FOR Chester veteran Simon Grand, the FA Cup will always hold a special place in his bank of footballing memories.

As a teenager, the 34-year-old defender made his professional debut for Rochdale in a 2nd round FA Cup tie against Bristol Rovers in December 2002, before he helped the Spotland outfit reach the 5th round before they were eventually beaten by Wolves.

Fast forward 16 years and Grand's love for the competition is undiminished with Saturday's second qualifying round win over City of Liverpool rekindling the hope that there just might be one more run left for the summer signing from AFC Fylde to saviour.

"I've got fantastic memories of the competition," said Grand. "That season I made my debut we went on to the fifth round and we had some great games.

"We beat Coventry and Preston along the way and we had a great day out on the TV at Wolves even if we lost.

"Sometimes it's not even about winning - it's about going there and experiencing it especially for the fans and the staff. Both cups are a massive part of your season at this level and it's important you go on a good run."

Grand's long career has seen him play the role of both giant and giant killer in his various FA Cup campaigns with spells at Carlisle United, Grimsby and Morecambe before he dropped into non league with the likes of Northwich Victoria, Southport and Salford.

"There is always a massive buzz about the place if you can do well in the FA Cup and get the luck of the draw and maybe get on the TV, " he said, ahead of Monday's draw which saw Chester handed an away tie at Northern League Div One side Dunston UTS.

"For a club like ourselves the money coming in provides a massive boost all round and it's also about building momentum and a wining mentality and being able to kick on and enjoy it."

Saturday's victory saw Chester avoid the potential banana skin that was an in form City of Liverpool side as the Deva outfit entered the competition at the earliest time in their history.

Grand said: "It was going to be tough and it’s the FA Cup so anything can happen, can’t it?

"We said it’s just the same if we had maybe a League Two club coming here, would we fancy our chances? Of course we would, we’d go at them, and give it a right go, so that’s exactly what they did.

"We kind of expected it and I think it was a good professional job all round in the end."

The victory extended Chester's unbeaten run to five matches and Grand is not surprised the squad and staff have managed to turn things round after the embarrassment of the 8-1 defeat to Blyth Spartans last month.

"I'm not surprised because we started the season well into we played Blyth," he added.

"If we'd have lost 3-1 at Blyth there wouldn't have been the impact - there were shouts that the managers should resign afterwards - but we are strong as a squad and we've stuck together an stuck by our principles.

"I don't think there's another squad in the league that could have coped with the injuries we've got and now we're coming out stronger for it and if it wasn't for that freak result people would be saying we were the ones to watch."