It has been a special cup run for me - Matt
Matt Smith admitted Latics' amazing run in the FA Cup with Budweiser has catapulted his career to another level.Two goals in the victory against Liverpool followed by a dramatic injury-time equaliser yesterday against Everton ensured the fairytale continued for the 23-year-old who was playing non-league football less than two years ago.
Smith (pictured celebrating yesterday's last-gasp equaliser), said: "It has been a pretty special cup run for me, especially the last three rounds (against Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Everton).
"I am over the moon and delighted by what has happened."
Smith added that for his late goal, they worked in training on overloading the penalty area to create chaos.
He continued: "We had been working all week on putting inswinging crosses into the box.
"We know Jonathan Grounds has a fantastic delivery in his locker.
"We managed to block my runner and I managed to get in my header so what we practiced on the training ground worked well."
Smith attributed the draw to a great team performance as they battled from the first to final whistle.
He explained: "The team worked ever so hard from start to finish and we kept going right to the end.
"I thought we were immense because we knew it would be all hands to the pump when we saw the strength of the Everton side.
"We did that right from the keeper to the three substitutes who came on.
"We were terrific and showed a lot of resilience and had to battle for our just rewards."
Smith added he is looking forward to the replay while there will be an added incentive as they will also know their potential quarter-final opponents.