Maitland defender Tom Davies knows how much a maiden round-of-32 berth in the FFA Cup would mean for the Magpies, and Hamilton, on Tuesday night.
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And after a rocky return to Darling Street Oval in the NPL, Davies is keen to help Maitland turn the tables at Cooks Square Park.
Olympic and Maitland scored 10-1 and 7-2 wins over Bangalow and Boambee respectively on Saturday at Speers Point to secure a chance to move into the nationwide knockout's main draw. Valentine play Edgeworth on Wednesday night at Speers Point for the other Northern NSW spot in the round of 32, where A-League teams enter the competition.
Edgeworth have been to the last 32 three times and the last 16 once, but the remaining NNSW contenders are chasing a first appearance past regional qualifiers.
Maitland fell to Edgeworth 1-0 at the final hurdle in 2017, while Hamilton lost 2-1 to Broadmeadow last year and 3-2 to Lambton Jaffas in 2016 at the same stage.
Adding to the build up is the connection between the clubs. Maitland coach Mick Bolch was in charge of Hamilton for eight seasons before joining the Magpies in 2018 and six players, including Davies, have followed him.
"It's a massive game, especially because there's a few old Olympic players and Bolchy at Maitland as well," said Davies, who made the move this year. "I don't think any of us have made the round of 32 before so it would be really good if we could.
"It's kind of a double-edged sword because I know how much it means to Olympic and the committee there, as well as everyone up at Maitland now. I think especially because Maitland is relatively new to top-flight football again in Newcastle.
"It's a massive thing for them, for a bit of self-promotion, especially if we got a home game and we could play at Maitland Sportsground. That would be massive for the town."
The 22-year-old has added to Maitland's already strong defence, which has helped them rise to fourth in the NPL on 17 points, five behind leaders Weston but with two games in hand. They are three points ahead of Hamilton but their biggest loss, 4-0, was to them in round nine.
"I don't know what happened that game and it was tough because that was my first game back at Darling Street, and I gave away a penalty as well," Davies said.
"It was just one of those games where nothing went our way so hopefully tomorrow night is a different story."
Maitland welcome back Carl Thornton (illness) but have Matt Thompson (calf), Ryan Broadley (hand) and Sean Pratt (overseas) out.
Hamilton are full-strength and confident.
"It was limited opposition but we played good football and we maintained that intensity throughout," coach Peter McGuinness said of the win over Bangalow.
"We've got plenty of people putting their hands up now. There's a bit of depth there and we're in a good space.
"There's a good feel about them. It's been a good week of preparation and it was a good performance. I'm really confident they are going to go on with the job."
Davies is focused on his last year of an exercise and sports science degree at Newcastle university. He left Hamilton for Maitland after missing six weeks of pre-season and not being able to commit to three nights of training a week.
"That was one of the main reasons I left," he said of his studies.
"And I totally understand Pete. It's hard to have all the boys training since before Christmas and then have a player turn up two weeks before the comp saying he's ready to play."
The FFA Cup round of 32 can be a perfect stage for young talent to showcase their skills at a higher level, but Davies was not looking to take his football further.
"I just love playing football with the boys, and the team atmosphere, you can't beat that," he said.
"When you're younger, you've got aspirations to go further but at the moment, I'm just happy playing at Maitland.
"For me, the round of 32, it would just be the experience of playing a team outside the Newcastle region.
"If you got drawn against a big team from the Victorian or Sydney NPL team, or with an away game, flying down and all the pre-match things, that would be great. And if we were on Fox Sports, that would be cool as well.
"It's just the exposure for the region as well and for the football community we have up here."