The central defender helped the Railwaymen into Monday’s Third Round Qualifying draw with a sterling performance at the County Durham club’s Dean Street ground in the 1-0 defeat of Stalybridge Celtic on Saturday.
Shildon have now secured a home tie against the winners of Blaby & Whetstone Athletic or Stourbridge on Saturday 11 September, and Craddock admits he is feeling the excitement as Cup fever sweeps through the club.
“In all honesty I’ve not heard much about either club, but they are probably thinking the same about us,” he told TheFA.com following the draw. “I’m pleased with a home draw though, no-one will fancy coming to our place and facing us – especially with our record in the last few rounds.
“I expected more from them to be honest with them being full-time, but we could have been three goals up at half-time. I missed a sitter and some of the other lads missed some good chances, but it was a fair result – but we should have had more.
“Even their manager came in at the end and said ‘the best team won on the day’, so we fully deserved to go through.”
Darren Craddock in action for Shildon
The 29-year-old made 24 appearances for Hartlepool in the Football League after coming through the club’s academy, and he then went on to play over 60 times for York City in the Conference Premier before spells at Newcastle Blue Star, Blyth Spartans, Whitby Town and Newton Aycliffe led to him arriving at Shildon.
Despite having experienced football at a higher level than his current Northern League standard, last season’s player of the year says he has never enjoyed his Cup football more as the magic of the world’s oldest domestic cup competition reverberates around the north east town.
“The fans have been dreaming since the First Qualifying Round. They absolutely love it, and they’ve had a big party after each round. They’ll be buzzing with a home draw, so hopefully we’ll get a few through the gate and get the place bouncing.
“It is a great club. It’s well ran and the people are lovely, so I’m really enjoying my time here.”
He continued: “You start thinking now, ‘Could we get one of my old teams?’ – and I’d love to get one of mine. A York or a Hartlepool would be great for me, but we still have to win two so we’ll just take every game as it comes.
“When I was a pro, I never really had any runs in the Cup. People went on about the magic of The FA Cup, but I didn’t really feel it when I was a lower league player as we were always concentrating on surviving and our league games.
“As a non-league part-time player, this is the first time I’ve really felt the buzz of it. You are playing against teams from higher leagues, and it’s good to see if you’ve still got it against players of that level.
“You’re pitting your wits against good opposition, but then there’s the prize money that goes to the club too. They are dependent on it, so it’s been brilliant - this is the most I’ve every enjoyed it.”
