Havant and Waterlooville entertain Cray Valley in the Emirates FA Cup First Round

The Hawks are set to take part in the first round of this competition for the first time in over 6 years. As for Cray Valley, this is the furthest stage they have reached in their history.

Paul Doswell’s men have started the season brightly with their only loss coming last weekend against top of the league Dartford. Josh Taylor’s goal wasn’t enough as they fell to a 2-1 defeat.

Convincing victories against Horsham, Chatham Town and Bath City have seen their FA Cup run reach this stage, and they will be hoping to avoid an upset against the Millers.

The away side, who ply their trade in the eighth tier of English football, shouldn’t be taken for granted. They did brilliantly in the previous round against National League side Maidenhead to come back from 2-0 down to win 3-2.

However, it’s been a difficult start to the league campaign for Cray Valley, as they’ve managed just one victory in their opening five games. 

The visitors will be hoping striker Ade Yussuf will be able to add to the six goals he’s scored already in this year’s competition. 

Whereas Hawks’ Joe Iaciofano will see this as a good opportunity to get back on the scoresheet. The forward hasn’t found the back of the net since the second qualifying round win over Chatham at the start of October.

The Hawks will be looking to advance to the second round proper for the first time in over 12 years. Cray Valley on the other hand, travel to the Draper Tools Community Stadium hoping to continue their historic FA Cup journey.

By Ryan Honey (@ryanhoney9)