THE TURNSTILES need no oiling these days at Accrington Stanley.

The Conference side have become cup kings as fans flock back to witness the resurgence of one of the game's great names.

But the last time FA Cup fever hit the town, just over a decade ago, it was an altogether different story.

Creditors were knocking on the door trying to close the debt-ridden Northern Premier League outfit down in the wake of an appeal for help by chairman John Alty.

The SAS (Save Accrington Stanley) Association was duly formed - but thankfully salvation was not far away.

Victories over Hyde United, Bradford Park Avenue, Stalybridge Celtic and Northallerton Town led to an FA Cup first round proper meeting with Gateshead.

Paul Beck was the hero of the hour with a hat-trick in front of the Match of the Day cameras that earned cash-strapped Stanley a sensational second round tie against Dario Gradi's Crewe.

In those days, the 2,270 Crown Ground capacity meant a rethink and after consultations, Blackburn Rovers stepped in to offer Ewood Park to the minnows for the great day.

It proved a masterstroke as 10,801 flocked to see the David v Goliath tie - the biggest FA Cup attendance on second round day.

Sadly Alex ran riot to win 6-1, despite the Milk Marketing Board's incredible offer of free milk for a year if the Reds reached the third round.

Second round hero Beck recalled: "It was a fantastic day. We had to switch the game because we were struggling and it was a big windfall for us because Jack Walker didn't charge Accrington a penny for the whole day.

"As a Burnley fan I'd have rather played at Turf Moor, but it still was a great experience at Ewood and one of the Blackburn fans who came to watch said there was more atmosphere than there was at Rovers games that season!

He added: "Tickets went like confetti and it was the biggest gate of the second round that year. For a club like Accrington that was unreal."

Beck even got to rub shoulders with Blackburn stars during the build-up to that tie, including appearing alongside Alan Shearer for a radio feature.

And Stanley could have done with Shearer in the front line as a Crewe side including the likes of Neil Lennon put them to the sword.

Darren Carr opened the scoring for the visitors and Tony Naylor - who incidentally scored against Stanley last week for Telford - soon added a second.

Gareth Whalley scored a brace before Charlie Cooper gave the Reds fans something to shout about with a deflected strike.

However, Naylor scored a fifth late on and Phil Clarkson completed the rout in stoppage time.

Stanley later suffered a cup hangover in the league, but they recovered in time to finish sixth, their highest ever in non-league football as they chased promotion to the Conference.

Beck added: "After the 10,000 the week before, it was quite strange going back to playing in front of hundreds.

"But fortunately, going out of the cup didn't really affect our season as a whole. We finished sixth, which was Stanley's best position since it re-formed.

"We didn't win anything, but it was one of the best sides I played in."