Swifts and Stripes strive for Trophy glory

Heybridge Swifts have already defeated Potters Bar Town, Royston Town and Hereford to reach the Third Round of the FA Trophy for the first time in twenty years, so they are unlikely to be afraid of National League South side Hungerford Town as they arrive in Essex- particularly given the fact that Town are bottom of the table and have been anything but convincing on the road. That said, a Swifts win would still be an enormous shock given the twenty eight places that separate the sides in the pyramid, but with Scraley Road having witnessed only one defeat this season the home faithful won’t be short on confidence.

Folkestone Invicta have saved most of their best form for Cup competitions this season, and another win today would equal their best ever FA Trophy run, earning them a place in the Fourth Round. The stripes welcome the blues, as Leiston come to call, the former Pitching In Isthmian Premier side currently in third place in Southern Premier Central. Leiston saw an unbeaten run which stretched back to early September come to an end against Nuneaton Borough last weekend, and have defeated Evesham United, Wroxham and Alvechurch to reach this stage. The last time the two met was back in April 2018, when Invicta triumphed two-nil as both sides qualified for the Play Off’s- both losing in the Semi-Finals as Dulwich Hamlet won promotion by defeating Hendon.

Image: Alan Edmonds.

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