Devonshire well aware of the dangers posed by underdogs in FA Cup tie
Remember last season? When Maidenhead United were expected to cruise past Cray Valley in the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup but badly under-performed and suffered an embarrassing 3-2 defeat.
Well, the Magpies have been dealt another home draw against a lower division non league side, and boss Alan Devonshire expects Hastings United of the Isthmian League South East Division to be ‘much, much better’ than Cray.
The tie will take place at York Road on Saturday, October 16, with a 3pm kick-off
Hastings advanced to the final qualifying round with a superb 1-0 away win at National League South side Chippenham this weekend, Kenny Pogue firing in the game's only goal from distance.
United have fallen at the fourth qualifying round stage in each of their last two seasons, going down to Cray Valley last season and Wealdsone 2-0 the season before that after a replay. In 2018 they edged past Chippenham Town at York Road to earn a plum home tie against Portsmouth, a match they lost 4-0 having hosted the BBC Football Focus cameras prior to kick-off.
“It's always difficult when you're playing a team from a lower level,” said Devonshire.
“I think they were unbeaten last season before COVID hit and probably would have been promoted.
“They’ve got three ex-league players playing for them and their average gate is quite high, so they’re a decent club and they’re looking to get through the leagues.
“Any team that gets through to the fourth qualifying is a good side. They won at Chippenham
in the National League South so they aren’t going to be mugs. You’re expected to win but, as shown last year, it doesn’t always work out that way in the FA Cup. I just hope we get the job done. They will be better than Cray Valley were, it’s a difficult game but we’ll think about that after Altrincham.”
This season marks the tournament’s 150th anniversary and teams successful in this round will receive an impressive £9,375 while losing clubs pocket a respectable £3,125.