MATCH PREVIEW: League form counts for nothing

Forget the fact that Workington were convincing winners in their last league outing and that Marske United suffered their heaviest defeat of the season in midweek.

We welcome the Northern League outfit to west Cumbria knowing that league form counts for nothing when it comes to the FA Cup, and Saturday’s First Qualifying Round tie is a great opportunity for both clubs.

Reds have fallen at the first hurdle in each of the last two seasons, Stalybridge Celtic and Hebburn Town both winning at Borough Park, so nothing will be taken for granted. It is an opportunity to start a Cup run and all connected with the club would appreciate some success in the competition.

It is also an opportunity for Marske who will provide worthy opponents in the first ever FA Cup tie at the Fibrus Community Stadium. They emerged 2-1 winners at Consett in the previous round.

The two clubs have met each other in recent years in the Northern Premier League but this will be the first meeting in knock-out football.

Back in the 2019-20 season, we drew 2-2 at Mount Pleasant after twice coming from behind. Liam Brockbank and Ash Kelly scored our goals that day. In the return, we finished 2-0 winners at Borough Park with Nathan Waterston and Scott Allison on target.

Dav Symington and Liam Brockbank

However, with Reds sitting top of the league and Marske in 5th position, the season was curtailed because of the Covid outbreak. We didn’t meet at all the following season as that was also declared ‘null and void’.

Four years ago, we returned to Mount Pleasant for a pre-season game and secured a narrow 2-1 victory in the August sunshine.

Then, during the ’23-24 season, we were scheduled opponents once more but, after a 3-0 defeat on the east coast, we never got the chance to play the return here.

Marske United, sadly, resigned from the league in a tough decision to ‘save their club’. Thankfully, the club has survived and, this season (and last) they are competing in the Northern League and beginning to re-establish themselves on the football map.

So, we have played each other three times in the league but the results from those games were expunged.

Manager Billy Barr was hoping to name an eighteen-man squad for the game but Jack Dickinson and Luke Ellis remain sidelined, through injury and concussion protocol respectively.

Should a replay be necessary, it will take place on Tuesday (7.45pm).

The eventual winners will receive prize money of £2,250, the losers will collect £750.

Kick-off: 3pm