Eastleigh midfielder does not think Walsall FA Cup clash is 'free hit' for Spitfires
Non-league Eastleigh will not treat Sunday's FA Cup first round tie against Walsall as a free hit, insists midfielder Lloyd Humphries.
Twenty-eight-year-old midfielder Humphries will play a big role in the Spitfires trying to gun down Mat Sadler's League Two high-flyers in the FA Cup.
The trip to Ten Acres could be a banana skin for Walsall, who have enjoyed a flying start to the fourth tier campaign.
Scott Bartlett's Eastleigh, by contrast, are 12th in the National League after six wins and six defeats so far this term. Eastleigh recorded a 2-0 win at lower-ranked Hampton & Richmond in October to make the first round and are in decent momentum after downing Morecambe last time out, on the back of a draw against Scunthorpe.
"It's been brilliant," said Welshman Humphries, who came through the Cardiff ranks as a youngster. "I think the fans have been top draw recently. We've had a bit of a feelgood atmosphere around the place.
"We've given them something to cheer about, and they can see that we are trying hard, creating chances and putting our bodies on the line at the other end.
"Hopefully we will get a big crowd down here. The club put something out the other day that tickets were selling well.
"The week is going to be really feelgood, and we will be on a high after the win on the weekend. It's something to look forward to.
"I don't want to say it's a free hit because I feel like we can get a result, but maybe the pressure will be off a little bit as we are playing against a team in the league above."
Humphries knows the expectation will be for Sadler's visitors to secure passage to the second round, but has called on his team-mates to show that the Spitfires can reach for the higher positions in the league below Walsall. Eastleigh finished 13th in the fifth tier last term.
"They are flying, I think they are top of League Two," added the midfielder. "It will be a good game for us and a chance to make people look at us in a different way.
"We want to push higher up the league and get out of the mid-table. It will be a statement win if we can get the result."
