London’s calling for AFC Telford United – with a fascinating trip to Hendon Town or Dulwich Hamlet in the third qualifying round of the FA Cup.
A Terry Fearns hat-trick booked the Bucks’ passage on Saturday, sealing a 3-2 win over BGB Southern League side Corby.
See our match photo gallery here
Today’s lunchtime draw has now rewarded them with a first ever meeting with a team from the Ryman-sponsored Isthmian League.
The two sides from the capital drew 2-2 on Saturday and will now replay on Wednesday evening for the right to face Telford next.
Hendon are struggling in the Ryman League premier division and are in the midst of a financial crisis that has seen them evicted from their own ground.
Wednesday’s replay is instead being played at Harrow Borough’s ground – a venue that will evoke memories for Telford fans who saw their side record a famous FA Trophy semi-final success there in 1983.
Dulwich, by contrast, are midtable in division one south and kept their cup hopes alive despite playing more than half of Saturday’s tie with 10 men.
“If we play Hendon and the game is at Harrow then you can see Wembley from there, so when I said to the lads on Saturday that we’re going all the way to Wembley I was right,” joked Bucks boss Rob Smith.
“Either team would be a tough place to go but we can’t complain. It’s an exciting draw and I love it when we have to play teams we don’t know too much about.”
The Harrow connection certainly seems to have excited chairman Lee Carter, with Smith adding: “Lee’s told me the history of Telford playing at Harrow Borough and he’s quite cock-a-hoop about it.”
Meanwhile, midfielder Gary Fitzpatrick turned out for Rushall Olympic on Saturday and defender Asa Charlton for Hednesford – though assistant manager Larry Chambers revealed both had the option to be on the Telford bench, with up to seven substitutes allowed in the FA Cup.
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“We gave them the choice to stay with us on Saturday and they could have been on the bench, but they chose to go out and get games,” he added.
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