Darren out to blunt Boro

ATHLETIC may have bowed out of the FA Cup in the first round, but another member of the Sheridan family will be bidding for glory tomorrow.

Former Boundary Park player Darren, younger brother of Athletic manager, John, will be hoping non-league Barrow can cause an upset at Premier League side Middlesbrough.

Sheridan is joint manager of the Blue Square Premier Club and, at the age of 40, is still playing, usually in a cameo role from the substitutes’ bench.

Barrow, who claimed the scalp of League Two club Brentford in the previous round, have further ex-Athletic presence in their side in the form of central defender Paul Jones and striker David Brown, who was once at Athletic’s centre of excellence before, as a schoolboy, being controversially lured to Manchester United.

One non-league team is guaranteed a place in the fourth round after Kettering Town and Eastwood Town were paired together.

Kettering, from the Blue Square Premier, will be favourites as they have home advantage against opponents from the UniBond League, premier division, which is two rungs beneath them in the footballing pyramid.

Kettering have claimed the league scalps of Lincoln City and Notts County, while in the second round Eastwood defeated Wycombe Wanderers, who were top and unbeaten in League Two at the time.

The Kettering team includes former Athletic central defender Guy Branston, ex-Rochdale pair Tommy Jaszczun and Iyseden Christie and one-time Hyde United striker Gareth Seddon.

Forest Green Rovers, the village team from Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, have a glamour third-round tie at home to Derby County.

Rovers defeated Rochdale 2-0 in the second round, with ex-Athletic winger Josh Low scoring, although he has since returned to Cheltenham Town after a month’s loan.




Third-round draw:



Tonight:



Tottenham v Wigan.


Tomorrow:



Arsenal v Plymouth; Birmingham v Wolves; Cardiff v Reading; Charlton v Norwich; Chelsea v Southend; Cheltenham v Doncaster; Coventry v Kidderminster; Forest Green v Derby; Hartlepool v Stoke; Histon v Swansea; Hull City v Newcastle; Ipswich v Chesterfield; Kettering v Eastwood Town; Leicester v Crystal Palace; Leyton Orient v Sheffield United; Macclesfield v Everton; Manchester City v Nottingham Forest; Middlesbrough v Barrow; Millwall v Crewe; Portsmouth v Bristol City; Preston v Liverpool; QPR v Burnley; Sheffield Wednesday v Fulham; Sunderland v Bolton; Torquay v Blackpool; Watford v Scunthorpe; West Brom v Peterborough; West Ham v Barnsley.


Sunday:



Gillingham v Aston Villa; Southampton v Manchester United.

Monday: Blyth Spartans v Blackburn.