Gate and Bridges progress

The FA Cup weekend started early for two Pitching In Isthmian sides, as Margate travelled to Aylesbury United and Three Bridges hosted Erith Town.

Gate didn't make it easy for themselves. The Pitching In Isthmian Premier side, who had gone three matches without a win, went down to ten men just before the break as Montrell Deslandes saw red, giving a boost to their Pitching In Southern Division One Central hosts. The Ducks couldn't quack on and take advantage, however, and the only goal of the game arrived twenty minutes from time, Harvey Smith turning home a Ben Greenhalgh free kick.

Three Bridges saw a run of three successive victories come to an end with defeat at Whitehawk on Monday, but they were quickly back to winning ways, defeating SCEFL side Erith Town- conquerors of
Bedfont Sports in an earlier round.

This was the first time that Bridges had reached this stage since 2013-14, and they've only gone beyond it twice in their history, 1982-83 and 2002-03, but they've now got a chance to make history. Kieron Pamment gave them the perfect start, scoring after just two minutes, but they weren't ahead for long, Alfie Eldridge equalising for the visitors only twelve minutes later.

The winner came just before the break, and it went to Curtis Gayler.

You can see photographs from the evening, courtesy of Eva Gilbert, here- and we have one as our headline image.

Follow the Pitching In Isthmian League on Instagram. Head here or search for theisthmianleague on your app. We're also on Facebook and Twitter.