Darlington v Hyde United (FA Cup) Preview

Darlington v Hyde United (FA Cup) Preview

Darlington host Hyde United this Saturday in the first of back-to-back meetings between the sides at...

Darlington host Hyde United this Saturday in the first of back-to-back meetings between the sides at Heritage Park. Hyde will make the trip up to the north east a week on Saturday for a league fixture. However, first up is the FA Cup First Qualifying Round.

Twelve months ago at this stage the Quakers missed a chance to knock-out Blyth Spartans, who would go on to beat Hartlepool United live on BBC. The game finished 0-0 at Heritage Park, with Darlington missing a penalty, the replay would be won by Blyth 3-0.

The game is the first tie in the competition for both sides, four victories away from the first round proper.

Hyde United have not had the best of starts in the Evo-Stik Premier since relegation from the Conference North in May. They currently sit 19th in the league table having only won two of their opening eight games, they sit ten points behind the Quakers.

If the game was to end in a draw, the replay would be played inside the next week, meaning three games in a row for the two sides against each other.

Ahead of the game manager Martin Gray said, “For every club the FA Cup is important. We want to have a real run in it to try and keep our good form going, as well as trying to help the club out financially.

“I will pick a team which I think will go out and win the game, as I do every match.”

Kick-off at Heritage Park is 3pm on Saturday