By Brian Bennett | Photo: Ian Brodie

Ashington FC travel to face Ebac Northern League first division outfit Shildon in the extra preliminary round of the Emirates FA Cup on Saturday (August 3) with coach Jamie Tunstall admitting that he was left speechless when the draw was originally announced.

The Railwaymen are one of Tunstall’s former clubs and he said “I couldn’t believe it. My initial reaction when I heard about the tie was ‘you couldn’t make it up!’

However Tunstall is looking forward to returning to Dean Street and believes it will be a fascinating clash: “Over the past few years Shildon have made lots of improvements to the ground and it’s a nice place to play football,” he said, “The management did really well last season and the team finished second in the Ebac Northern League’s first division. They gave champions Bishop Auckland a good run for their money but didn’t get promoted as they lost out in the play offs. Consequently they’ll be looking to fight at the top end of the table again so we’re under no illusions what a tough game it’s going to be on Saturday. They are a good side; they are at home so they will be fancying their chances. However, we’ve got a group of lads who are looking pretty strong and we’ll go there confident that we can get a result.”

If a replay is required, it will be staged at Woodhorn Lane on Tuesday (August 6) with a 7.45pm kick-off.

The prize for the victors is a home tie against the winners of the Auckland derby with West taking on Bishops.