West Riding County Cup Second Round
Beating Harrogate Railway in tonight’s West Riding County Cup tie would strengthen Steeton’s position on the Non League map, says Roy Mason.
Weather-permitting, Steeton visit Station View for the first time in a competitive fixture to play Railway, a club who has reached the FA Cup second round on two occasions in the past 20 years.
By juxtaposition, Steeton are still newcomers to Step 6 due to the pandemic.
“We’re still relatively new (to Non League Football),” Mason told Non League Yorkshire.
“Even though it is our fourth season at this level, fingers crossed it will be only the second season we have completed.
“We have to shake off this ‘little Steeton’ tag that people have put on us.
“We’re not ‘little Steeton’, we’re here to challenge and I think we showed that at Campion and I think a cup run in the County Cup against more established opposition puts us in the shop window.
“It is just another game for us but it is a game we want to win and there’s that kudos if you can get into the last eight and that would be something to be proud of.
“It is going to be a tough game but it is great to be pitching ourselves against Non League clubs who are more established than we are at this level.
“It was nice to get the win at Golcar and the Harrogate game gives us a chance to maybe put a run together.
“We know what a run in the County Cup can do.
“It can galvanise you.
“I’m not sure what the league have got planned with other cup competitions because everything going on (in the world) so this may be our only opportunity to have a bit of a cup run this year.”
Steeton head into the fixture on cloud nine having inflicted a 5-2 massacre of local rivals Campion – a result Mason was over the moon with.
“(It was) probably one of the best (wins this season),” he said.
“There was a lot of local rivalry.
“A lot of the lads know each other so for us, not only was it important to win the derby game, it was a really big three points because they are a team in and around us.
“The league is tight this year that a few wins can propel you right up there but equally a couple of defeats and we’ll start looking over our shoulders.”
Kayle Price scored a hat-trick, with other goal-scorers Luke Baldwin and Andy Briggs constant menaces throughout.
Mason says a glut of goals was overdue.
“We hadn’t scored from open play in the previous three games so we needed to put that right,” he said.
“We have put that right.
“We scored five goals but in truth it could have been more because Brad Emmerson has made two or three good saves and we were wasteful as well.
“We create chances and it is important as a manager you set up to your strengths and definitely the strengths of this side is the attacking options we have got.”