Salford City defender Luke Garbutt is looking forward to a “massive” second-round tie against League One Leyton Orient.
The Ammies reached the second round of the competition for the second season in succession, having defeated opposition from the division above already, dispatching Lincoln City on penalties in round one.
A rollercoaster start to the season has left Salford 7th in League Two, three points off the automatic places. Their opponents, meanwhile, have been middling in League One and find themselves sat in 13th, off the back of a hugely positive 4-0 thrashing of Burton Albion.
Salford were involved in a high-scoring game themselves last weekend, coming from behind to beat Crawley Town 4-3, helped by late goals from Josh Austerfield and Kallum Cesay. Both sides crashed out of the Vertu Trophy on Tuesday night, meaning the FA Cup is their only remaining distraction away from the league.
Garbutt said: “It’s a tournament we want to go as far as we possibly can in. I think that will breed confidence in the group. Winning football matches is a good thing to do, whether it be in the league or the cup. We want to get as far as we can in any competition we enter.
“We don’t see ourselves as underdogs in most games we play. We play on the front foot, we like to press teams. They’re coming to our place, so we’ve got to make sure we are on the front foot.
“We have to respect them as they’re a good team, they’re going to have nice patterns of play. First and foremost, it’s a cup tie, we want to make it difficult for them, be in their face and impose ourselves on the football match.”
Progressing to the third round of the FA Cup is crucial for lower league sides, as a tie against Premier League opposition could await, resulting in access to money that would not normally be available.
Salford were lucky enough to face giants Manchester City last season and, despite a humbling result, Garbutt said: “To take the positives out of the day, during the first half we competed really well – it petered out a bit in the second half.
“As an event on the whole, it’s something that’s made the club move forward. We want to try and get to round three this year. It’d be nice to get another tie like that.
The experienced defender recalled his first appearance in the famous cup competition and emphasised its importance to lower league clubs.
“My first memory of the FA Cup was my first ever loan at Cheltenham. We got to play at White Hart Lane in the third round. We lost 3-0 on the day, but that was a really good experience as I was so young,” he said.
That was my first memory as a player. The FA Cup is the best English competition, with the most history. Maybe it’s been tainted a little bit in recent years, but I think for us as players, it’s massive to get to the third round. We want to win the game and get through.”
The Ammies’ ambitions in England’s biggest cup competition are likely secondary to their aspirations in the league, as they look to escape League Two after seven consecutive seasons.
Manager Karl Robinson said: “I think the opportunities that now lie ahead of us, are a testament to everyone involved behind the scenes. Just this time last year, we had Ryan Giggs on the bench getting involved because we were short on staff.
“Our owners have big projections for us and I think everyone needs to take stock of us. We should be really proud of what we’ve achieved and what the owners have achieved. Hopefully, we will further prove what we are capable of achieving over the next few years.”
The tie against Leyton Orient will take place on Friday night, kicking off at 7:30pm live on TNT Sports from the Peninsula.
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