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Derby 'means an awful lot to everyone', says Hunter
Written by Tom Easterby
Jack Hunter says he’s relishing the prospect of testing himself in a Tyne-Wear derby once more as Newcastle United Under-23s prepare to come face-to-face with Sunderland on Wednesday (7pm kick-off).
The two local rivals meet at the Stadium of Light in the quarter-finals of the Premier League International Cup, with a home tie against last year’s champions FC Porto on offer for the winners.
And midfielder Hunter – who hasn’t lined up against the Black Cats since his teens – told nufc.co.uk his team are raring to go as they bid to keep their cup dream alive.
“I don’t think I’ve played against Sunderland for two or three years now. It used to be the one to look forward to, and all the lads are looking forward to this one now and are well up for it,” said the 20-year-old. “It’s been a while – I feel like I’m ready to play against them. If you win, it’s the best feeling ever. Hopefully we can go there and get the win.
“We’ve done well in the cups this year and we’re just concentrating on getting through, but the derby element has got to be a factor – if you don’t want to play in a derby, then you’re struggling. I think it’s what all the lads are looking forward to doing.
“But we just want to progress in the cup. We’ve managed to draw Sunderland, and to beat them and go through would be a great way to do that.”
Hunter has again been a regular in United’s second string this term, captaining the side in many of his appearances, with his industrious displays in the middle of the park often giving his team a steady platform to build on.
But he says the Magpies must keep their cool and handle the occasion well if they’re to progress at the expense of the Wearsiders on Wednesday.
“You can’t get too carried away,” he said. “I think there’ll be quite a lot of build up to it, but when you get out on the pitch you’ve just got to treat it like another game, but you know it’s not – it means an awful lot to everyone who’s playing.”
Newcastle’s Premier League 2 Division Two campaign hasn’t quite reached the heights of last term’s run to the play-off final, but they remain involved in three cup competitions – the Premier League International Cup, the Premier League Cup and the Northumberland Senior Cup.
And Hunter says having silverware as an incentive is helping to reenergise the squad as they look to make it a memorable end to the season.
“The cups are brilliant because you get the opportunities to win something, and they’re competitive. I like playing in competitive games and in these cups that’s what they are,” he said.
“Last year we had a really good year in the league, this year not so good, but we’ve done a lot better in the cups. We just want to go as far as we can. The aim is obviously to win all the cups, and this is a quarter-final, so to win this and get into a semi-final would be brilliant.
“We haven’t performed as well as we can in the league, but we’ve played against some good teams in the cup and we’ve shown we can do it. It’s just disappointing that we haven’t done it in the league, but this is an opportunity now for us to get some silverware this year.”