LYMINGTON and New Milton are hoping to benefit from the inspiration of a former FA Cup foe as they head into their colossal FA Cup showdown with Woking on Saturday.

At the fourth qualifying round stage last season, Darren Crook was a Salisbury City player preparing to face Linnets at Partridge Way, the winner earning a coveted place in the first round proper.

Despite taking a first minute lead, the Fawcett's Field side were trailing 2-1 with the tie in the balance when Crook was introduced as a second-half substitute.

He turned the game irreversibly in Salisbury's favour, brilliantly setting up one and firing home another as the Whites romped to a 5-1 triumph. Most sickeningly of all for Ian Robinson's side, however, the Wiltshire outfit went on to draw a trip to Sheffield Wednesday out of the hat in the first round.

For the 21-year-old, the boot is firmly on the other foot this year. Top scorer for Linnets this season after making the move to Fawcett's Field in August, Crook will be trusted to provide the firepower as they look to upset the Conference titans and earn a possible clash with a Football League club.

Crook said: "I'm determined to get through. It would be great for the lads here as they got so close last year and I would love to do it all again. If I could repeat what I did last year, but for Lymington this time, I'd take that.

"I remember when I first turned up at Lymington for pre-season, Robbo (Robinson) introduced me to the lads and a few of them were saying 'that's the guy who knocked us out of the FA Cup'.

"But last season, I hadn't really taken much notice of our cup run until we got the Shef-field Wednesday draw. Now I know what it's all about and what's on offer. So from the first round against Sittingbourne, I've been so up for the cup games. The FA Cup is where you want to be, playing in these big games."

Linnets' last round success at Merthyr Tydfil tasted sweeter to Crook than to most of his team-mates. In 2002, he suffered the agony of relegation from the Dr Martens Premier Division with Salisbury, Merthyr sealing their fate with a 3-2 victory in Wales. And the pacy frontman is no stranger to Saturday's opponents Woking either.

He added: "I played against Woking in a pre-season game with Salisbury a few months ago. We lost 2-0 and they had a couple of very good forwards and we know they are a very good side. But I wouldn't say we fear them. We have been underdogs in every round so far and have thrived on that. We'll have no pressure on us and have nothing to lose."

Robinson's side have disposed of higher-level sides at every stage of the competition thus far, seeing off Sittingbourne, Molesey, Chippenham Town and Merthyr as they find themselves on the verge of a place in the first round proper.