Sutton Head West On Cup Trail

And so it begins again. Sutton United's ground-breaking run to the fifth round of last season's FA Cup had a transformative effect on the club. They enter the current season's competition this Saturday (14 October) with a trip to north Somerset club Paulton Rovers in the fourth (and final) qualifying round.

Paulton Rovers, founded in 1881, play in the South West division of the Evo-Stik (Southern) League, three steps below Sutton. They have already won four Cup ties to reach this stage, overcoming Wessex League side Portland United 3-0 away in the preliminary round, then three clubs from their own division, Winchester City (1-0 at home), Kidlington (3-2 at home) and Swindon Supermarine (3-2 away). Rovers' league form has suffered a little during that run, and they currently stand 18th (out of 22) in the table, though with one or two games in hand over most of the sides above them.

Sutton manager Paul Doswell has said that his team will be preparing in a professional manner for this tie, though he must be quietly confident of progressing to the first round proper. He may choose to recall players who have not had much game time recently, such as defender Dean Beckwith, forward Adam Coombes and midfielder Kenny Davis, all recently recovered from injury. Another player who may feature is leading marksman Tommy Wright who is familiar with Paulton having played against them last season while on loan at their league rivals Salisbury FC, scoring twice in a 3-0 win at Paulton.

Should Rovers advance at Sutton's expense, they would reach the first round for the second time in their history. On the previous occasion, in 2009, they lost 7-0 at home to Norwich City in a game shown live on TV.

If Saturday's game ends as a draw, there would be a replay at Gander Green Lane next week, probably on the evening of Tuesday 17th.

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