""I think we've got the tag of the lowest-ranked team in the FA Cup which I can say I've never been part of before - it feels quite funny - but I'm really looking forward to it," Sears told BBC Essex."
""This FA Cup run started in August and we've played five games already. This is like our cup final really. To get to the first round proper as a non-league club is your big day out.""
""It's going to be tough. We're up against a very good League One team. But this is the FA Cup. This is what it's about - the giant killing. We've seen it before and I've no doubt we'll see it again. We've got nothing to lose. We're going there to win the game.""
""As a striker you want to get as many goals as possible - especially as when you come down to these levels you have a bit of expectation [on you] as well so it's nice to get the goals.""
Freddie Sears will lead Maldon & Tiptree, an eighth-tier Isthmian League North side, into the FA Cup first round at Port Vale. The club reached the stage after a run that began in August and involved five wins, making the match a major occasion for non-league players. Sears has scored 15 goals this season and emphasizes staying fit and enjoying his football at age 35. Maldon & Tiptree's spending increased after owners Barrie and Scott Drewitt-Barlow arrived eight months ago, and manager Kevin Horlock has assembled a strengthened squad aiming for an upset against League One opposition.
Read at www.bbc.com
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