England schoolboy Brady Hickey will make a last-minute arrival from representing his country in Belfast to play for St Andrews in their second leg FA Vase Semi-Final against West Auckland Town.
Hickey, 17, was selected for England's Schoolboys' U18 squad for the Centenary Shield which is contested between the home nations and Republic of Ireland.
The Three Lions face 2013 champions Northern Ireland on Friday night and the youngster will then sprint back to Leicester from Belfast and play less than 24 hours after the game in Northern Ireland.
St. Andrews v West Auckland Town
The FA Carlsberg Vase
Semi-Final second leg
3pm, Saturday 5 April
Canal Street
Winners receive £6000
By Haydn Cobb
And St Andrews manager Andy Purple has picked out Hickey for special praise.
"Brady Hickey has been fantastic for us," he said.
"He is playing this Friday in Ireland and getting a flight straight to us on Saturday.
"It is far from ideal but for one of our lads to play at schoolboy level for his country shows the ability we have available."
The St Andrews' midfielder has also played at county level for Leicestershire and juggles his football with studying at Wyggeston & Queen Elizabeth I College. Hickey hopes to study Sports Science at Loughborough University.
However West Auckland Town manager Peter Dixon claims his side have gone from favourites to underdogs at St Andrews after being held to a goalless draw in the first leg on Saturday.
The County Durham club were finalists in 2012 and are the only side left in the competition who have played at Wembley before.
But Dixon has denied his team have any advantage from their experience after the first leg stalemate.
Dixon said: "We were expected to take an advantage from the first leg, but we have lost that opportunity now and we've gone from favourites to underdogs.
"The level of performance was disappointing because we didn't play as well as we have done in the league and in previous rounds."
The FA Vase Semi-Finals take place this weekend
St Andrews had Tom Hudson sent off after 75 minutes in the first leg and Purple admitted he is now hampered by a limited choice of players available.
"From the first leg we were very happy with a clean sheet and the sheer heart and determination the players put in," he added. "I'm struggling for options at the moment because of injuries and cup-tied players."
The Leicestershire club will rely on their youth products for the Semi-Final which Purple bills as "the biggest game in the club's history."
Meanwhile, Dixon was left frustrated by his players' performances in the first leg and may look to make changes.
Club captain Andrew Green is available again after suspension to give Dixon a fully fit squad.
"The players may have thought because this is a two-legged affair we would have more bites of the cherry but now we've lost that," admits Dixon.
"We will train on Tuesday and Thursday to assess the players, Green is able to return but I have not decided on who will play."
The second leg will be played on Saturday at the Canal Street ground in Leicester in a winner-takes-all clash.
Eastbourne United and Sholing FC contest the other Semi-Final which is also evenly poised at 2-2 after the first leg. The final will be played at Wembley on 10 May.
