After the competition was temporarily suspended in January because of coronavirus concerns, Newcastle United's FA Youth Cup campaign resumes this weekend as the Magpies' under-18s take on their Leeds United counterparts at Whitley Park on Saturday (kick-off 3pm BST).
The Toon teenagers reached the fourth round for the first time since the 2017/18 season with a penalty shoot-out victory against Huddersfield Town's youngsters at the John Smith's Stadium in December, only for the tournament to be paused following discussions with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and the competing clubs.
But now, the journey can continue for Neil Winskill's side - albeit sadly still behind closed doors - and the coach is hoping to marry the never-say-die attitude his players showed at Huddersfield with an improved all-round performance against Leeds.
"It was a fairly emotional occasion, the last the last one, which we managed to get through after penalties," Winskill told nufc.co.uk. "It was really disappointing that not long after that, the competition got put on ice - so after going through all of that at Huddersfield, it's great that it's back and that the lads can continue the good work that they did that night.
"I think by our own admission, we didn't play as well as we wanted to - certainly in possession - because we've got some very good footballers who can handle the ball. We didn't look after the ball well enough on the night, but made up for it in all of the things that we did out of possession and the determination and commitment, bravery and work ethic that took us through to the end of the game.
"And we'd been practising penalties for three weeks beforehand, so thankfully all the practice came good on the night and the lads got through, which I was really pleased for them."
Leeds beat MK Dons 8-2 in a rearranged third round tie which was played last month, and have already beaten Newcastle in one cup competition - 3-2 in the Under-18 Premier League Cup in October - but the Magpies have come out on top against the Whites in their Under-18 Premier League meetings, with a 2-2 draw on the opening day of the season followed by a 3-0 win last month.
Recent arrival Jay Turner-Cooke, who scored twice in that game, is cup-tied having already represented Sunderland in the competition, but Winskill could be able to call on Elliot Anderson, who has played twice for Steve Bruce's first team this season. Anderson, who made his England under-19 debut last week, started in the last round but his participation this time will depend on whether he's involved for the first team against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
"Leeds had a good win in the last round and played well on the night, so they'll be in the same mindset as us," added Winskill - a former Newcastle youth team player who twice played for his boyhood club in this competition in the early 1990s and replaced Dave Watson as under-18s coach in the summer of 2019. "They've got that win behind them and they'll want to keep going and do well in the competition. They'll no doubt be up for it again, like they are every time we play them."
Watford's youngsters will travel to face the winners of Saturday's tie in the fifth round later this month, and while the Premier League fixture list will see the Leeds game staged at Whitley Park - with the first team at playing at home a few hours later - it is likely that St. James' Park would be the venue if Newcastle were to progress to entertain the Hornets, who have knocked out Colchester United and Lincoln City so far.
"The lads are fully aware of that," said Winskill. "It's unfortunate that this game is not at St. James', but the two games I've been head coach of the under-18s in the Youth Cup have both been away so it was really nice to see us get a home tie - and if they can get through on Saturday and perform, they've potentially got two home ties in the next two rounds, so hopefully one of those will be at St. James' Park. I know the lads would be absolutely thrilled if that was the case.
"And playing at Whitley Park, yes it's not St. James' Park but it's a familiar ground for us - we've played two or three games there already this season, so it's like our second home away from the Academy. There is that familiar feeling which should hopefully be an advantage to us."