Marine manager Neil Young has admitted that if his side were to perform the heroics near to the magnitude of last season, they would have to do it the hard way.
They face another tough away task following their Preliminary Round win over Workington where they needed David Lynch’s volley after extra-time in order to set up the clash with Dunston.
Marine come into the FA Cup tie after beating Prescot Cables 3-1 on Bank Holiday Monday.
The Mariners became a household name in the competition last season after reaching the FA Cup third round where they met Tottenham Hotspur who had manager Jose Mourinho at the helm during that time.
But for Young, although replicating the feat they achieved last season is something of an unlikely dream, he sees a cup run as the perfect opportunity to build confidence and create a buzz around the club.
Already off the back of their clash with Spurs, they have saw 2,000 fans through the turnstile in their opening two games back at the Marine Travel Arena.
But before they look ahead to progression they face tough opposition.
“Tough game, I think I’ve played Dunston more times than any other team since my time here,” Young said.
“Always a tough place, they made some key signings in the summer, to add to what they already had which was a hard-working, robust side, know what they’re good at with a bit of quality and experience. It’s never an easy place to go, a trip the north-east is always difficult, Dunston is a difficult place to go.
“We’ll go there, we’ll be prepared and hopefully we’ll be able to get the win.
“Think any club at our level, loves a cup run, it brings momentum to the club, the players, to the fans.
“You look at the back of what we done, last year in the FA Cup we’ve had over 2,000 people in the ground in two games which would’ve been unheard of at Marine. Cup run will always do well whether it be financially or from a momentum perspective or confidence perspective.
“It’s exciting, we were able to do it last year and we want to do it this year. We want to go as far as we possibly can, we’ve had to do it the hard way, Workington away and now Dunston away.
“If you spoke to anyone at non-league level who are at this stage of the competition they’re probably two places in people’s top threes where they wouldn’t want to go.”
