Salford City Captain Curtis Tilt expressed his excitement about facing Manchester City in the FA Cup third round and highlighted that he is relishing the prospect of playing against Erling Haaland.
At the heart of League Two’s most in-form defence, the experienced 33-year-old has marshalled the Ammies backline to 11 clean sheets so far this season and hopes to lead the team to an unlikely shutout victory against Pep Guardiola’s Premier League champions on Saturday.
Since joining Salford from Wigan in July 2023, Tilt has become an increasingly important figure at the Peninsula stadium and was rewarded for playing a leading role in the side’s survival effort last season with the club’s captaincy following the summer departure of Alex Cairns.
But Tilt’s route into professional football was far from straightforward. From the age of 16 until 20, he balanced working in a quarry, operating 50 tonne excavators, with playing for non-league Gornal Athletic.
So, when the defender lines up against one of the world’s most deadly goal scorers in Erling Haaland, he will have a very different type of experience to draw upon in battle.
“Many have tried, many have failed, but at least I’ll just try and do what I can to stop him from scoring any goals or getting any attempts on our goal,” Tilt said when asked about the prospect of facing the Norwegian.
“(I am) Very excited. Everyone’s been buzzing around the training ground for the last two, three days now, just can’t wait to test ourselves against the best.”
Speaking to reporters, he downplayed talk of an FA Cup shock and highlighted that the team’s top priority is to achieve promotion from the fourth tier: “We are clear about what our targets are this year, they are more focused on the league than the FA Cup.”
Salford City currently sit 3rd League Two, one point inside the division’s automatic promotion places. Karl Robinson’s side are on an impressive six-game unbeaten run which extends back to the middle of December.
Although The Ammies will make the trip across Greater Manchester in fine form, with 64 league places separating the sides, they have a mountain to climb trying to bridge the gulf in quality.
Important information for supporters coming to The Etihad Stadium on Saturday 👇 #MCISAL
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However, through their class of 92 owners, Salford players have unique access to Manchester United legends well-versed in beating their local rivals.
Tilt recalled how Paul Scholes previously joined in with the players’ training: “I remember Scholesy trained with us one day, and he never gave the ball away once. I think it was a possession game, some of the lads were trying to make him to make a mistake, but he just didn’t,” he said.
“It’s crazy, the way their mind thinks and how incredible they still are after 20 years of not playing professionally.”
Through the Manchester United link, Salford have been granted access to Manchester United’s Cliff training ground and indoor facilities, ensuring that the side’s preparations for their first ever third round tie are unaffected by the freezing local weather.
From working excavators to walking out as captain at the Etihad: Curtis Tilt will hope his Salford side can dig out the most unlikely FA Cup victory against Manchester City – Kick-off is at 5:45 pm.
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