IAN Street will ask his players to leave Wincham Park without feeling any regret after they’ve played Witton Albion for the first time tonight, Tuesday.

1874 Northwich visit their higher-ranked neighbours in the Mid-Cheshire District FA Senior Cup semi finals when bragging rights – as well as a chance to appear in the showpiece – are the prize on offer.

To some supporters, the former matters more.

“We’re the underdogs for a change, and that suits us,” said the 1874 manager.

“The lads have been looking forward to it since the draw was made – they’ve talked about it, and had one eye on the fixture for the past few weeks.

“I’ll tell them to make sure they can hold their heads high when the final whistle goes, like they could at Crewe.”

His side ended a sequence of five successive defeats in league and cup by beating West Didsbury & Chorlton on Saturday, though a 4-2 victory came at a cost.

Goalkeeper Matt Conkie (stomach) and defender Ryan Mitchell (knee) were both forced off early after suffering injuries.

The former has less chance of recovering in time to play.

Leading scorer Matthew Beadle (knee) is not ready yet to start, but former Witton midfielder Matthew Woolley is available again after serving a suspension.

Street said: “We needed to boost confidence by winning again, and did that on Saturday.

“It was also the first time we’d scored since the middle of December, which felt like forever.

“That was a monkey off our back too – it’s just a pity there wasn’t a penalty among the four goals we scored!

“I’d have been happy with a scrappy 1-0, but we dominated and had too much for them.

“It’s a start for us, and in some ways it felt like the first game of the season.”