Shildon striker Ben Wood says that he was “amazed” at the level of support that the Railwaymen received at Stourbridge in the last round – and he is hoping for just as many in Stoke on Trent on Saturday.

Shildon made the long journey to the West Midlands in the last round and knocked Stourbridge out of the competition, and Wood admits that he was pleasantly surprised to see so many Shildon fans in the crowd that night.

“There will be a big crowd there on Saturday, just as there was in the last round at Stourbridge,” he said. “Considering the long journey in the last round for a midweek game, it was amazing to see lots of Shildon people in the crowd wearing their scarves and making a noise.

“Hopefully, it will be the same today – at least the game is being held on Saturday, so maybe more will be going down.”

Wood says that Shildon will be underdogs again today as they look for giantkilling number five. He scored both goals at Stourbridge in the last round, as well as goals against Crook in the extra preliminary round and Whitby in the first qualifying round.

“It’s another tough game just like all the others have been in the Cup so far but I don’t think there’s a lot of pressure on us in these games. The FA Cup has given us an opportunity to go out on the field and have a real good go, as Whitby and Stourbridge found out when we travelled to them.

“In the previous rounds, I think we’ve had more quality collectively. There might have been one or two individual players in the opposing teams who have been brilliant and better than any of ours, but I think as a team we have been better than others teams so far in the Cup.

“We’re more than capable of beating these teams if we stick together. People like Paul Connor and Mark Hudson will use their experience in these situations.

“Norton will be battling just as much as we will be, but no matter who you draw at the last qualifying round stage of the FA Cup, you can expect a tough game because there’s so much at stake. It would be fantastic if we could get through to the first round proper.”

Wood admits that the Railwaymen put in a poor performance last Saturday in the local derby at Bishop Auckland, which they lost 1-0.

“We let ourselves down badly,” he said. “But I’m sure that we’ll bounce back together at Norton. We’re a strong set of lads, with plenty of character in the dressing room.

“We’ve been ok this season, we’re trying to push on from last season. A few of us had strong seasons, and we want to improve upon that.

“But we need to put in a much better and stronger performance today if we are going to reach the first round.”