TWO holes in his shin were never going to be enough to stop Stourbridge skipper Tom Tonks from leading his side into the FA Cup second round.
It was touch and go whether the midfielder would be fit for the first round replay at Amblecote on Monday night but, in truth, there was no way Tonks was missing it.
The former Halesowen and AFC Telford man led by example and Stourbridge added another famous night to their FA Cup scrapbook with a deserved 3-0 victory over the National League South Hawks.
Chris Lait opened the scoring in the second half before striker Luke Benbow’s double – the second a wonderful 25-yard free-kick – set up a home game against League One side Northampton Town in round two.
He may have been feeling a bit sore after the game, but Tonks says the fantastic atmosphere among the 1,993 crowd helped him on the pitch.
“I’ve got two stud holes in my shin from a late tackle in the Skelmersdale game a couple of weeks back,” the captain told The NLP.
“I tried to go to work the following day, but I was in so much pain I had to go home so I went up to A&E and got some antibiotics as there was a bit of an infection.
Adrenaline
“I had to have a fitness test before the Cup match but thankfully I passed. I’m still in a little bit of pain now, but I just told them to strap me up and throw me in – there was no way I was missing that game!
“Adrenaline can get you through a lot of things. There were three or four of us that were carrying knocks, but you wouldn’t have realised.
“It was the best atmosphere I’ve witnessed in Non-League, it meant a lot to everybody involved with the club.
“Unfortunately we only had one or two drinks in the bar afterwards as I had to get up at quarter past five in the morning for my job at a window company!”
They may have been overlooked for live TV coverage in the second round, but the Glassboys are intent on making it a difficult afternoon for Northampton, who are currently eighth in League One.
“We’ve got some really good players that could go on and play at a higher level,” Tonks added. “We’ve got plenty of pace up front. We’ll cause them problems, we know that, but it’s just whether we take our chances when they come along.”
Stourbridge have now made it into the FA Cup second round for the fourth time in the last six seasons – a staggering record for a Step 3 club.
Football will once again be talk of the West Midlands town and boss Gary Hackett was left beaming after another fantastic Cup occasion for his hometown side.
He said: “It’s an amazing achievement, we’re the most successful club in the country at the level we compete at.
“We comprehensively deserved to beat Whitehawk – we didn’t get lucky. It was an amazing night, a packed house and we’ve turned up and performed.”
