Sutton's veteran goalscorer Matt Tubbs ready to face Leeds and spring another FA Cup upset

The 32-year-old striker made his name scoring in the FA Cup for Salisbury City and Crawley Town. Now, he finds himself against big-name opposition again this weekend

Matt Tubbs is hoping Sutton can manage a repeat performance after seeing off Wimbledon in the first round (Getty)

Matt Tubbs has scored goals in the Southern League Division One East, in the Isthmian Premier, in the Southern Premier, in the Conference South and in the Conference itself. He has scored goals in League Two, even in League One, and, for the last few years, back in what is now the National League. He is one of the most reliable non-league and lower-league goal-scorers of his generation. But most famously of all he has scored goals in the FA Cup.

That is where Tubbs made his name, first with Salisbury City and then with Crawley Town. On Sunday he will play another huge cup tie, for his new side Sutton United, who host Leeds United. It is the tie of the fourth round, the one-time winners, three-time finalists, in their best form for 15 years, going to Gander Green Lane to play on their artificial pitch.

It is a huge game and even a draw could provide money to change the long-term future of Sutton United. It might sound daunting but Tubbs at 32 years old has seen it all before. He has only been at Sutton for two months but is already taking on a leadership role there, giving the young players at Sutton the benefit of his experience. He knows what it takes in games like this, and knows how teams with limited resources can spring an upset.

Before the Wimbledon game he told the youngsters how to cope with a 5,000 capacity crowd, giving advice that will be just as useful against Leeds today. “Just don't let the occasion get to you,” Tubbs said. “At the end of the day it's just 11 v 11 on the same size pitch you play every week on. It's just a case of getting your head down and focusing on what you have to do.”

For Tubbs, Sutton is very reminiscent of back where it all began for him at Salisbury City, the club who he helped to drag from step four all the way up to step one thanks to truckloads of his goals. “We only train twice a week, that's what Salisbury do,” Tubbs said. “The team spirit at Salisbury was unbelievable. You can see here the team spirit is brilliant as well. Throughout the course of a season, team spirit gets you a long way. It gets you through tough games. Hopefully with team spirit, and the home fans, we can get a good result.”

Tubbs is from Salisbury and joined his home-town club at the age of 19, after being released by Bolton Wanderers and a brief spell at Dorchester Town. He was skinny and never exactly quick but he always had a great nose for goal. Spending most of his time working as a lifeguard in a local leisure centre, he toughened up and learned how to impose himself in the box.

The goals started to flow for Tubbs, he was clearly too good for the Dr Martens leagues, and he shot Salisbury up the leagues but his biggest moment came in the FA Cup. It was December 2006 and Nottingham Forest came to the Raymond McEnhill stadium in the second round. Tubbs gave a young Wes Morgan the run-around, scoring an equaliser to earn a lucrative replay.

Tubbs was Salisbury’s talisman, heroically popular with fans and players, keeping an eye out for the youngsters, leading the punishing fitness runs up on Salisbury Plain. Inevitably big teams wanted him and in 2010 Steve Evans’ Crawley Town signed him for £50,000.

Again, Tubbs shone in the FA Cup. His goals sent Crawley Town on a famous run in the cup in 2011, his fourth round winner at Crawley taking them to play Manchester United in the fifth round. “To play at Old Trafford in front of a full house was amazing,” he said. Crawley lost 1-0.

Tubbs came up against Manchester United while playing for Crawley Town in the 2010/11 FA Cup (Getty)

The next year Crawley went on another good run, Tubbs’ goals knocking out Bristol City in the third round and Hull City in the fourth, only to bravely lose to a full strength Stoke City side in the fifth.

Tubbs did not play that game having been sold to Bournemouth for £800,000 just beforehand, in the January 2012 window, signing a three and a half year deal. He did not score as many goals up in League One but went on to have success at Wimbledon and Portsmouth in League Two, before dropping back down to the National League.

It has been a special career that few would have predicted when he started out. “I think I've been privileged to play with good players,” Tubbs modestly explains. “My game is not about doing five stepovers and bending one in the top corner. That's not my game. My game is poaching and feeding on crosses. I've been lucky enough to play with some great players who have made me the player I am today.“

In reality, he is a tribute to his own hard work and commitment to making the most of his ability. Tom Killick was his coach at Salisbury and is now manager of Poole Town, where he also coached Charlie Austin. Killick sees a similarity between two men launched out of non-league who went on to achieve a lot.

“Charlie and Matt both have belief in themselves, a real hunger and drive, and a steely desire to improve” Killick told The Independent. “That is what separates them from players they played with. Whatever pitch they walked onto, they would feel confident they could score a goal, and if they missed a few chances they would always feel they could score the next one.” Leeds United be warned.