WHEN you are the manager of a North West Counties second division side and your team gets drawn away at one of the UniBond Premier League's most ambitious clubs in the FA Cup, you can be forgiven for being a bit nervous.

But when Great Harwood were drawn away at Harrogate in the second qualifying round, manager John Hughes was bizarrely glad his side didn't get a home tie!

"We keep drawing at home so we might as well just go straight up there," said Hughes. "It will be a good test for us."

But his side first have to get past Crook Town in the first qualifying round replay tonight.

They drew the first game 1-1 at home on Saturday thanks to a late strike from Shaun Bursnell but Hughes said he was confident going into tonight's match.

"Some of the lads who couldn't play on Saturday will be able to play tonight," he said. "Glen Smith will be back from suspension and John Eastham is back after missing Saturday's game through work commitments so they are big pluses up front.

"We deserved to win the game - they were glad it was over at the end - and I am very confident about the replay tonight."

Harwood will pocket a tidy £7,500 if they win tonight's game and Hughes knows the cash, plus the chance to face Harrogate in the next round, will spur his side.

"The Harrogate game would give the young players a chance to play against players of that level, and if they don't freeze then maybe it shows me that I don't need to bring in more experienced players.

"We have a lot of young players in the squad this season but they are gaining experience with every match.

"It is the nucleus of a good squad and we have the experience of Andy Taylor and Dave Sharples to bring them through.

"We will get £7,500 tonight if we win and that is a big plus but the players should be going out and competing in every game no matter how much money is at stake."

DARWEN are in NWCL Division Two action tonight when they make the trip to promotion contenders Blackpool Mechanics.