Blyth Spartans midfielder Neal Hooks wants his side to “create further history when SkyBet Championship club Birmingham City come to Croft Park on Saturday. The long awaited FA Cup Third Round clash is now just days away and Hooks feels that the game is one of the biggest in his career and could bring some of the biggest rewards.
“The game against Birmingham is certainly the biggest of my time at Croft Park and it’s in the top three of my career. We’ve done so well to get this far and hopefully we can create further history with a good result on Saturday”
Hooks is in his second spell at Spartans and during his initial spell made it to the First Round proper with the club. It was during that run that the former Spennymoor Town was made aware of the importance the FA Cup holds to everyone at Croft Park.
“I was aware of the club’s history and tradition in the FA Cup. I have made the First Round before during my time with the club and I know only too well how important a good cup run can be for the club and everyone involved here”
The current run has seen Spartans overcome the likes of Darlington, Altrincham and Hartlepool United. However it was the Fourth Qualifying Round tie at Leek Town that Hooks believes gave his side the belief that a special cup run was there for the taking.
“I think the moment I knew we were going to have a special cup run was the away game at Leek Town in the Fourth Qualifying Round. We had a delay on the way down there, kick off was delayed and we had to come back from a two goal deficit at half time. The team showed then that we had the fighting spirit for a good cup run”