Hitchin Town insist they are relishing the trip to play Merthyr Town at Penydarren Park on Wednesday (7.45pm).
The Martyrs are at home against the Hertfordshire club in their Southern League play-off semi-final and Hitchin manager Mark Burke says: “Being away won’t phase us at all.
“There is less pressure on away teams at this stage and we have a good record on the road.”
Hitchin’s last away defeat was 1-0 at Chippenham in mid-December when they had a player sent off and since then they are unbeaten in nine fixtures, winning six and drawing three.
They have been far less successful in home games, having won three, drawn three and lost three in the last nine at Top Field.
Merthyr expect an attendance of up to 1,000 for the play-off clash and the winners will play Leamington FC or Slough Town in the final.
Former Queens Park Rangers and Luton player Burke has been with Hitchin for 22 years, making more than 700 appearances for the Canaries.
He was captain when Hitchin won the Isthmian League title in 1992-93, earned promotion in 1999-2000 and achieved FA Cup victories against Hereford United and Bristol Rovers.
Burke was appointed manager four years ago and he has built a big, strong, physical team who will be highly competitive against Merthyr.
Hitchin drew 2-2 at Penydarren Park in the League when Merthyr recovered from a goal down even though they were down to 10 players after Scott Barrow was sent off.
Corey Jenkins and Jack Compton were both outstanding in that game and scored Merthyr’s goals. They are in line to be in the starting line-up for the semi-final.
The teams drew 1-1 at Hitchin’s Top Field stadium.
Merthyr have home advantage because they finished third, just ahead of Hitchin in fourth.
Defenders Curtis McDonald and Scott Tancock plus striker Ian Traylor are all hopeful of being involved against Hitchin, having missed the 4-0 home win against Hayes and Yeading in their
They will be assessed during training on Monday evening when manager Gavin Williams will lay out his game plan for the one-off clash with Hitchin.
The cost of admission to Wednesday’s match at Penydarren Park is £10 adults, £8 concessions.
Merthyr made their end of season presentations after the win against Hayes when captain Ashley Evans won two trophies.
Travel Club Player of the Year: Ashley Evans.
Junior Martyrs Player of the Year: Oliver Davies.
Fans Player of the Year: Ashley Evans.
Southern League
Premier Division – final table
Top six only
Champions promoted automatically, next four qualify for play-offs.
Format for play-offs (one-off matches): 2nd v 5th, 3rd v 4th.
Both semi-finals to be played on Wednesday: Merthyr Town v Hitchin Town, Leamington FC v Slough Town.
Pl GD Pts
1 Chippenham Town 46 +47 103
2 Leamington 46 +42 92
3 Merthyr Town 46 +50 89
4 Hitchin Town 46 +34 86
5 Slough Town 46 +28 85
6 Banbury United 46 +27 80
