underway to Saturday's eagerly-awaited Emirates FA Cup tie at Slough Town, we reflect on some of Altrincham's previous first-round escapades and begin by turning the clock back to Saturday, November 24th 1979.

Altrincham 3 Crewe Alexandra 0

Cup conquests at the expense of Football League opposition generally owe much to defensive organisation and resilience and the ball bouncing kindly, but not this one.

Fourth Division Crewe were sent packing by an Alty side who were so superior in every department, they actually eased up after going 3-0 in front inside an hour and cruised through the latter stages of their passage into the second round.

In front of 5,000 spectators and with Alex Stepney in goal just two-and-a-half years after helping Manchester United defeat Liverpool in the final at Wembley, the Robins had the ball in the net in the first minute, only for John King to be pulled up for a foul on the Crewe keeper.

Alty continued on the front foot and went ahead in the 28th minute when John Rogers notched his 12th goal of the season after fine work on the right by Barry Howard.

Crewe had posed little, if any, threat and found themselves further behind in the 48th minute after a Rogers cross from the left was met by a Barry Whitbread header to make it 2-0 in what was becoming an increasingly one-sided encounter.

With Stepney still a virtual spectator, the Robins tore through Crewe's defence once more in the 55th minute, with Rogers this time popping up on the right to supply a cross that Whitbread headed on for Phil Wilson to volley spectacularly into the top corner of the net from the left edge of the area.

Crewe belatedly stirred themselves to apply pressure that went unrewarded, but it did nothing to spare them the wrath of their manager, former Stoke City boss Tony Waddington, whose verdict was as succinct as it comes: "We were a disgrace," he fumed.

Alty went on to register another notable victory in the second round, 2-0 away to Rotherham United, before narrowly losing 2-1 in a third-round replay at Leyton Orient after drawing 1-1 at home.