The Peacocks begin their Emirates FA Cup campaign when they welcome Wantage Town to the Cygnet Health Care Stadium in the 1st Round Qualifying tomorrow evening (22nd September)
Due to the late start to the season some FA Cup rounds have been scheduled for midweek rather than the usual Saturdays, with replays scrapped for this year to help ease fixture burden and ties settled on the night by penalties if necessary.
The Peacocks began their season with a 1-1 draw at Hayes & Yeading United at the weekend, a decent point on the face of it but they will also be disappointed to have conceded such a late equaliser. They will hope to go one better tomorrow when they face a challenge of a different sort, with Wantage residing one level below the Peacocks in the Southern League Division One Central. They have already played one game in the competition, recovering from going behind on two occasions to beat Windsor 3-2 at Alfredian Park in the Preliminary Round. On Saturday they made a successful start to their League campaign with a 2-0 home win over Welwyn Garden City so with a 100% start and with striker Ryan Knight having bagged three goals already Town can ill afford any complacency. The winners of tomorrow’s tie will earn £2,250 with the losers also netting £750.
New midfielder Lee Lucas is back in contention after missing several games due to a foot injury, otherwise the squad remains unchanged from Saturday. Head of Football Rob Dray said:” As much as Saturday was a good performance, it’s now a cup game with no extra time or replays so it’s a different mindset. It’s important we play with the pace we did on Saturday against difficult opponents with nothing to lose.”
Tickets remain on sale for tomorrow’s game via Eventbrite priced at £10 for Adults, £8 for Concessions and £5 for Under 18’s, with all tickets subject to a booking fee. Season Ticket holders are reminded that their Season Ticket is not valid for this game and they will need to purchase an Advance ticket if they wish to attend.
Tickets can be BOUGHT HERE
We wish to remind everyone attending any game at the Cygnet Health Care Stadium of the need to read, understand and adhere to the club’s Covid Guidance HERE and Ground Regulations HERE. Supporters are also advised that the new ‘rule of 6’ applies at the Stadium so please engage in social distancing and respect our Staff and Volunteers in managing this rule in order to comply. Your co-operation is appreciated.