The Peacocks begin what they hope will be a successful Emirates FA Cup run when they host Bemerton Heath Harlequins in a 1st Round Qualifying tie tomorrow afternoon (8th September), kick-off 3.00pm.
Town fans will undoubtedly want to see a repeat of the epic campaign two years ago when their side reached the First Round Proper. However it has been something of an unsettling week at the Viridor Stadium following the departure of manager Leigh Robinson and assistant Michael Meaker so coaches Rob Dray and Matt Villis will be focused very much on resuming business as usual against their Wessex League visitors who are based on the outskirts of Salisbury. Harlequins have not had the best of starts leaguewise, losing their first two games convincingly before picking up a point against Bashley in their last match. In the FA Cup though it has been a different story, having reached this stage by firstly beating Cowes Sports 1-0 and then causing an upset in the Preliminary Round by turfing out current FA Vase holders and Southern League newcomers Thatcham Town 3-2 after a replay at Western Way. The Peacocks will therefore need to adopt a professional approach to avoid a second consecutive cup upset following their dismissal by Peninsula League side Tavistock last season.
There have been two previous meetings between the sides, most recently in November 1999 at Bemerton Heath where Town triumphed 2-0 in an FA Vase 2nd Round game courtesy of goals from Martin Parker and Darren Cann. Harlequins won the first encounter which was also an FA Vase 2nd Round tie back in November 1992 by a 1-0 margin also in Wiltshire.
Town name the same squad as last weekend’s game against Basingstoke with the addition of Brazilian midfielder Douglas Camilo who has finally been granted international clearance. The only doubt is centre half Ben Adelsbury who has a sore knee so an assessment will be made prior to the game.
Rob Dray remarked: “Tomorrow hopefully sees the start of another adventure in the FA Cup. However video and match reports tell us that they are in a false position in their league and we will give them the respect they deserve. It will be nice to concentrate on football tomorrow and we know that if we play to our potential we will be a difficult proposition. Thankfully Douglas has got clearance and from what we have seen we have got a good player so we will have a good look at him over the next few weeks.”
Admission Prices
Adults: £10
Concessions: £8
U18: £5
U14: Free
Parking: £1