Brighton & Hove Albion’s under-18s defender Kaspa Lopata insists that tomorrow night's FA Youth Cup fourth round tie away to Manchester United is one to relish.
The Seagulls head north west to Leigh Academy Sports Village looking to progress to the fifth round of the competition – Lopata acknowledged the size of the task but emphasised that it’s one the team can embrace.
He said, “The FA Youth Cup is the best competition for young players in the world in my opinion.
“To play in it is special and it's a chance that I’m very grateful for.
“Matches don’t come much bigger than against Manchester United in this competition, I think it’s a great challenge for us.
“The whole team can’t wait, as a footballer you want to test yourself against the very best, that’s what they are and hopefully we can get a result.”
The side set up tomorrow's contest by beating West Ham United on penalties in the previous round, and Lopata highlighted that memorable and dramatic night in East London as being the highlight of his time on the south coast so far.
“The stand-out moment for me so far is the win against West Ham in the last round – we felt like we should have probably won the game before that, so to show the passion and determination that we did was really good.”
“It’s probably the best match of my career so far, I’d never played in front of that many people before in a stadium like that.
“It was a great experience in a tournament that means a lot to the people at this football club.”