Sports Therapist Sam Cutler was unavailable for the game with Market Drayton last night and with no reserve standing by we had a problem. We would like to say a very big thank you to Terry at Hednesford Town for organising the “loan” for one game of the Hednesford sports Therapist Eve. She came to help at short notice and carried out the duties in a friendly and professional manner. Many thanks.

It is the lure of the FA Cup this Saturday, yet again with our luck acting against us we are on our travels. There must be an East coast link for us in this season’s competition as we move down the coast from Grimsby to King’s Lynn. When the draw was made King’s Lynn still had unfinished business with a replay needed to dispose of Histon. A late equaliser kept them in the cup, but they also lost their manager. As happens in such cases the caretaker witnessed a 7-0 win. So, things may be a bit topsey turvey this Saturday, so could that be a good or bad thing.

Although a distance fixture of 144 miles this could so easily have been a league fixture following the reorganisation of step 3 football, as both sides could have pitched together in the Southern League Central. Thankfully it is not a league fixture as our 3 visits to the Walks have resulted in 2 defeats, 2-3 23/09/00 and 0-2 29/12/0. However, our 2 FA Cup visits to Kings Lynn have both been positive with 3-1 wins in 02/11/74 (Roger Jones hat trick) and 01/11/90. Other games between us at the walks were 18/11/86 for a league cup visit and an FA Trophy defeat 2-3 in 22/11/08. If you think I have forgotten our third league visit then not so, because a week after our FA Trophy defeat we were back at King’s Lynn the following week for a 2-2 league draw. People are moaning about the distance for Saturday, but I can name quite a few fans who travelled to both games that season.

King’s Lynn have had quite a turbulent history in recent times since we last played them in the Conference North, as at the end of that season they were demoted to Northern Premier League because stadium did not meet Conference North standards. In 2009 the club were wound up by High Courts regarding debts owed to HMRC. 2010 saw a “new” club relaunched in UCL Premier Division under new name ‘King’s Lynn Town FC’. In 2012 Linnets they gained promotion to the Evo-Stik Division One South and the following year won promotion to the Northern Premier League. Premier Division. Due to their geographical position, just like ourselves they now find themselves playing in the Southern League Central, moving from the Southern League last summer.

Their current league form is completely different to last season’s title chasing, as they find themselves one place above the relegation zone with 1 win, 2 draws and 4 defeats. Their three home games haves seen a 2-4 defeat to Biggleswade, a 0-1 defeat to Stourbridge and a 0-0 draw with St Neots. They have faired slightly better away with a 1-2 defeat at leaders Kettering, a 0-1 defeat to Lowestoft and a 1-0 win at our Staffordshire rivals Tamworth. On Saturday they returned from Halesowen with a 2-2 draw.

You could argue that as a cup tie then league form gores out of the window, but the fixture appears to throw up two evenly matched teams with the home advantage being the decider or does our FA Cup jinx over them sway the balance. It all makes for an interesting tie with another £9k pay day for the winners. Let’s hope a fair number travel on Saturday to support the team. If the game is drawn then its all back to Marston Road next Tuesday, and the League game with Basford but back to be rearranged.

This Tuesday we embark on our Integro League Cup campaign, when we entertain Market Drayton from the NPL Division 1 West. If you remember we had a decent run in this competition last season but were lucky in getting a few home ties. League cup ties do not fill the fans with optimism and many stay away expecting weakened team and no real incentive to win the competition, to the extent that admission is often reduced.

However, there is a need to get down to Marston Road to watch this fixture as there may well be the surprise element in team selection. Does Steve Burr look at this competition to blood some of the promising youth players we saw in pre-season, or does he keep with a strong eleven to rebuild confidence following Saturdays defeat at Buxton. Either way I am sure Steve will be thinking of Saturdays trip to Kings Lynn in the FA Cup as he makes his selection.

Market Drayton are no strangers to Stafford Rangers, but we have only come across them in recent years of our history. Market Drayton started out as Little Drayton in 1969 and changed their name to Market Drayton in 2003. We have already met them this season when we went to their ground for our final pre-season game, drawing 1-1 with a late equaliser from Lucas Burnett. Their form this season appears to be complete opposites as they have won both of their home league games with wins over Newcastle Town (2-1) and Droylsden (3-1), but on their travels they have lost all three games, at Ramsbottom (2-1), Widnes (3-0) and Prescott cables (3-0). Market Drayton fell at the first hurdle in the FA Cup, losing 1-0 at home in a replay with Midland League Haughmond after a 1-1 away draw.

So, if you want to be the first to see the side we put out, then you better get down to Marston Road on Tuesday night for the 7:45 kick off.

Admission Prices: Adults £6.00 | Concessions £3.00 | Juniors £1.00

Report by Phil Bennett

Market Drayton Town website