The Magic Of The Cup! Our Preview Of Tonight's Action

By Tom Scott

There’s no fewer than nine of our sides in FA Cup action this evening as they bid for a place in the Second Round.

There’s no shortage of chances for upsets either and Oxford City will more than fancy themselves against Tranmere Rovers in front of the BT Sport cameras.

City forced a replay after twice taking the lead at Prenton Park thanks to a Kabongo Tshimanga hat-trick, but the League Two side made it 3-3 in the last minute.

The game will be shown live on BT Sport 1 and BT Sport 4K UHD and boss Mark Jones is under no illusions about the magnitude of the game or the size of the task facing his side.

“It’s crucial possibly to our long-term future as a club and it’s probably the biggest competitive game we’ve played for some time,” he told the club’s official YouTube service.

“It’s going to be a massive game and we can look forward to that. We’ve already sold over 1,000 tickets and we are really looking forward to playing in front of the cameras.

“But we know Tranmere are a very good side, so we’ve got some hard work to do tonight. They’re towards the top in League Two so we’re very much the underdogs but we’ve got a chance and we’ll be giving it everything we’ve got.”

Slough Town go into their replay against a side that have lost just twice in the league since the beginning of September.

Sutton United have history in the FA Cup and will be relishing the chance to possibly write another fairy-tale.

Elsewhere, The AGP Arena is sure to be rocking as Billericay Town entertain National League Chesterfield.

Ricay’s home form may make them slight favourites but Martin Allen’s side are desperate for a win.

Another big away day will await Aldershot if they can overcome Bradford City at Valley Parade. The Shots took the lead in the first encounter but conceded midway into the second-half.

Ebbsfleet United have been going steady since the arrival of Garry Hill and face a huge challenge on the road at Cheltenham.

A trip to League One high-flyers Accrington Stanley is their reward if they can come through their replay.

Chorley twice led in their first encounter with Doncaster Rovers, but they have the chance to do it all again at the Keepmoat Stadium.

It was goalless in the first meeting between FC Halifax Town and Morecambe. The Shay hosts the replay with a big tie against AFC Wimbeldon awaiting the winner in the next round.

Tonight's FA Cup First Round Replay fixtures:
Billericay Town v Chesterfield
Bradford City v Aldershot
Cheltenham Town v Ebbsfleet United
Doncaster Rovers v Chorley
FC Halifax v Morecambe
Oxford City v Tranmere (BT Sport 1 / BT Sport 4K UHD)
Slough Town v Sutton United

Where next?

Crowd Pleasers! The Weekend's National League Attendances We’re crowd counting again as we take a look at the National League weekend in numbers.
Morley: We're Doing All The Hard Stuff, Just Not The Easy Bits! Chester joint-manager Bernard Morley wants his side to be more ruthless in their coming games after admitting the Blues paid for their missed chances.

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