Quakers seeking a Cup shock

8:42am Tuesday 26th August 2008

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DARLINGTON head to Championship side Watford this evening aiming to maintain their knack for producing surprise results in the Carling Cup.

In the last few seasons Quakers have caused four cup upsets against opposition from a higher division, despite consistently being drawn away from home in the competition.

Tonight’s tie will be the club’s ninth away game in their last ten League Cup ties, and a similar pattern has dogged Darlington in the FA Cup.

But at Vicarage Road they hope for a repeat of the last round’s 2-1 win over League One Walsall.

Nottingham Forest, Bradford and Stoke have all been beaten on home soil, despite being from a higher division, in recent seasons while two years ago at this stage Darlington took then Premier League side Reading to a penalty shoot-out at the Madjeski Stadium.

With tonight’s game being the first of three consecutive away matches – Maccelsfield follow on Saturday and Aldershot seven days later – boss Dave Penney may rest one or two of the side that lost to Gillingham at the weekend.

Penney said: “I’ll be treating it exactly the same as the Walsall game, but people on the fringes of the side are desperate for a game.

“People like Ryan Valentine, Robin Hulbert and Franz Burgmeier all want to start.

We’ll check on Franz on Tuesday and see how he is.

“We might use Tuesday’s match to give people games and to help give them some fitness too.”

Leictenstein international Burgmeier showed some good touches on his debut against Gillingham and Penney hopes the winger will prove a valuable addition.

“We’re delighted to get Franz to the club,” said Penney.

“He gives us another option in the wide areas where we need more end product.

“We didn’t get enough crosses or shots from the wide areas on Saturday so maybe Franz will be able to give us a little bit more.

“I didn’t see him until Saturday morning. He landed at Newcastle at 7pm on Friday after he’d had a long old trip from Albania where he’d been playing for his country.

“He travelled throughout Thursday and Friday to get himself back here which is something that Premier League clubs normally have to deal with.”

Even if Darlington do lose tonight, they should at least avoid a repeat of the scoreline suffered when Quakers last visited Vicarage Road.

Their previous meeting with Watford, also in the second round of the League Cup in October 1987, saw Darlington lose 8-0 to a side then in the top flight.

LIKELY LINE-UPS: WATFORD: Loach, Mariappa, Doyley, DeMerit, Bromby, Sadler, Williamson, Ainsworth, Harley, Smith, Hoskins DARLINGTON: Brown, Austin, Miller, Foster, Purdie, Poole, Ravenhill, Kennedy, Burgmeier, Proudlock, Clarke.