Barnsley v York City: Minstermen aim to stop Superman to spring FA Cup surprise
TO spring an FA Cup upset this afternoon, York City don’t just have to stop Barnsley, they also have to stop Superman.
That was the head-turning moniker which Minstermen manager Stuart Maynard bestowed upon David McGoldrick during their time together at previous club Notts County.
These days, McGoldrick is in the red of Barnsley, complete with a red cape in the eyes of an admiring Maynard. He is hoping his plan to curtail his powers proves to be kryptonite.
Maynard told The Yorkshire Post: "David McGoldrick's got Premier League quality.
"He does things in training and on the football pitch that you see at the top level. And he did it day in, day out.
"He has the ability to win a game of football on his own. And it's something that we've got to be mindful of.
"I think people like Didzy have got an ability that, no matter how you try and stop them at times, we have to make sure that it's near perfect.
"We have to dictate where we want to try and send the ball rather than trying to stop one individual because he's got that ability that he can just open up the game and set a goal up or score a goal out of nothing.
"We've come up with a game plan in the sense of where we want to send their team and try and stop him."
Two divisions and 44 places may separate Barnsley and York, but should the latter - who will be backed by a big travelling contingent in the North Stand - prevail, it won’t constitute a David-versus-Goliath type shock.
A surprise, for sure. But in terms of history, no club currently outside the EFL has as much pedigree for upsetting the cup odds than the Minstermen, let’s be honest.
Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton are among their victims from feted days of yore.
The fortieth and thirtieth anniversaries of celebrated moments against the Gunners and the Red Devils arrived earlier this year.
York’s cup history is something that Maynard was soon made fully aware of when he came to the walled city.
As for his own cup memories? Well, he has a few treasured ones.
He was in the Aylesbury side who reached the first round in 2001-02 and part of the managerial team in 2014-15 at Hemel Hempstead, who made it through to round one for the first time in 76 years.
As for York’s cup cachet, Maynard commented: "I've had an insight and I've been told many times of the teams that they've beaten.
"And I think that's what we all love. From my first interview when we got Rochdale away, that was the biggest thing I said - we want to create memories for us as a group.
"I think we've had that first step at Rochdale. They were the highest-ranked team in the competition (fourth-qualifying round).
"You need a little bit of luck in the Cup. I don't think we've got the luck in our opening draw.
"This is a big, big test now, which we're really looking forward to. And we want to go as far as we can in this competition."
It’s Barnsley’s job to spoil the fun on an afternoon when the sight of one stand full of supporters behind one goal at Oakwell - and no home fans present in the other - will make for a testing atmosphere for home players to contend with.
In his time at a player for the club, Hourihane has painful memories of one particular autumn day against non-league opponents and it’s something he does not wish to experience in his present-day guise as manager.
Back in November 2015, Hourihane was part of a Reds line-up who tumbled 1-0 in a first-round upset at Altrincham, who were 45 places below them in the pyramid. The tenth ‘anniversary’ arrives next week.
That embarrassing episode at Moss Lane inflicted a sixth successive defeat in all competitions upon Barnsley at the time. It proved an incongruous season; one which would end in promotion.
Hourihane, whose side have won just once in their last eight outings in the present day, recalled: "We weren't in a great place (in 2015-16). Lee Johnson was the manager and it wasn't a nice moment for the team and the club at the time.
"But you look where we ended up at the end of it (season).
"You never know in football. Any win - whether it's cup, league or Vertu Trophy - can hopefully kick you onto a few more wins.
"There'll be a few people going about banana skins and we're well aware of it. That's the FA Cup for you and shocks can happen and we've just got to make sure that that's not us come 5pm on Saturday."