Motormen on right road as McDonald reaps reward of FA Cup run

In 1982, when Queen's Park Rangers took on Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup final with players of the calibre of Tony Currie and John Gregory in their side, Vauxhall Motors were humble members of the West Cheshire League. Tomorrow, in an encounter which would have seemed almost unthinkable two decades ago, the two sides meet in the first round of the FA Cup.

There are clubs lower down the non-League pyramid involved in this weekend's Cup ties, but there are none apart from perhaps Team Bath who have climbed as far as quickly to reach their current status. Vauxhall Motors were formed as recently as 1963, shortly after the car company of the same name opened a new plant in Ellesmere Port.

The new works team started life in the Ellesmere Port League and progressed through the Wirral Combination to the West Cheshire League. Their first taste of the North-West Counties League in the late 80s and early 90s was curtailed voluntarily due to financial hardship, the club having parted company with the car firm, but they were accepted back in 1995.

This time Vauxhall Motors progressed in the right direction. In 2000 they won the North-West Counties with ease and reached the last four of the FA Vase. A year later they were promoted again after finishing second in the UniBond League First Division and last season they had a superb debut campaign in the UniBond, finishing as runners-up to Burton Albion.

The manager responsible for their recent rise is Alvin McDonald, who arrived at Vauxhall Motors in 1998 after spells in the West Cheshire League in charge of Bromborough Pool and Poulton Victoria.

McDonald has put together a squad featuring few players with Football League experience but with a mixture of young hopefuls and non-League stalwarts like the striker Peter Cumiskey, once of Leigh RMI, and the former Stalybridge Celtic full-back Derek Ward. Vauxhall Motors' captain, the defender Phil Brazier, captained Liverpool to FA Youth Cup success in 1995.

Tomorrow's tie against QPR, who are pushing for promotion from the Second Division, will be played at Chester City's Deva stadium because police on the Wirrall could not cope with the Vauxhall Motors tie as well as Tranmere Rovers against Cardiff. Despite the loss of home advantage, McDonald is by no means abandoning hopes of victory, but he is aware of the real benefit of the Cup run to his club.

"The money we have brought in from the Cup is about the same as what we take through the turnstiles in an entire season," the grateful manager of the Motormen said. "That is invaluable."

McDonald's side are in fine form away from their own pitch – they won 5-2 at Blyth Spartans last Saturday and 5-0 at Runcorn in another UniBond Premier fixture on Tuesday. Rangers have been warned.

"To be manager of a club that comes out of the hat on national television [in an FA Cup draw] is a dream come true," McDonald added. "We will give it everything."