Accrington Stanley sell tickets for Man Utd FA Cup tie that never was

Stanley lost their chance to play Manchester United when they were knocked out by Yeovil in the FA Cup second round

Accrington Stanley fans are being asked to spend £20 on souvenir tickets for a game which will never happen.

The League Two side blew their chance of hosting Manchester United in the third round of the FA Cup by losing to Yeovil in their second-round replay.

Undeterred by missing out on a lucrative tie against United, Stanley have still produced 250 tickets.

Chairman Peter Marsden said the money would go towards "strengthening the squad" for the rest of the season.

The limited-edition tickets are being marketed as marking the club's FA Cup run.

Manager John Coleman said: "This isn't about dwelling on what might have been. It would have been magnificent to play Manchester United but it was akin to being on holiday.

"Holidays quickly come and go and we have a league campaign to focus on.

"I believe we have a realistic chance of making the play-offs if we can just get people to help us a little bit."

Here's what you could have won: Some fans are comparing the scheme to TV show Bullseye

The move has been met with scepticism on online fan forums.

Typical of the response was this comment on accringtonweb.com: "A question. How do you commemorate something that didn't happen?"

Another added: "Bullseye springs to mind... Let's see what you could have won.

"In reality, it's hardly an FA Cup run. We entered round one and exited round two."

Yeovil beat Accrington 2-0 in a replay last month to win the chance to play Manchester United.

The Red Devils beat the Somerset side 2-0 on Sunday.

Coleman said he hoped Stanley would ultimately get to play the 20-time league winners.

"We are speaking to Manchester United and we're going to try to pull on their heartstrings a bit and hopefully those who buy the tickets might actually see us play them in the not too distant future."