SHAY McCartan has fond memories of the last time he travelled to the Riverside with Accrington Stanley, and is looking for more of the same tomorrow.

The striker had just signed for the club when, in August 2013, his new team stunned Middlesbrough by knocking them out of the League Cup in the first round.

McCartan recalls he was 'buzzing' at dumping the then-Championship side out thank to Piero Mingoia's winner nine minutes from time.

And, as the only survivor from three years ago, he's confident the current Reds side can cause another upset, this time in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

"At the time I was buzzing," he said. "It was a great win.

"I remember the atmosphere. There was no crowd there, only about 6,000 or 7,000, but I remember the Accy fans up in the corner and going to clap them afterwards because they were brilliant."

McCartan's season has been beset by injury, but he's started three of the last five games and smashed in a sensational free-kick to earn a point against Carlisle.

"It was a massive relief and a monkey off my back with the goal," he said.

"In the Stevenage game I hit a free-kick over the bar and the gaffer had a go at me about not taking the next one.

"Sometimes they go in and sometimes they don’t, but it was a great strike so I’m happy enough with it."

Stanley have made some good memories in the knockout competitions this season, including beating local rivals Burnley in the EFL Cup – which McCartan rates as his personal highlight – and pushing West Ham all the way in the next round.

McCartan will be looking to form some better ones for himself than those from Stanley's second round win at Bradford, where he collapsed on the pitch minutes after coming on.

"It was mild hypothermia and an underlying virus that caused me to get dizzy," he explained.

"It was scary at the time, when something like that happens you just think the worst, but I’m fine now."

So what's the secret to springing a shock on Teesside?

"Look at West Ham, we took them to the 92nd minute and they had players like (Dimitri) Payet," said McCartan.

"It’s going to be tough at Middlesbrough but we’ll take it in our stride and enjoy the moment, and hopefully get a good result.

"They’ll come out wanting to win, but I don’t know if they’ll give us the respect we deserve.

"It’s class stadium, one of the best I’ve played in, and it’s only a couple of hours up the road.

"So it will be a great experience, playing in the FA Cup fourth round in front of 20,000 fans."

"It’s a free hit really - no-one’s expecting you to win" said the 22-year-old.

"We’ll try to play, try to score goals – we know it’s going to be a big ask but we’ve done it before so there’s no reason why we can’t do it again."