Bristol Rovers superfan promises pupils 750 doughnuts if side wins FA Cup replay
A Bristol Rovers superfan and headteacher is promising to buy doughnuts for all 750 of her pupils if The Gas beat Norwich City in their FA Cup third round replay.
Sarah Shirras works in Norwich but began her teaching career in Bristol where her lifelong love affair with Rovers was born.
The League One side picked up a 1-1 draw at Carrow Road in the third round, prompting a replay at the Memorial Stadium on Wednesday 17 January.
The reward for winning the fixture is a trip to Premier League giants Liverpool, while Sarah’s students will arguably get a sweeter prize.
She said: "The doughnuts are secondary. The most important thing is that Bristol Rovers win but the doughnuts are going to be a bit of an ambition.
"I think the children think they’ll be here first thing in the morning but I haven’t pre-ordered them and I don’t want to pre-empt anything for this evening so they may have to wait a little while.
"They’re very excited and after tomorrow I may want to never hear the word 'doughnut' ever again in my life."
Sarah made the same doughnut promise 20 years ago when they clashed in the League Cup - but Rovers lost 1-0 so her pupils were denied the sweet treats.
She said: "I’m not exactly sure where the doughnuts came from.
"I’m not even particularly keen on a doughnut myself so when this game came out the hat for the FA Cup I just had to say it again.
"Unfortunately there are a few more children in my care now so instead of 200 doughnuts I’ve got to buy 750 if Bristol Rovers win.
"There are quite a lot of Norwich fans who seem to want to lose tonight because they’re very nervous about what they think would happen if they went to Anfield - anything could happen if the Rovers ended up at Anfield.
"It’s amazing, it’s such a long time since we played there."
It’s been 50 years since Bristol Rovers last beat Norwich and they haven’t beaten the Canaries in any of their previous five meetings.
If the Gas do overcome their Championship opposition, they’ll travel to Anfield for the first time since 1992.
The last time Bristol Rovers progressed to the fourth round was in 2008, when they made it to the quarter-finals and lost 5-1 at home to West Bromwich Albion.