Hawks boss Paul Doswell views our FA Cup Second Round tie away at Marine as a great opportunity for both clubs to progress.

The two Non-League sides were paired together during tonight’s televised draw at BT Sport Studios in Stratford.

Marine play in the eighth tier of English Football, and provided the shock of the round when they beat Colchester United on penalties away from home. 

Even though a home tie was the preference for the Hawks, Doswell believes it’s a chance both teams will be relishing.

He said: “Our first port of call was, we were hoping for a home tie. But what this draw does is give a Non-League club a chance to go through to the Third Round of the FA Cup, and I’d take this tie over a home game against a team like Portsmouth because it gives both of us and Marine a chance.

“It’s going to be a difficult game, we know that, it’s a tight pitch up there, they done well in the last round with probably the shock of the round beating Colchester United of League 2, but to do it after extra time and have the mental strength to win on penalties then for us it’s going to be a tough game,pretty similar to what we said about Cray Valley. 

“But both teams will see it as a winnable game.” 

The due diligence checks have already started ahead of the game and the gaffer insists no stone will be left unturned. 

“Even now we’ve started to look at them and what they are as a club and you look at their pitch and it’s a tight ground, and not having the crowd for them is an advantage gone for them because they would have had a sellout and it would have been a tight ground, tight atmosphere.”