Spennymoor manager Jason Ainsley says that Moors must make their home advantage count if they are to win a place in the quarter finals of the Buildbase FA Trophy at home to East Thurrock this afternoon.

Moors have had a great run so far in the competition, beating Cleethorpes, Gainsborough and Solihull Moors to get to the last 16 stage, but this could be their toughest game so far, against opponents who beat one of the leading National League clubs in a previous round.

Moors have achieved a lot in the last ten years in their rise from the Northern League second division, but Ainsley, who has no injury problems to worry about, believes that this could be one of their best achievements yet if they win, reach the quarter finals and be tantalisingly in sight of Wembley. The 1978 mark of reaching the semi finals as Spennymoor United could be in jeopardy.

“It’s the biggest game in the club’s history for me because to be in the last 16 of the pinnacle non-league competition is brilliant,” he said. “It’s a game we’re looking forward to, and one that we want to go and win.

“It won’t be an easy game at all. They lost 7-2 last Saturday, but they were leading 2-1 when they had a man sent off. But let’s not kid ourselves, they won at Aldershot, and they beat Chester away, two clubs who are a division above in the National League. They’re no mugs by any stretch, and we’ve got to use our home advantage as much as possible.”

Moors are flying at the moment, with their momentum showing no sign of stalling.

“We’re in a rich vein of form, we’ve won six and drawn one in the last month, so it’s a good time to be playing them. We’re full of confidence, we go into this game with the aim of getting into the quarter final, and hopefully they’re not going to stop us.

“We must make home advantage count. A replay in Essex is a long way in midweek, so this is one of those games in which we need to get it all done and dusted. But we’ve got plans in place in case there’s a replay, we’ve spoken to the lads about it to put plans in place just in case. If needs to be they’ll change their shifts, but we want to get it done in front of our own supporters.

“We’ll take every game as it comes, and there’s no bigger game than Saturday. East Thurrock will be a big obstacle. I know their league position doesn’t say that, but we’ve had them watched on two or three occasions and they’re not going to come up here and make the numbers up. They’re in the last 16 of the Trophy on merit, and so are we. We need to make sure that our home supporters get behind us and help us get into the quarter final. “ East Thurrock are currently 13th in the Vanarama National League South, and their 26 league games have seen a total of 105 goals at both ends, the most in the league.

They lost one of their key players in midweek, when defender Marvin Ekpiteta went to Leyton Orient.