Newcastle land home draw but it’s away dates for the rest

NEWCASTLE Town’s reward for knocking Belper Town out of the FA Trophy is a home draw in the third qualifying round.

Robin Van der Laan’s side battled back from 2-0 down against their fellow Northern Premier League South East Division high-fliers to draw 2-2 at the Red industries Stadium.

Castle then held their nerve to win the penalty shoot-out. They will now play Nuneaton Borough in the next round on Saturday, October 31. Nuneaton play in the Southern League Central Division - one step above Newcastle Town.

The remainder of our local teams will all be on their travels as they look to progress in the competition. Leek Town, who won 2-1 at Histon Town on Saturday, are on the road to Evesham United.

Neil Baker’s men were a goal down at the weekend, but Will Saxon’s double - including an injury-time winner - helped them to turn the tables.

Nantwich Town head to Redditch United, while Stafford Rangers face a long trip to take on Cambridgeshire outfit St Ives Town.

Stafford Rangers will be hoping that their good cup form stands them in good stead after they reached the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup last week.

In-form Kidsgrove Athletic have been given a trip to Stratford Town after seeing off Daventry in their weekend encounter.

That means it is a third successive away tie for

Scott Dundas’ Kidsgrove after they started their Trophy campaign with a 3-2 win at Cambridge City after being 2-0 down.

CHRIS TRAVERS