FA CUP FOURTH QUALIFYING RND
THE 24 National League clubs join the 40 other Non-League sides to have progressed through to the fouth qualifying round of the FA Cup on Saturday.
Among those to have advanced from the third qualifying round is Bury FC – the last Step 5 club still standing. Not only have Bury already won five FA Cup ties to get this far, they have all been away from home against higher league opposition.
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Indeed, they have now won as many FA Cup ties this season as Bury did in both 1900 and 1903 when they actually lifted the trophy. The Shakers are drawn away at Step 3 Harborough Town, who are in the fourth qualifying round for the first time ever.
Three Step 4 clubs that started in the extra preliminary round are still involved in this last qualifying round stage (with the possibility of one other). Hednesford Town host National League side Gateshead whilst Gorleston FC, in this round for the first time in 46 years, travel to Horsham. It will be the first time in what is their 267th FA Cup game that Horsham will face opponents beginning with the letter ‘G’.
Biggleswade FC have also won through five FA Cup rounds so far this season – in a record breaking Cup run for the club – and they have drbeing handed a plum tie of hosting National League, and former FA Cup semi-finalists, York City.
Also on record cup runs this season are Farsley Celtic, at home to FA Cup top-scorers Kettering Town, and Plymouth Parkway, who host Worthing.
There are also five clubs equalling their best cup runs this season (with the possibility of one more) and Rushall Olympic v Peterborough Sports guarantees at least one club will be in the first round for the first ever time. The other clubs hoping to achieve that feat are Macclesfield FC who travel to Tamworth, Chertsey Town who host Sutton United, and Cray Wanderers, who entertain Tonbridge Angels for whom a victory would equal their best FA Cup run.
Scarborough Athletic, Spennymoor Town, Taunton Town, Gorleston, Gosport Borough and Leiston are six other clubs that would equal their best Cup runs with victory in this round. As would the winners of the outstanding third qualifying Round tie between Lowestoft Town and Haringey Borough.
Just six of the 32 ties have happened before in the FA Cup with three of them occurring for the fifth time this season. Woking and Slough Town have won two each of their past meetings whilst Boston United and Barnet have the upper hand respectively over Gainsborough Trinity and Chelmsford City by three wins to one.
Forest Green Rovers has had to wait 36 years for the opportunity to avenge a past 3-0 defeat in the competition by Weymouth, while Bishop’s Stortford have waited 20 years to avenge the same scoreline defeat by Braintree Town.
