Saturday, August 31, 2013 is a date etched in the memory of every Chester FC supporter - and Neil Young's, too.
As that was the day he masterminded Chester's first league win at Wrexham in 35 years.
But, much more than it merely being the Blues' maiden victory back in the National League, it was, in Young's words, the culmination of a dream.
A dream that had started three years earlier when he agreed to take over a reborn club which, at that stage, feared it would have to start all over again in the North West Counties League.
Chester have not won, or scored, at the Racecourse since; something they will try to change this Sunday in the latest installment of one of the fiercest rivalries in British football.
Just as in Young's sole derby in charge of the club he led back up the non-league ladder, the Blues will be big underdogs.
But, if they can take inspiration from the last Chester team to triumph at the home of the Dragons, they may yet stand a chance.
And it is an inspirational story told in full by the man who made it possible.
Neil Young on that 'special' victory at the Racecourse
"I was well informed from the minute I walked through the door at the club, back in 2010, of the importance of trying to get back to playing Wrexham again - and beating them. And, oh, if you could do it at the Racecourse, all the better.
"At the time I was probably going, 'yeah, yeah, yeah', because it was a pipedream. Wrexham were in the National League at the time and were up there whereas we - as the appeal hadn't yet taken place - were starting out in the Vodkat League. So to have the chance to play them that soon at the Racecourse - within three years - was a massive thing.
"But we hadn't won a game up until that point. We'd lost the first five. We'd done okay in games - Forest Green at home, and first half at Barnet sticks in my mind - but you could see the gulf, especially in terms of being full-time. So we knew it was going to be tough.
"I remember it was an early kick-off, and a bubble match, so we had to meet up at something like 9 o'clock at the Deva. We'd watched Wrexham and seen a lot of them so we decided to set up to play with a diamond in midfield. The other big decision was over Danny Higginbotham. We signed him a couple of days before and, even though he was a naturally fit boy, he hadn't played any football or hadn't done a real pre-season. We had a big call to make over whether to bring him straight in, but that's what we did.
"I'll never forget what happened before the game. We were in the dressing room and all you could hear was our fans signing. I'm not sure how many were there but it felt like there were 3,000 in that top tier. The noise was deafening.
"Wrexham at the time were wobbling a little bit, particularly at home, and feeling the pressure, so the confidence in their camp was low. We were lacking a bit of confidence ourselves but it was all a new experience to us, and we knew how important the game was.
"As I say, we changed tactically to play in a certain way, and it couldn't have gone any better. I'd actually be lying if I said it all went to plan because I could never have imagined us being 2-0 up inside 20 minutes through Paul (Linwood) and Lewis (Turner). We took the attacking midfielder, Jordan Laidler, off at half-time and sat in a bit more and let them come and play on top of us. They had a lot of the ball but, apart from one save from John Danby, they didn't cause us many problems. But then we had Ashley Williams sent off. Being a Chester boy, he gave one of their lads a slap across the chops! It was game-on from then on, but the lads stuck at it and we got the win.
"The feeling after the game? It was a mixture of things. It was our first three points of the season and it was also the satisfaction of knowing that our plan to tactically set up a certain way had worked. But, more importantly, it was knowing just what it all meant to the supporters.
Wrexham v Chester FC
"As I said, when we were getting ready to play in the Vodkat League, all I was getting told was how important it was to get back to playing Wrexham and beating them. So, after three promotions, to be able to go and do that, at the first attempt, it was like, 'wow, we have achieved something here'.
"What happened next, when we came back to the ground, sticks with me. From all my time at Chester - even after Garforth - I've never known anything like it. We all had to come back to the Deva because the players had to leave their cars there because it was this bubble game. There were about 400-500 fans waiting for us in the car park - it was like coming back after winning a league or cup! Then we went into the Blues Bar. It was chocker and I got my (polo) shirt taken off me! I think it ended up being auctioned off.
"Yes, we only had three points for it, but from a fans' perspective, it was the end of a journey, from coming back from nowhere, to playing in the Conference, and going to Wrexham and winning. It may well have been the first time the fans really thought, 'wow, we truly are back'.
"That day will live with me forever. It was a fantastic day and, now no longer being at the club, it is one I look back on and can say for sure it was one of the best I experienced as Chester manager.
"Yes, there was the relief of getting the first three points, but knowing what I knew from the day I came through the door, and knowing exactly what the fans' aims, objectives and hopes were, to be able to win at Wrexham was special."
