Fans urged to buy tickets ahead of clash

TICKETS for Gateshead’s big FA Cup showdown at neighbours Dunston UTS on Saturday will be sold by both clubs this week.

While the fourth and final qualifying round derby clash is not all-ticket, fans are being encouraged to buy them in advance.

A large crowd is expected for the 12.30 kick-off with a place in the first round at stake.

That is when big guns like Sunderland and Coventry City enter the competition and Saturday’s game also carries £25,000 in prize money.

The stakes could hardly be higher and both Gateshead and Dunston are urging fans to snap up tickets in advance.

This will help to ease congestion at the turnstiles, although you can still pay on the day - with tickets priced just £6 and £3 concessions.

Tickets can be purchased from the International Stadium from today until Friday between 10.00 and 5.00.

Hosts Dunston, meanwhile, will be selling tickets from their clubhouse between 5.00 and 7.00 up to and including Thursday.

The two clubs have met only once competitively back in 1995, when the Heed won 3-2 in an FA Cup tie at the International Stadium.

Four divisions and almost 90 places separate the two clubs but Gateshead manager Steve Watson expects a tough tie.

He said: “Dunston have made a great start to the season and have yet to lose, while we are going well ourselves.

“It is a classic FA Cup tie and great for the town and the region – it is oneof the ties of the round.

“I have been on both ends of cup shocks as a player and ties like this are what the magic of the FA Cup is all about.

“The cup is very important to us, not least for financial reasons, and it is vital we are in the hat for Monday’s first-round draw.”

The Heed’s cup-tie at Dunston will also be beamed to a national audience via the BBC’s digital platforms.