By Billy Taylor

The FA Trophy is back at Kayte Lane, as Bishops Cleeve will take on Sholing for the opportunity to reach the first round.

Cleeve got through the second qualifying round against Fareham Town, where they won 4-2 with a brilliant Toby Holland chip and a hat-trick from Ross Langworthy.

Paul Collicutt’s men have enjoyed recent success since that victory, being unbeaten since then and beating Malvern on Tuesday night 2-1 thanks to a brilliant injury-time chip from Jay Malshanskyj which sealed the Mitres with all three points and second place in the table with a game in hand.

Cleeve are looking to go the furthest they ever have in the FA Trophy, and victory on Saturday would be a huge achievement for what already is looking to be a historic Cleeve side.

The Opponents
Sholing are having a brilliant run at the minute, as they see themselves sitting fourth in the Southern league Premier South, just one point behind current leaders Gloucester City. They’ve had some impressive victories along the way, including a 4-1 battering of Poole Town, a 3-2 victory over Weymouth and a 3-0 victory over Uxbridge.

The Boatmen have only just entered the competition, getting a bye for the first and second qualifying rounds.

The Hampshire-based side were only able to reach this round last season, being defeated by Hungerford Town 3-1.

The two sides haven’t faced off against each other in recent years, so this should be the making of an exciting clash between the two sides, and Cleeve will be hoping for a giant killing this Saturday.