Harris: 'Playing in the FA Cup final was without doubt one of the highlights of my career'
Shrimpers striker Neil Harris has seen it all before in this competition, actually lining up on the hallowed turf, well the old one, and Bomber doesn't want his FA Cup memories to finish just yet.
Harris told www.echo-news.co.uk: "After beating Oxford twice in four days, we’re off to Preston North End in the first round of the FA Cup this weekend. It’s a good opportunity for us to test ourselves against a team from a higher level and it’s a game we’re all looking forward to as well. Preston are a very traditional club and there’s normally always a good pitch there too which will help. It’s what we would call a free game for ourselves too because we will not be expected to win. Despite that, we’re feeling confident ourselves and the results against Oxford have certainly helped with that."
The veteran forward was with Millwall when they surprisingly ended up in the FA Cup Final of 2004 where they lost to Manchester United 3-0, but still an excellent run for a club that had finished tenth in League One and had picked up a string of injuries leading up to the game.
Harris said: “Playing in the FA Cup final was without doubt one of the highlights of my career so far and it would be great if we could cause a few upsets with Southend this season. I think the FA Cup still has its magic and it always conjures up great stories every season. Nobody ever imagined Millwall would get to the final that season and strange things can happen on a one off occasions. All Southend fans will remember the team beating Manchester United in the Carling Cup only a few years ago and our dream this season is to try and take on another of the big teams this year. The longer you stay in the competition the greater chance there is of that happening but we’re facing a really difficult game at Preston to begin with.”
The 2004 Cup Final: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_FA_Cup_Final
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The Harris Files
(Player info by Wikipedia, for the full article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Harris_(footballer_born_1977)