SEVENTEEN years to the day that he put mighty Arsenal to the sword, former York City FA Cup hero Keith Houchen is praying for a repeat capital conquest.

When the Minstermen entertain Fulham at Bootham Crescent tomorrow, Houchen will again be there.

This time, however, he will be commentating on the action when precisely 17 years before he earned resounding acclaim as his nerve of steel from the penalty spot sent Arsenal's international brigade careering out of the corresponding fourth round.

As he recalled that fateful last-gasp spot-kick that shot down the Gunners, Houchen confessed to the Evening Press that he still gets a tingle in his nerves, a race of the pulses, a mangling of the marrow in his bones.

Yet it is not as if the striker is a stranger to the undying romance of the FA Cup.

Two years after his City heroics he draped himself in Coventry City legend with the sort of FA Cup final goal at Wembley that only appears amid the garish colour and frenzied imaginations of comic-books.

A soaring Houchen clad in blue and white stripes, a classic diving header into the Tottenham Hotspur net, and the Sky Blues lifted the treasured tin pot beneath those fabled Twin Towers in 1987 in one of the best finals of the modern era.

But it is in his other City incarnation - the red of the Minstermen - that marked out his first foray into FA Cup folklore.

On a frosty pitch City held in deadlock their top-flight rivals, who included such international stars as David O'Leary, now the current Leeds United boss, Viv Anderson, Kenny Sansom, Paul Mariner, Tony Woodcock and Charlie Nicholas.

It was another international Steve Williams who was deemed to have committed the last-gasp offence that led to the spot-kick that left Houchen as the loneliest player out on the pitch as he prepared to make his run-up at the Shippo End.

Recalled Houchen: "It was nerve-wracking to say the least.

"What I remember the most was the wait.

"Arsenal were ultra-professional in that they were arguing with the ref and holding up the game.

"I remember being on the edge of the box and just waiting and waiting. My wife said that I looked like a little boy stood there.

"But that penalty was going in whatever happened.

"Even if I had hit a bad shot the crowd would have sucked that ball over the line."

Houchen needed no assistance. He was unerring in his accuracy. Not bad for someone who on his debut for City as a substitute at Aldershot nine months earlier missed a penalty, was cautioned and then later scored.

As the executioner of Arsenal was mobbed by exultant team-mates the realisation dawned that not only had a superstars' scalp been claimed, there was also the reward of a fifth round clash against then domestic powerhouse Liverpool.

Now City are preparing to welcome another illustrious outfit in Fulham, a tie that both captures the inherent romance of the FA Cup and provides a welcome distraction from the off-the-field travails of a club presently up for sale.

Houchen said the nature of the competition - the Holy Grail' in his playing days - offered the genuine hope of lightning striking twice.

"It is a cliché but they have nothing to lose. They can give it a real go and if they get the result they want it could help get the season to fly.

"I'm sure that's what the manager will be stressing. And that is why the FA Cup is so special.

"It gives clubs like York the chance to make a name for themselves."