The league season has barely started yet here we are in the FA Cup. Well, we are facing opponents from our division so all in all not a great difference although there is sponsorship money hanging on the result. There’s £1,444 and advancement to the next round for the winners plus £481 for the losers.

This will be our sixth competitive meeting with the ODs, the previous five having gone mostly in our favour with last season’s away defeat being the only blight on our record. All those games have been in the league though 2022’s play-off semi-final was something of a hybrid league and cup game.

Two weeks ago the ODs had what looked like a good 2-1 win over FA Vase finalists Newport Pagnell in the extra preliminary round to reach this stage of the competition whilst we had a bye.

They continued that form into their opening league match with a 2-1 win at Hertford last Saturday before hitting the buffers with a 4-2 midweek home defeat to North Leigh. Incidentally, North Leigh are our league opponents on the following Saturday.

The ODs have scored two goals a game so far with the six in total being shared among five players of whom Rico Greco is the man with two. Others scorers include former Hertford player Ben Weyman (he played in both our 2021/2 meetings) and the man who, if he’ll forgive me, looks like a spelling mistake – Johnivy Williams.

The programme, available at the gate for £1.50, has the normal range of articles including Aiden’s regular column which this week looks back 16 years to our last appearance in the first round proper of the FA Cup. Paul Halsey also gives his views including what he thinks about the sudden departure of Brandon Adams to Potters Bar.

Our record against AFC Dunstable:-