29 November 2020

Alex Revell dreaming of FA Cup third-round glamour tie for Stevenage

29 November 2020

Alex Revell’s FA Cup third-round dream is a Premier League side to lift Stevenage’s spirits after knocking Hull out following a penalty shoot-out.

League One leaders Hull looked to be heading through when Tom Eaves scored from the spot, only for Elliott List to equalise with 11 minutes of normal time remaining.

Penalties followed with Jamie Cumming the hero, saving from Eaves and Sean McLoughlin to earn League Two Stevenage a 6-5 shoot-out win.

“By January you’d like to hope we’d have fans here. We’d love to get a Premier League team here to lift people, because it’s been a tough, tough time,” said manager Revell.

“That or a big tie away, just for the experience for the players.

“We do it because we want the fans to enjoy it, so hopefully we can do it for them.

“I’m delighted with the result, and delighted to get through, but the biggest thing for me is the character of the team, and the way they worked for each other today.

“It shows how far we’ve come. What we’ve got to do is keep that belief and togetherness.

“I’m used to penalties now, I think I’d rather do penalties than a game.

“I hate watching penalties because you just don’t know, but what summed it up to me was Jack Smith stepping up, and the players encouraging him to step up. That, to me, is a special thing.”

A much-changed Hull were gifted the lead when Arthur Iontton barrelled into Martin Samuelsen and Eaves converted from the spot.

But List hit back, firing home when the ball fortuitously fell his way in the box.

Hull were the highest-ranked team in the second round but missed out on the third phase for the first time since the 2003/04 season thanks to a shoot-out epic.

“I think we were very wasteful today in the attacking third,” said manager Grant McCann.

“We got in there very well in the first half, we played well, building from the back and getting into the final third, and then we were just shooting from 25 yards, blazing it over the bar, not slipping each other in.

“I’m disappointed, I think we were a bit individualised out there today, we didn’t link, didn’t play for each other.

“Credit to Stevenage, I thought they deserved it today. We were nowhere near good enough to win this game.

“Hindsight’s always a wonderful thing. When you don’t go through that’s the first question you get asked, about selection.

“But I felt that team was strong enough, the majority of that team played against Leeds and won at Elland Road.

“But no excuses here, we just weren’t good enough to win the game today, we got what we deserved.”

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