The Robins needed a huge slice of luck to book their place in Cardiff.

Semi-final opponents Hartlepool held them to a 2-2 aggregate draw before having a decisive penalty ruled a miss, despite the ball appearing to cross the line in the shoot-out.

Cotterill has become hot property since guiding his team out of the Dr Martens League in 1997 and into the Nationwide Third Division two years later.

Cheltenham missed out on automatic promotion on the final day of the regular season after finishing five points ahead of their Final opponents.

But Rushden were out for revenge after Cheltenham pipped them to the Nationwide Conference title in 1999 with a crucial 2-1 comeback win at Nene Park which has lived long in the memory of both sets of supporters.

Rushden pulled off a 4-3 aggregate victory over Rochdale to reach the Millennium Stadium but lost Richie Hanlon for the final after he was injured in a clash with a policeman after the game.

Manager Brian Talbot has twice tasted FA Cup Final success as a player, with Ipswich and Arsenal, and was looking for back-to-back promotions with Rushden who hope to celebrate their 10th anniversary with a place in Division Two.

Talbot gave a starting place to Stuart Gray, just back from an Achilles injury, in place of the suspended Andy Burgess.