Tractor Boys the biggest challenge since Messi!
HOYTE NO STRANGER TO THE UNDERDOG ROLE
IPSWICH v MAIDSTONE FA Cup Fourth Round: KO 12.30pm
GAVIN HOYTE reckons that Maidstone’s trip to Ipswich is as big a challenge as facing Lionel Messi in Buenos Aires.
The Stones skipper will lead out the National League South side when they attempt to spring an FA Cup shock against the Championship high-flyers.
And Hoyte (right) says the occasion will match his unforgettable experience with Trinidad & Tobago 10 years ago.
The 33-year-old defender faced a star-studded Argentina in a 2014 World Cup warm-up at River Plate’s notorious Estadio Monumental stadium.
The current world champions featured Messi and big names including Angel Di Maria and Javier Mascherano.
Hoyte came off the bench (right, with Ezequiel Lavezzi) to play alongside brother Justin as the Soca Warriors lost 3-0.
And a decade after brushing up against the world’s best, Hoyte is once again relishing the role of underdog as part of the lowest-ranked team still in the FA Cup.
He said: “I remember walking out of the tunnel, this is even before the game and you’re hearing all the whistles from the Argentines.
“It’s just a completely different experience. The atmosphere, the beating of the drums, you don’t normally get that here. Even the drums are different.
“The way the players on the pitch communicate with each other, everything about it.
“I remember the ball going out for a corner, and I was near him (Messi). I had a little touch of him just because you don’t get to touch Messi every week.
“After the game I went up to him to try and get his shirt but unfortunately I didn’t get it.
“As soon as the game finishes everyone tries to get up to him – even the Press, they ran on to the pitch straight to him.” Hoyte may be swapping South America for East Anglia today but he is looking forward to another career high. He said: “Ipswich is definitely up there for myself, a National League South team isn’t meant to be in the fourth round of the FA Cup.”
After disposing of Barrow and Stevenage in the previous two rounds, the Tractor Boys will prove a much sterner test for the sixth-tier Stones
But Hoyte revealed that his focus only started after Maidstone drew with Braintree this week.
The defender said: “We’ve been through six games already and got through League Two and League One opposition, and it’s just in the sense of being underdogs that it’s a massive achievement.
“I didn’t watch their last game against Leicester, only because we had Braintree and I had to concentrate on that. But now that game has gone, I can focus on Ipswich, how they play and all that information.
“It’s a different type of game, in the sense of there’s more fans and a bigger stadium. It’s just a bigger occasion, the motivation for that game is big.
“No disrespect to Braintree, but when there’s 20,000 plus TV cameras around, you just prepare a little bit more.”