Many of us enjoy visiting our local non-league club at the weekend and during the week. We finish work, watch the match and head home ready for a new day. But what about the players who have to fit in their work commitments around the football? How do they do it?

The Echo will be speaking to non-league stars from across south Essex this season about how they juggle two of life’s most crucial aspects – work and football.

This week we speak to East Thurrock United goalkeeper DAVID HUGHES, 21, who was voted Man of the Match in the FA Cup against Hartlepool United last weekend.

 

FRIDAY

I arrived at the ground at 7.30am and the excitement really started to kick in. Parms (Ross Parmenter) and Tommy Stephen bought PS4s for the trip and we had a FIFA tournament on the way up to Bradford’s training ground. Manny (Osei) and Higgo (Sam Higgins) clearly play too much as they went hours unbeaten.

At the training ground we played with the Nike FA Cup balls, which are much lighter and extremely fast – I was worried as I could barely see them with Higgo and Co smashing them past me!

Phil Parkinson (Bradford’s manager) also gave us some advice – telling us to relax, enjoy the game and remember that all the pressure would be on Hartlepool.

We watched Warrington beat Exeter at the hotel and chatted – Simmo (Nick Symons) wore his Batman onesie – before going to sleep.

 

SATURDAY

The day was finally here. We had a team meeting to go through Hartlepool’s strengths and weaknesses and detailed reports on individual players.

I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to win a game so much and that was the same for all the lads.

Standing in the tunnel was surreal standing next to pro footballers and to jog down in front of the goal to the travelling 100 plus East Thurrock fans out singing 2,800 Hartlepool fans was unbelievable.

Personally, I think this was probably the best I’ve ever played. You can’t not be inspired and it’s days like that where you can’t help but fall in love with football.

The most special moment of my footballing career came when the sponsors gave me man of the match (even though I’d just chucked one in!) The crowd gave me a standing ovation and applauded, the East Thurrock Fans started to sing “England’s Number One” and the Hartlepool Fans joined in.

I could feel myself getting choked up and I felt incredibly honoured and overwhelmed.

It is a moment I will never forget and I would like to thank everyone who made the day so special for me and the lads.

 

SUNDAY

I keep thinking what if I had caught the cross and we had played out the remaining four minutes at 1-0 maybe we could we have scored!

It was nice for my family to be at the game. My mum, dad, brother and sister are all interested in my football – my dad can’t have missed more than three games since I was seven.

My sister follows all the games on Twitter and do does my girlfriend (a qualified personal trainer) who I have been with for five years. She is great at helping me with things like nutrition training techniques.

It is back to work tomorrow and that will bring me back down to earth. I help my friend, who is an electrician, and do the labouring and any jobs that’s don’t actually involve anything overly electrical – such as cutting floor boxes, fitting light units, pulling cables, stripping cables and wiring up plugs. I’ve only been doing it on and off and I’m still trying to figure out what I would like to do as a career.

 

MONDAY

I was up at 5.45am to get the 6.30am train to Canary Wharf. Games and occasions like Hartlepool that make you dream of being a pro footballer – even more when you’re cramped on the train at 6am!

We play Leatherhead tomorrow so I get a good night sleep, try to think of what I need to improve and how best I can help the team.

I would drive to the game tomorrow but, on the morning of the Bath City game (in the FA Cup) I wrote my car off and my girlfriend and I had to climb out of the boot having rolled the car – not my finest moment. So my dad or girlfriend drives me at the moment.

 

TUESDAY

Leatherhead were very well organised and had clearly done their homework.

They got an early goal and then sat back and it was a frustrating game to play in as we didn’t really get going.

We finally got the breakthrough in the 90th minute (when Sam Higgins scored) and even had the chance to win it with the final kick of the game.

This showed our mentality to never give up, something that will be key in our push for the play offs.