Maidenhead stand between Eastbourne Borough and some Football League big boys

It could have been further – ask Folkestone Invicta as they trundle the 576 miles to Merthyr Tydfil and return. It could have been easier: the Magpies sit comfortably in National League mid-table, a level higher than the Sports. But for manager Danny Bloor, it’s simply what you do on the day.

“Maidenhead will rightly be favourites. They have home advantage and although they had a slow start to the season, they have clicked into top form. In the last three games they’ve won away at Torquay and at league leaders Chesterfield, and last weekend they got a home draw with Oldham Athletic.

“They must be treated with huge respect, and we know we’ll have to be at the top of our own game. But everyone regarded Worthing as favourites in the last round, and we know what happened there!”

The Berkshire club would not count themselves among the National League giants. Modest attendances, a careful budget, and shrewd pragmatic leadership - under boss Alan Devonshire – look more like the blueprint for a successful National South outfit. Not so different from the Borough, then?

“Maidenhead have two or three players who have recently played in our division, but they are holding their own at the higher level – so it will be up to us to raise our own game and match them. Is football about guts, or glory? If you want a taste of the glory, you have to have the guts for the contest!”

The rewards are very real: into the First Round Proper, the prize money moves into five figures, and the exciting prospect of drawing a big name – a Portsmouth or a Bolton Wanderers, a Derby County or a Sheffield Wednesday.

“We were elated with the experience of playing Blackpool two seasons ago – on live television but in an almost empty stadium. What a joy it would be, and what a reward for our wonderful supporters, to earn another similar tie in front of a packed Priory Lane!”

Danny’s lads could do worse than bring Maidenhead back to the SO Legal Community Stadium on Tuesday evening, if they can dig deep at the Magpies’ historic York Road, the oldest football ground in the world to be in continuous use.

Eastbourne fans will travel by coach, car and rail to cheer their favourites – and the crowd will be happily unsegregated for a proper FA Cup contest.

The Sports are in a vein of good form, smashing five goals past hapless Weymouth last weekend. And the line-up?

“Mitch Dickenson will be touch and go after his cut head against Weymouth. Alex Wynter and Chris Whelpdale will probably not be quite ready.

“But I will have absolute faith in the team we put out. Take a player like Jaden Perez, whom we brought in a year ago to replace James Ferry. Jaden was relatively untried, but he has developed into a key player who is now controlling matches.

"Take the (former) QPR boys, Innocent and Remy and Scarlett – they have all the right habits, they have heaps of ability, and they are just loving it down here.

“Whatever the outcome, I know that every player will give every yard for the cause.”