Yeading v Newcastle United
The FA Cup, Third Round
Loftus Road
09 January 2004



FA Cup Third Round Preview video
TheFA.com visits Yeading before the club's massive Cup tie against Premiership giants Newcastle United.
      
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It has been a case of Ding Dong Merrily on High over the festive period as the ‘Ding’ of Yeading have been making the final preparations for their epic FA Cup tie against mighty Newcastle United.

The Third Round fixture will take place at QPR’s Loftus Road ground on Sunday, 09 January, with a 1.45pm kick-off. And the eyes of the nation will be watching courtesy of live television coverage on BBC1.

Manager Johnson Hippolyte is fired up for the occasion. His Ryman League Premier Division outfit have nothing to lose in a classic David versus Goliath encounter.

Hippolyte said: "It is an unbelievable draw for us and I don’t know whether I am coming or going! The last couple of weeks have been like a roller coaster for us. It is a dream come true to be facing Premiership opposition.

"The only down side is that we are unable to stage the game at our own ground at The Warren. To be honest, it would have been better if Newcastle had come out of the hat first and then it would have been straightforward to play the game at their place.

"But because we are the home club and our ground didn’t meet the requirements for such a high profile game, it is nice to stage the tie at Queens Park Rangers. I grew up next to Loftus Road in the White City Estate so I know all about the venue.

"I was at the ground when QPR beat Oldham in the Play-Off Semi-Finals a couple of years ago. The atmosphere that night was really electric because the fans are so close to the pitch. So we are hoping for a similar raucous occasion against Newcastle.

"I think we have a chance of getting a good result too. A lot depends on how their manager approaches it. If Newcastle play most of their first team squad, then we are going to get beaten 99 times out of 100. But there is always that one per cent chance of a shock, especially if Newcastle opt to field some of their reserves and youth team players.

"There was a famous FA Cup tie in 1998 when Stevenage Borough almost beat Newcastle. I remember that game well. That shows that The FA Cup is a great leveller.

"I am not saying we are going to beat Newcastle. But we are going to give it a good go. We only play one way - we attack. We try to play football the right way with ball on the ground, with pass and move.

"I am not going to change anything just because we are playing Newcastle. I cannot see the point of playing six at the back or whatever. We will play out normal game and see what happens.

"The publicity that Yeading Football Club have enjoyed from this FA Cup run has been immense. My phone has not stopped ringing! There are calls every 30 seconds! I hope that all the publicity will help build our support up.

"I am so happy for my players. They are a good bunch. Some of them have had hard football careers one way or the other and hard knocks in life. So it is nice for them to be part of all this excitement.

"I am also delighted for the long standing Yeading club officials who have kept the club going over the years. People like chairman Phil Spurden and secretary Bill Gritt have been real stalwarts of the club.

"We don’t get the biggest of crowds so people like Phil have always dipped in their pockets to put money in to try to give us training kit and whatever we ask for. The people behind the scenes are as good as gold and they deserve this big day.

"Personally, I am looking forward to the Newcastle game so much. For once the pressure won’t be on me because we are not expected to win. So I can go along, let my hair down and enjoy the day."