THE bulk of Sunderland's squad will be taking a step into the unknown when they host Nationwide Conference North minnows Northwich Victoria on Sunday.

But, for defender Danny Collins, the FA Cup third round clash will re-kindle memories of his involvement in one of the competition's biggest upsets in recent years.

A little over three years ago, Collins was on loan at UniBond Premier outfit Vauxhall Motors when they were paired with Division Two giants QPR in the first round of the tournament.

With Vauxhall's tiny Rivacre Park ground unable to stage the tie, the Ellesmere Port-based club earned a creditable goalless draw at the home of Chester City, Collins' permanent employers at the time.

Few gave the non-leaguers a hope when they journeyed to Loftus Road for the replay but, despite a gulf of almost 80 league places separating the two sides, Vauxhall drew 1-1 before triumphing 4-3 on penalties.

For Collins, as a fresh-faced 22-year-old still feeling his way into the professional game, it was a dream introduction to the magic of the FA Cup.

"It's something I'll never forget," said Collins, who has started six of Sunderland's last seven league games in the left-back slot. "We were drawn against QPR and they were one of the biggest teams in the competition at that stage.

"Vauxhall were four leagues below and we had to play our home game at Chester. Vauxhall's ground wasn't good enough, but we acquitted ourselves well and drew 0-0.

"The replay was at Loftus Road and, if I'm honest, I think we all thought we were going to get a hiding. They scored after about two minutes and it wasn't looking too good.

"Eventually we got the equaliser. It went to penalties and, somehow, we beat them. I didn't take a penalty. I was meant to be fifth, but they missed two so I didn't get my turn. I guess we'll never know how that would have turned out."

Vauxhall went on to lose 2-0 at Macclesfield in the second round and, while Collins has subsequently starred in the Premiership and claimed a Championship winners medal with Sunderland, most of his former team-mates experienced the three biggest days of their career during that epic cup run.

The same can be said of the Northwich players that will run out at the Stadium of Light on Sunday. Victories over Frickley, North Ferriby, Barrow, Morecambe and Woking have taken the Vics to the third-round stage and, no matter what happens this weekend, none of Sunderland's opponents will forget their 90 minutes in the spotlight.

"The Vauxhall games were slightly different for me, because I'd spent a bit of time in and around the league with Chester," said Collins. "For a lot of the lads, though, that was the biggest game they were ever going to play.

"It'll be the same for the Northwich lads when they come up and play us. They're coming to our ground, to play in front of thousands and thousands of people, and it will be a big occasion for them."

It could get even bigger if Sunderland's strife-filled season takes a turn for the worse on Sunday.

Mick McCarthy's men should have no problems brushing aside Northwich's collection of painters, joiners and couriers but, after a season that has included just one Premiership victory, nobody on Wearside will be taking anything for granted.

"We're on a hiding to nothing," warned Collins. "They'll be up for it on the day and we have to make sure we don't slip on the banana skin.

"It's like when we played Cheltenham in the Carling Cup - we'd been getting beaten in the Premier League, we were drawing 0-0 and the fans were getting on the lads back. Rightly so, because we should be beating teams from a couple of leagues below us.

"If the game goes half-an-hour and it's still 0-0, the fans will probably start moaning and getting on our backs. We have to be big enough to get on with the game if that happens."

* Christian Bassila is expected to return on Sunday after recovering from a hamstring problem.

The midfielder, who sustained his injury in training at the start of last week, has not featured since the Boxing Day draw with Bolton.

However his fellow Frenchman, Anthony Le Tallec, could be leaving Wearside later this month if his permanent employers, Liverpool, agree to sell him to Scottish Premier League side Hearts.

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