WE’LL BE QUIGS IN WITH UNITED!
SCOTT QUIGLEY says Eastleigh’s FA Cup third round replay with Newport County this week will feel like a ‘massive semi-final’ with the Spitfires just 90 minutes away from earning a tie to define the club’s history.
The National League hopefuls will resume their battle against the League Two Exiles on Tuesday night, only this time with the huge carrot of a dream home tie with Manchester United at stake in round four.
Richard Hill’s Spitfires beat all the odds to earn a replay at Rodney Parade on Saturday, hitting back to draw level against their higher-ranked hosts despite playing with ten men for almost an hour.
If sealing a place in the fourth round for the first time in their history wasn’t motive enough, the FA Cup gods then offered them the incentive of a glamour home tie against the 12-time winners in Monday night’s draw.
Suddenly, Tuesday night’s big replay at the Silverlake Stadium has become stratospheric for the Spitfires, but striker Quigley has revealed that the squad have been warned to keep their feet on the ground.
“It’s an absolutely massive draw for us but, for now, we’ve got no thoughts about United whatsoever,” Quigley, who previously played on the outskirts of Manchester for the likes of Stockport County and Rochdale told The NLP.
Magic
“Hilly was very quick to say ‘listen, we are nowhere near it yet, we’ve got a massive job to do against a team from a higher league, so let’s not think about it yet, let’s just get the job done’. He wants everyone to keep grounded.
“It’s amazing to even think about little old Eastleigh coming up against the likes of
Manchester United. It’s unbelievable.
“I’m a Liverpool fan and, as much as it kills me to say it, there’s no bigger club than Manchester United in world football – even though they might be struggling a bit at the moment.
“As the draw got down to the last ten teams or so, all that was left was us and the big boys from the Premiership and I thought ‘Ooh, we’re going to get a big one, here’.
“Our WhatsApp group back homei s full of United fans. The telly must be a on a bit of delay down here because my phone started blowing up about 30 seconds before the draw came out. Then I saw why!
“What a game it is for the club. First, they’ve never got through to the fourth round before, and now it could be against Manchester United. It’s great to see the FA Cup working its magic again.”
But, as boss Hill warned, the Hampshire town can not afford to dream just yet with ther Newport replay coming swiftly off the back of yesterday’s tough National League visit of Southend United.
Naturally, the Spitfires will take plenty of positives from the initial tie in south Wales last Saturday, but Newport have been in this position against National League opposition before; held 1-1 by Barnet in the last round before winning the replay 4-1 at The Hive.
Massive stakes
“It’s going to be a good game, hopefully in front of a sell-out crowd, but with some massive stakes now,” Quigley said.
“It’s like saying we are in a massive semi-final on Tuesday with the prize being playing United in the final.
“Both teams will really fancy it. They played well against us in spells – there’s a lot of respect on both sides.
“In the first half on Saturday, we got sucked into their game a little bit. Tne pitch was bobbly and we couldn’t get the ball down and play as we like to do.
“But when we did start to play our game we created more chances and even with ten men we felt we were the better side.
“In the end, we could have won it but we’re pleased to still be in the tie and send the 1,200 or so supporters home happy.
“Whoever goes through, whether it be us or Newport, it will be great for either team to come up against the superstars in that Manchester United team.
“They fielded a strong side against Wigan in the last round so it shows they are taking the competition seriously.
“For the town of Eastleigh as a whole, this FA Cup run is massive. It will be great to see a sell-out crowd on Tuesday and hopefully we can get a few more people through the door as a result.
“If we can get it right on a good pitch and with the right tactics then we’ve got a great chance of getting through.”