Our fantastic four are one step from the promised land

We have a quartet of clubs in Emirates FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round action on Saturday- and whilst all four will be underdogs, we are confident that each of them have the quality to deliver an upset and be in Monday’s First Round draw.

Cray Wanderers hit the road, travelling to Bedford Town. The hosts sit in mid table in National League North, and whilst they’ve had a mixed campaign they’ve been in top form on their own patch, defeated only once on their own patch and that defeat coming way back on August 15th. Town face Pitching In Isthmian Premier opposition for the second round in a row, and they needed a replay to overcome the challenge of Wingate and Finchley in the last round after our Blues drew two-two at The Eyrie. 

Wands, who easily saw off the challenge of Pitching In Southern Premier side Chippenham Town in the last round, have already defeated Step Two opposition in the competition, defeating National League South favourites Maidstone United on the road in a second Qualifying Round Replay. On that basis they are unlikely to be afraid of their trip to Bedfordshire- and they fielded a much changed side in their London Cup tie in midweek to keep their top performers fresh for this fixture.

Eastleigh is the destination for Brentwood Town. We all watched the Blues- either in person or on tv- defeat Dagenham and Redbridge comprehensively in the last round, and they’ve looked to be very much on the up since Brett Munyard’s arrival as manager last month. Eastleigh currently sit in seventeenth spot in the National League, but have taken only one point from their last four League matches and won’t be relishing the arrival of their opponents. All the pressure is on the hosts- can the Blues take advantage? They’ve shown that they have the ability to cause a shock!

Leatherhead are at home to National League side Yeovil Town, as the Tanners take on the Glovers. Over the last season and a bit the Tanners biggest asset has been their away form- they are unbeaten on the road in the League since the start of last season- and they have occasionally struggled at Fetcham Grove, but this would be a perfect time to put that right. Yeovil are in fourth place in the National League and have won both of their last two matches by six goals to nil, bringing a six match unbeaten run to Surrey- but they’ve been knocked out of the competition at this stage by lower League opposition for two years in a row, so Leatherhead will be convinced that lightning can strike three times in a row!

Eastbourne Borough head to Wiltshire, Salisbury their hosts. Borough travel in superb form, after winning their last NINE matches in all competitions, but this will be the first time they’d faced a side from a higher level. Salisbury sit in second place in National League South, and have a five match winning streak of their own to defend. They are also unbeaten in nine matches, and walloped Dulwich Hamlet five-nil in the last round.

Of course the sides know each other fairly well, as they both spent the previous two seasons in National League South together. Their last four meetings brought only three goals in total, two of them ending nil-nil, with Salisbury triumphing two-nil when they met in March. Borough do know how it feels to win at The Raymond McEnhill Stadium, however, as they were one-nil victors in April 2025. 

We also, of course, have a comprehensive fixture list across all four of our Divisions, and you can see all the details by heading HERE.