Blue Star challenged to ‘hit the heights’ in Marine test

Marc Nash has insisted Newcastle Blue Star will be ready for the challenge they will face when they host National League North club Marine in the FA Cup second qualifying round on Saturday.

The Ebac Northern League club have enjoyed a remarkable cup run to reach the second qualifying round for the first time after claiming an away win at Nash’s former club North Shields before sending Northern Premier League East duo Newton Aycliffe and Heaton Stannington out of the competition.

The latter of those wins came with a youthful looking side after injuries robbed Nash of the services of key players such as Connor Oliver and Sean Reid. However, young forward Leon Burke made the difference as he came off the bench to fire the only goal of the game inside the final ten minutes to set off wild celebrations at the KD Stadium.

The meeting with Marine will provide Nash and his players with their biggest test of the season so far and the Blue Star boss is relishing the challenge that lies in wait as his side look to try and cause another shock.

He told The NLP: “We have a bit of a mix in the squad so there are players like Chris Reid, Connor Oliver, Jack Walker, who have all been there and done it.

“They’ll know what to expect and then you have the youngsters in the squad who may be a bit naive about it and you hope that makes them fearless at the same time. We are all looking forward to it and it’s a big occasion for us.

“These games have come more regularly for us and the good thing is that most of them are coming at home.  This cup run is giving us a chance to host another big game and the more they become regular the better we know we are doing.

“It’s felt like a strange season because our injuries have been well-documented, the cup draws have been tough and the league form is patchy. The cup run has shown we can hit the heights and we can provide a challenge so we hope that continues this weekend.”

Nash is awaiting fitness updates on a number of players before finalising his plans for the game.