Advertisement

Marine vs Tottenham LIVE: Result and reaction from FA Cup fixture today

Joe Hart punches clear under pressure (Reuters)
Joe Hart punches clear under pressure (Reuters)

Tottenham Hotspur are taking on eighth-tier Marine AFC in the FA Cup third round today in the biggest gulf between two clubs at this stage of the competition in its long history. Formed in 1894, this the first time Marine have ever played a game against top-flight opposition. Marine’s team features school teachers and a refuse collector and the part-timers, who train twice a week, will be dreaming of pulling off one of the greatest shocks in FA Cup history.

Jose Mourinho has vowed to take the game as seriously as any other, researching Marine’s strengths and weaknesses as well as their tactical shape. “Myself and my staff, the respect is the way we are preparing the game and the same way we're trying to know their striker, their centre-back, keeper, their tactical organisation. It's the same we do with other opponents, of course of a different level,” said Mourinho. “I feel very happy to play them and I understand the dream. It's up to us to bring them back to reality, but I clearly understand the dream.”

Marine are based in the Merseyside town of Crosby, a few miles north of Liverpool, and they have had to rely on the Reds to help with analysis of Tottenham. “I have done a lot of analysis with the help of Liverpool, who have given us some information in terms of the games,” said manager Neil Young. “They have given us access to games that we can't get access to. We see a lot of the Premier League games live but unless we record them we haven't got the scouting networks or the software to go back and look at games.”

Follow all the action from the game below.