Niall fears he could be turned into a cup GIF
Marine striker Niall Cummins was the teacher who ended Hawks’ FA Cup hopes in November.
Now he is hoping the eighth tier Merseyside minnows are not handed too tough of a lesson when Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur travel to Liverpool on Sunday.
Cummins was the talk of the class he teaches at an Manchester secondary school after his extratime header sent 10-man Hawks crashing to a shock 1-0 second round defeat.
Little did the Marine front man know then that goal would set up the biggest match in the club’s history.
But that has not stopped his pupils giving him some ‘stick’ ahead of the massive occasion for Neil Young’s men.
Cummins said: ‘Since the moment the game was drawn out there has been a buzz absolutely everywhere from the club and wider to family and friends, people I have never spoken to before coming out of the hatch.
‘I am a high school teacher in a secondary school in south Manchester. Every kid has give me some stick, ‘Are you going to do this to this player, are you going to score, whose shirt are you going to ask for’.
‘Then you’re thinking if you do something bad then you are going to be a GIF by the end of the week.’
One of the standout stories of Marine’s cup run so far was goalkeeper Bayleigh Passant going to the Co-Op to buy some celebratory beers after their win over Hawks
That will not be a problem for this game as Budweiser have donated a fridge full of beer, which has taken pride of place in the home dressing room.
Spurs will have to be prepared for a culture shock as they visit the cramped Marine Travel Arena.
Mourinho’s side will get changed in a bar in the clubhouse, but will receive good hospitality.
‘It’s three-sided, a very tight ground, houses on two sides, big stand behind one of the goals – it’s a proper non-league ground, it’s what most non-league grounds at our level are like,’ said Marine boss Neil Young.
‘They won’t be getting changed in the dressing room, they’ll be getting changed in the bar area.
‘They still have to use the away dressing rooms to shower.
‘What they will get is great hospitality – everyone that comes to Marine goes away talking about how well looked after they were and Tottenham will have that same experience.’
Hawks boss Paul Doswell on the FA Cup: See page 43