Gateshead manager Steve Watson is hoping his side will be able to show the same belief as they did at Brisbane Road in their FA Trophy quarter final replay against Leyton Orient tonight.

The National League side looked set to be heading out of the competition just over a week ago when Josh Coulson put Orient 3-0 up before the hour mark, but O’s fans were left shell shocked when Richard Peniket scored a dramatic 90th minute equaliser to earn the Heed a replay.

Gateshead haven’t played a game since their fight-back at Brisbane Road and Watson is hopeful that his team’s extended break due to the adverse weather conditions may come in handy.

Speaking to Gateshead’s website, he said: “It’s given us a good chance to assess the game a bit better and where we went wrong and how we can combat things a bit better. But the top and bottom of it is belief and if we go through to the game carrying through the momentum from the last 20-25 minutes of the last match, then at home, it will be a difficult match for them to come to.

“They’re (Leyton Orient) a good side and have got good players. They didn’t get the result they wanted on Saturday but there was a couple of players missing. If they’re going to be back fit, then they’re going to be relatively fresh. We’re expecting a very tough game again and we’re desperate to do well in this competition so the onus on us will be to go for it.”

Gateshead have beaten Guiseley, Boreham Wood and Maidstone United to get to the quarter finals and Watson has his sights set on going all the way in the FA Trophy this season.

He said: “Hopefully, I won’t have to reflect on it until the end of May. But it’s been a tough competition because of the draws that we’ve had. We’ve played a lot of good teams in our league and we’ve done a lot of travelling and we’ve had to dig deep in a lot of games. I don’t expect Tuesday to be any different. Looking at the draw ahead, that is going to be just as tough again but I’m not looking beyond Tuesday night.”