FA CUP: Noel Hunt previews Darlington cup clash

SWINDON TOWN host National League North Darlington FC at the County Ground today in the first round of the FA Cup. Total Sport Swindon’s Ryan Walker got the thoughts of new interim manager Noel Hunt as he previews the upcoming cup fixture.

Having never won a cup match under previous manager Richie Wellens, Noel Hunt is looking to flip Swindon Town’s cup fortunes with a dominant performance against non-league Darlington in his second game in charge of Swindon.

Last meeting in a 1-1 League Two draw in 2007, Swindon and Darlington will once again lock horns as the two clubs meet in England’s most prestigious cup competition for the first time since 1911.

Swindon have taken seven victories against the County Durham side over the fixture's history with the Robins unbeaten in the new century against today’s opponents.

Speaking ahead of kick-off, Noel Hunt spoke about the magic of the World’s oldest football cup competition:

“This is special and as a player, I’ve always looked forward to the FA Cup,” said Hunt.

"You never know where it is going to take you and I’ve been very lucky that it’s taken me to some special places.

“I was at Wigan the night we beat Man City at the Etihad, and at Reading when we got beat by Man City in the quarter-finals,” he said.

“These kind of moments are great and for our boys tomorrow it’s exciting and it’s a good game.

“We’ve studied Darlington and watched them so we expect a tough match,” added Hunt.

Currently sitting in 15th position of the National League North table, Darlington have picked up just one win from their last three league fixtures, a three-nil away win over Curzon Ashton. 

But after easing through the FA Cup fourth qualifying round with a two-nil home victory over Cambridge City, Hunt said Swindon must respect Alun Armstrong’s side but insisted Swindon’s aim is to get to the third round of the competition.

“It doesn’t make a difference [the divisions between the sides] because they are going to come and use this as their cup final and use this as their platform to go and play,” stated Hunt.

“There is no pressure on these boys but at the same time, they have an extremely large amount of experience in the likes of Nicky Hunt so they have a lot of players with league experience and they will want to come here to prove a point.

“It’s all about what we do now and going forward. We want to take the game to them, we are at home, we’re a team in League One and we are going to put the pressure on,” he added.

“Getting to the third round is the dream.

“We all know the situation at the moment in terms of the financial struggles of the EFL, so if we do our job against Darlington and then get into the second round, then you are in with a shot of getting a big team in the third round.

“If you get a club like Manchester United or Liverpool in the third round then it could be huge for the club so we have full focus on this match,” said Hunt.

Speaking for the first time as the clubs interim manager, Hunt gave an update on team injuries, highlighting that both Rob Hunt and Mathieu Baudry could feature today.

“Rob Hunt returns and he trained Thursday,” said Hunt.

“Mathieu Baudry trained Thursday, but we’re cautious these boys haven’t trained that often so it’s about making sure they are right before going back into competitive football,” he said.