Loanee’s a man on FA Cup mission
HEED hit man Luke Armstrong is on a double mission when Gateshead take on Rochdale in the FA Cup on Saturday.
Underdogs Gateshead will be looking to cause a first-round Cup shock by knocking out a side two divisions above them.
Middlesbrough loanee Armstrong scored in last weekend’s Conference defeat at Wrexham, but has never started or scored in the FA Cup.
He came on as a substitute during the 4-0 fourth qualifying round win in the all-Gateshead derby at Dunston UTS.
Before that he was a substitute for Blyth Spartans when they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Morpeth Town in 2016.
Now the 22-year-old wants to be centre stage at Spotland this weekend for a first-round tie with £36,000 at stake in prize money.
He told The Chronicle: “The FA Cup is a special competition. So far I haven’t had the opportunity to play a tie from the beginning.
“Hopefully, I’ll get the chance to do that on Saturday and play the full 90 minutes – the other aim is to get my first FA Cup goal.
“Most important is to win the game or at least get a replay, and we believe we can do that if we’re on our game.
“There’s always upsets and we want to be one of them. Hopefully, the tie will bring the best out of us.
“It’s the chance to show what we’re capable of, to impress on a bigger stage. To get through would be massive for the club.”
Rochdale, 16th in League One, have a good recent record in the FA Cup and took Tottenham to a fifth round replay last season.
“They will be up for it,” added Armstrong “But their home form isn’t the best and we’ve done well away, so we’re looking forward to it.”