Padiham have begun discussions with Scottish Premier League side Heart of Midlothian with a view to rearranging a game that failed to take place 125 years ago.
Padiham Secretary Alan Smith takes up the story.
"In season 1885-86 Hearts entered the FA Cup for the first time in their history and were drawn to play Padiham away in the First Round of the competition. The Edinburgh club decided against making the journey to East Lancashire and scratched from the competition, giving Padiham a "walk over" into the Second Round.
"We had been aware of this for some time from our own club records, and in fact the game is also mentioned on the official Hearts website in their club history, but we noticed that this is the 125th anniversary season of the "game that never was". We felt it would be a good idea to try and resurrect the game, and we have been in touch with Hearts and invited them to send a team to the Arbories during the Padiham Sports Week in early August, to replay the cup tie that never took place.
"We have been told by officials at Hearts they will consider the proposal, and we are now awaiting the outcome of a meeting that they are due to have to discuss our plans."
